Advocacy Alert – April 7, 2022

In this Alliance Advocacy Alert:

• Act Now: FY 2023 House OMS Funding Letter Now Circulating
• Good News in President’s FY 2023 Budget Proposal: Proposed Funding Increases for OMS, NEH, NEA

House OMS Appropriations Letter Now Circulating – Ask Your Representative to Sign On Today!

Representatives Paul Tonko (D-NY), David McKinley (R-WV), Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and Andy Barr (R-KY) are now circulating a letter to their House 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 Representative to sign on today. The letter is a key measure of legislators’ support for federal funding for museums, and it is especially important now to build on our momentum from Museums Advocacy Day. We urge museum advocates who participated in virtual Congressional Meetings to follow up with their congressional contacts and encourage their Representative to sign on.

The deadline for Representatives to sign this letter is Friday, April 22.

Please contact your Representative today!

Good News: President’s FY 2023 Budget Proposal Includes Funding Increases for OMS, NEH, NEA

Last week the Biden Administration released its FY 2023 budget proposal, which calls for significant funding increases for multiple agencies that benefit museums, including:

IMLS Office of Museum Services: The budget request proposes $52.4 million for OMS, which if enacted would be a $5 million increase compared with FY 2022, and includes:

• $1.7 million proposed increase for National Leadership grants
• $500,000 proposed increase for Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services
• $769,000 proposed increase for the Museum Grants for African American History and Culture
• $2 million proposed increase for the National Museum of the American Latino grants program
• $1.1 million proposed increase for Research, Analysis, and Data Collection

National Endowment for the Humanities: $200.6 million, which if enacted would be a $20.6 million increase compared with FY 2022.

National Endowment for the Arts: $203.5 million which if enacted would be a $23.5 million increase compared with FY 2022.

While museums have strong bipartisan support on Capitol Hill, these positive proposals to Congress only reaffirm how critical the museum field’s ongoing advocacy efforts continue to be. The President’s request is just the beginning of the annual budget and appropriations process. The museum field must continue to work with its allies in Congress on both sides of the aisle to ensure support for museums is expanded. We are committed to helping ensure that all legislators understand that museums are essential community infrastructure, and will continue to bolster the efforts of thousands of museum advocates nationwide.

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