Advocacy Alert – May 3, 2024

In this Alliance Advocacy Alert:

• Act Now: Urge Your Senators to Support OMS Funding!

• Save the Date: Invite Congress to Visit Your Museum is August 12-16

Act Now: Urge Your Senators to Support OMS Funding!

Senator Gillibrand (D-NY) is circulating a letter to her Senate colleagues calling for robust funding for the Office of Museum Services (OMS) at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

It just takes a couple of minutes to use our template and ask your Senators to sign on. The letter is a key measure of legislators’ support for federal funding for museums, and it is especially important to continue building on our momentum from Museums Advocacy Day. In addition to submitting a letter, we also urge museum advocates who participated in Congressional meetings during Museums Advocacy Day to follow up directly with their Congressional contacts and encourage their Senators to sign on. Note that multiple touches may be required to secure a sign-on.

The following Senators already have signed on (alphabetical by state): Michael Bennet (D-CO), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Tom Carper (D-DE), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Mazie Hirano (D-HI), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Angus King (I-ME), Ed Markey (D-MA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tina Smith (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bob Casey (D-PA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Joe Manchin (D-WV). Please thank them.

Legislators need to hear from you—the people they represent—about how their decisions affect museums and museum people. Thank you to all advocates who contacted their Representative to sign on to the House OMS funding support letter that circulated earlier and is close to being finalized.

Save the Date: Invite Congress to Visit Your Museum is August 12-16

Mark your calendars for Invite Congress 2024, August 12-16. This is an opportunity to show local, state, and federal officials the unique impact of your museum through exhibitions and community engagement. Use our easy how-to guide to get started!

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Your steadfast advocacy efforts make a huge difference in building needed support for museums and museum professionals.

Now is a great time to make a plan to advocate for museums throughout 2024. Use our year-round advocacy ideas to get started today.

Visit http://www.aam-us.org/advocacy to access all of AAM’s advocacy resources.