Advocacy Alert – April 28, 2025
In this Alliance Advocacy Alert:
- Upcoming Advocacy Activities
- Updates on Federal Funding
- IMLS & NEH Updates and Advocacy
- Advocacy Tip of the Month
Upcoming Advocacy Activities
Are you attending the 2025 AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo? Learn about and connect on advocacy and policy issues at:
- Advocacy and Policy Roundtable Conversations (Wednesday, May 7 from 8:30-9:30am)
- Advocacy Open House at the AAM Resource Center in the MuseumExpo (Wednesday, May 7 from 2:30-4:00pm)
- Advocacy Information Session: Advocating to State and Federal Lawmakers (Friday, May 9, 10:00-11:00am)
- Townhall: Navigating the Recent Executive Orders (Friday, May 9 from 3:30pm-4:30pm)
AAM Advocacy Webinars: AAM will be hosting several advocacy-related virtual trainings this year. The first will be a free webinar on May 29 at 2pm ET on In-District Advocacy: Advocating to State and Federal Lawmakers in their Home Districts. State and federal lawmakers periodically visit their home districts throughout the year to connect with and hear from their constituents. Learn about engaging with your state and federal representatives when they are in their home districts, preparing for your advocacy, and making the most out of your advocacy efforts. Register today.
Updates on Federal Funding
Congress has begun the fiscal year 2026 (FY26) appropriations process (the process of funding for the Federal government). In the next few days, letters will begin circulating in both the House and Senate for members of Congress to sign onto supporting funding for IMLS, NEH, and NEA for FY26. Despite the Executive Orders, staffing cuts, and grant terminations, it is very important that Congress continues to provide funding to IMLS and NEH. We encourage you to write to your members of Congress to ask them to support funding for IMLS for FY26.
- Write to Congress to support funding for IMLS Office of Museum Services in FY26 appropriations
- Write to Congress to support funding for NEH and NEA in FY26 appropriations
Recently, AAM’s President and CEO Marilyn Jackson provided written testimony to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies in support of funding for the IMLS Office of Museums Services and to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies in support of funding NEH, NEA, Smithsonian Institution, and Historic Preservation Programs.
We expect the President will soon send a recissions package to Congress in the coming days. A recissions package is the funding that the President seeks to cut from Federal agencies for the current fiscal year (FY25). A recissions package will need to be approved by Congress. If the package is approved by Congress, it could make legal arguments against agency cuts more difficult (one of the primary legal arguments is that Congress appropriated this funding). We do not yet know if all or some of the President’s funding cuts will be included in the recissions package, including those cut from IMLS and NEH. AAM is closely monitoring developments and will engage advocates if needed to fight proposed cuts to FY 2025 funding.
IMLS & NEH Updates and Advocacy
As you all know, a large amount of grant termination letters have been issued from IMLS and NEH this month. If your grant has been terminated, it’s important to inform your members of Congress. They do not know what grants and how many have been terminated in their state/districts unless you tell them. Provide as much information as possible and highlight the impact that losing this funding will have on your museum and community. Please also let AAM know of your grant termination.
Advocacy
Continue to get the word out about the loss of your grants to the public via emails to your supporters, social media posts, and engaging the media. One great example includes a museum that generated over 1,000 letters to their Congressional delegation about their grant termination simply by including the information in their newsletter and asking their supporters to contact their members of Congress using AAM’s template.
For more suggestions on how to engage your supporters and the public, as well as other tips, see AAM’s Advocacy Alerts.
View an Op-ed from AAM, EveryLibrary, and the League of Women Voters: The Trump Administration Is Not Just Erasing History, They’re Rewriting the Future and Attacking Democracy
Lawsuits
On April 4, a coalition of 21 state attorneys general filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for attempting to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services. You can watch the State of RI, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al. hearing from April 18 beginning at 24:30.
Congressional Support Letters
Letters sent by members of Congress in support of IMLS:
- Letter led by Senators Adam Schiff (CA) and Jack Reed (RI) and signed by 24 lawmakers
- Letter led by Representatives Dina Titus (NV) and Suzanne Bonamici and signed by 126 representatives
- Oregon Delegation Letter
- New Hampshire Delegation Letter
- New York Delegation Letter
- Bipartisan Senate Letter
Letters sent by members of Congress about NEH:
- Letter led by Senators Adam Schiff (CA) and Jack Reed (RI) and Rep. Dina Titus (NV) and signed by 133 members of Congress
- Oregon Delegation Letter
- Massachusetts Delegation Letter
Advocacy Tip of the Month: Engaging Lawmakers at Townhall Meetings
If you are planning to attend a townhall with one of your lawmakers, read this blog by the Congressional Management Foundation from 2017 on How to Effectively Engage Lawmakers at Townhall Meetings. If your lawmakers are holding a townhall near you, take advantage of the opportunity to engage them, tell your story, and let them know how their decisions are impacting you.
