Advocacy Alert – July 31, 2026

In this Alliance Advocacy Alert:

• Webinar: What It’s Like to Participate in Museums Advocacy Day
• Save the Date: Museums Advocacy Day 2027
• Take Action: Voice Your Concerns About the Proposed OMB Rule
• Take Action: Protect the Independence of the Smithsonian and America’s Museums
• Appropriations Updates
• Invite Congress 2026: Are You Hosting a Visit? Let AAM Know.
• Advocacy Tip of the Month: Increase the Impact of Your Message

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Webinar: What It’s Like to Participate in Museums Advocacy Day

August 6 at 2 pm ET. Curious about Museums Advocacy Day? Whether you’re considering attending for the first time or simply want to learn more, this webinar will give you an inside look at the experience. Hear directly from past Museums Advocacy Day participants as they share why they attend, what they gained from the event, and what first-time attendees can expect.

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Save the Date: Museums Advocacy Day 2027

We are happy to announce that Museums Advocacy Day 2027 will be held in Washington, DC, on February 22-23, 2027. The new home base hotel for the event will be The Westin Washington, DC City Center. Registration will open later this fall.

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Take Action: Voice Your Concerns About the Proposed OMB Rule

AAM joined nine other associations in submitting comments to the OMB proposed rule on Regulations for Federal Financial Assistance prior to the comment period deadline. You can read AAM’s comments here. The OMB proposed rule would gut peer review of grants leaving grant decisions in the hands of political appointees as well as allowing for grants to be terminated without any chance of appeal. If you are not familiar with the OMB Proposed Rule, please view the July 2 Advocacy Alert for more information.

The next step is for you to encourage Congress to pass language in Appropriations or other legislation to prevent the OMB rule from going into effect. AAM has set up a draft letter you can use to contact your members of Congress with this message. Make sure you edit the letter to let them know how the proposed changes will impact you and your museum.

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Take Action: Protect the Independence of the Smithsonian and America’s Museums

As noted in our July 20 Advocacy Alert, AAM has issued a statement regarding the independence of the Smithsonian Institution and America’s museums. Since then, members of Congress held two hearings on Capitol Hill targeting the Smithsonian, and the White House issued another Executive Order aimed at the institution on Friday. Additionally, the Democrats on the Committee of House Administration released their own report countering the arguments in the White House report.

If you have not already done so, we encourage you to write your members of Congress regarding the independence of the Smithsonian and all museums. We have a draft letter for you to edit and send.

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Appropriations Updates

Last week, the House passed a continuing resolution to fund the federal government at current levels until December 4, 2026. The Senate is still in negotiations on the continuing resolution and could release their version any day.

The House Appropriations Committee has released its versions of the individual Appropriations bills (see the June Advocacy Alert for details). As of the time of the Advocacy Alert, the Senate has not released any of its drafts of the individual Appropriations Bills.

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Invite Congress 2026: Are You Hosting a Visit? Let AAM Know!

Currently, 85 museums have signed up to participate in inviting their members of Congress to visit their museum in the month of August (or later in the year). If you did not sign up to participate but will host one or more of your members of Congress at your museum, please let us know about it by filling out a meeting report form and sharing photos from your event. Also make sure to include #InviteCongress in any social media posts so we see them! Knowing about these visits is very helpful information as we target our advocacy efforts.

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Advocacy Tip of the Month: Increase the Impact of Your Message

While AAM provides you with template messages to use for contacting lawmakers, it is important that you take a few extra minutes to edit those templates to make them unique to you and your experience. Lawmakers want to hear how the laws and policies they pass will impact the constituents they were elected to represent. Without personalizing your messages, your lawmaker will not hear your individual story and understand how the policies specifically impact you and your museum. Whenever you use a template message, if it allows you to edit it, take that opportunity to do so and increase the impact of your message.