In any normal year, spring can be a very busy time in Congress as advocates for nearly every federal program make their case to legislators. In case you haven’t heard, this is not a normal year. The tension, the uncertainty, and the stakes on Capitol Hill have all been ratcheted up even further; in part by a new president whose preliminary budget proposes deep cuts across a wide range of federal agencies. But despite these conditions, museum advocates have managed to once again make their voices heard. Last week, a record 166 U.S. Representatives joined a letter calling for robust funding in Fiscal Year 2018 for the Office of Museum Services (OMS) at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
“It is gratifying to see such a strong display of bipartisan support, with a record number of Democrats and a record number of Republicans standing up for the Office of Museum Services,” said Alliance President and CEO Laura Lott. “We have a lot of work ahead of us, but now is a great time to take a moment and thank your legislators who signed this letter. We also couldn’t have built this support without four of our champions in Congress: U.S. Representatives Paul Tonko, Leonard Lance, Louise Slaughter, and David McKinley.”
This progress in Congress is possible in part due to a record-breaking showing at Museums Advocacy Day 2017, when over 380 museum supporters from all 50 states made the case in 423 congressional offices. Advocates continued to make the case online, responding to Alliance advocacy alerts this year with more than 23,000 emails and calls to their legislators. Letters in support of funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities also received impressive support in the U.S. House of Representatives. Thank you to all of the partner organizations and advocates who took action!
What You Can Do: Thank Legislators on Social Media
Legislators need to know that their actions are noticed and appreciated by the museums they represent. So here’s the best way to thank them:
- Use our Legislator Lookup page to find your Representative and their Facebook and Twitter accounts.
- Check the list at the bottom of this alert to see if your Representative signed.
- Say “Thank You!” You can use our sample posts to get started. Be sure to use #museumsadvocacy. Also tag the Alliance (@AAMers) and your legislators in your posts and tweets.
Sample Social Media Posts:
- Facebook – Museums are essential! We join the American Alliance of Museums in thanking [Rep. _______________ ] for signing on to this year’s OMS letter and for your support of [your museum]. #museumsadvocacy
- Facebook – [Your museum name] is essential in our community. We join the American Alliance of Museums in thanking [Rep. _______________ ] for signing this year’s OMS letter in support of funding for museums. #museumsadvocacy
- Twitter – [Your museum] thanks [Rep. _______________ ] for signing on to this year’s OMS letter! Museums are essential. #museumsadvocacy
- Twitter – Thank you [Rep. _______________ ] for signing on to this year’s OMS letter and supporting [your museum name]! @AAMers #museumsadvocacy
Coming Soon: Senate Letter of Support
Skip over related stories to continue reading articleAfter a strong showing in the House of Representatives, this effort now moves to the United States Senate, where we expect a similar letter of support to begin circulating very soon. If you haven’t already done so, please help maintain this momentum by urging your Senators to sign on.
Tell Senators: Sign on to Support the Office of Museum Services
FY 2018 House Office of Museum Services Letter Signers
Letter leaders in bold below.
Alma | Adams | (D-NC) |
Karen | Bass | (D-CA) |
Joyce | Beatty | (D-OH) |
Ami | Bera | (D-CA) |
Donald | Beyer Jr. | (D-VA) |
Sanford | Bishop Jr. | (D-GA) |
Earl | Blumenauer | (D-OR) |
Suzanne | Bonamici | (D-OR) |
Brendan | Boyle | (D-PA) |
Robert | Brady | (D-PA) |
Susan | Brooks | (R-IN) |
Anthony | Brown | (D-MD) |
Julia | Brownley | (D-CA) |
Cheri | Bustos | (D-IL) |
G. K. | Butterfield | (D-NC) |
Michael | Capuano | (D-MA) |
Salud | Carbajal | (D-CA) |
Tony | Cárdenas | (D-CA) |
André | Carson | (D-IN) |
Kathy | Castor | (D-FL) |
Judy | Chu | (D-CA) |
David | Cicilline | (D-RI) |
Yvette | Clarke | (D-NY) |
Wm. Lacy | Clay | (D-MO) |
Emanuel | Cleaver | (D-MO) |
Mike | Coffman | (R-CO) |
Steve | Cohen | (D-TN) |
Chris | Collins | (R-NY) |
Barbara | Comstock | (R-VA) |
Gerald | Connolly | (D-VA) |
John | Conyers, Jr. | (D-MI) |
Joe | Courtney | (D-CT) |
Kevin | Cramer | (R-ND) |
Charlie | Crist | (D-FL) |
Danny | Davis | (D-IL) |
Susan | Davis | (D-CA) |
Peter | DeFazio | (D-OR) |
Diana | DeGette | (D-CO) |
John | Delaney | (D-MD) |
Mark | DeSaulnier | (D-CA) |
Theodore | Deutch | (D-FL) |
Debbie | Dingell | (D-MI) |
Lloyd | Doggett | (D-TX) |
Dan | Donovan | (R-NY) |
Mike | Doyle | (D-PA) |
Keith | Ellison | (D-MN) |
Eliot | Engel | (D-NY) |
Anna | Eshoo | (D-CA) |
Elizabeth | Esty | (D-CT) |
Dwight | Evans | (D-PA) |
John | Faso | (R-NY) |
Bill | Foster | (D-IL) |
Marcia | Fudge | (D-OH) |
Tulsi | Gabbard | (D-HI) |
Ruben | Gallego | (D-AZ) |
John | Garamendi | (D-CA) |
Jenniffer | González-Colón | (R-PR) |
Josh | Gottheimer | (D-NJ) |
Raul | Grijalva | (D-AZ) |
Luis | Gutiérrez | (D-IL) |
Colleen | Hanabusa | (D-HI) |
Alcee | Hastings | (D-FL) |
Denny | Heck | (D-WA) |
Brian | Higgins | (D-NY) |
James | Himes | (D-CT) |
Jared | Huffman | (D-CA) |
Will | Hurd | (R-TX) |
Sheila | Jackson Lee | (D-TX) |
Pramila | Jayapal | (D-WA) |
Hakeem | Jeffries | (D-NY) |
Eddie Bernice | Johnson | (D-TX) |
Henry | Johnson, Jr. | (D-GA) |
William | Keating | (D-MA) |
Robin | Kelly | (D-IL) |
Joe | Kennedy | (D-MA) |
Ruben | Kihuen | (D-NV) |
Dan | Kildee | (D-MI) |
Ron | Kind | (D-WI) |
Raja | Krishnamoorthi | (D-IL) |
Ann McLane | Kuster | (D-NH) |
Leonard | Lance | (R-NJ) |
James | Langevin | (D-RI) |
John | Larson | (D-CT) |
Brenda | Lawrence | (D-MI) |
Al | Lawson | (D-FL) |
Barbara | Lee | (D-CA) |
Sander | Levin | (D-MI) |
John | Lewis | (D-GA) |
Ted | Lieu | (D-CA) |
Dan | Lipinski | (D-IL) |
Dave | Loebsack | (D-IA) |
Zoe | Lofgren | (D-CA) |
Alan | Lowenthal | (D-CA) |
Ben Ray | Luján | (D-NM) |
Michelle | Lujan Grisham | (D-NM) |
Stephen | Lynch | (D-MA) |
Carolyn | Maloney | (D-NY) |
Sean Patrick | Maloney | (D-NY) |
Doris | Matsui | (D-CA) |
A. Donald | McEachin | (D-VA) |
James | McGovern | (D-MA) |
David | McKinley | (R-WV) |
Jerry | McNerney | (D-CA) |
Gregory | Meeks | (D-NY) |
Gwen | Moore | (D-WI) |
Seth | Moulton | (D-MA) |
Stephanie | Murphy | (D-FL) |
Tim | Murphy | (R-PA) |
Jerrold | Nadler | (D-NY) |
Richard | Neal | (D-MA) |
Donald | Norcross | (D-NJ) |
Eleanor Holmes | Norton | (D-DC) |
Tom | O’Halleran | (D-AZ) |
Beto | O’Rourke | (D-TX) |
Frank | Pallone, Jr. | (D-NJ) |
Bill | Pascrell, Jr. | (D-NJ) |
Donald | Payne, Jr. | (D-NJ) |
Ed | Perlmutter | (D-CO) |
Scott | Peters | (D-CA) |
Collin | Peterson | (D-MN) |
Chellie | Pingree | (D-ME) |
Stacey | Plaskett | (D-VI) |
Mark | Pocan | (D-WI) |
Jared | Polis | (D-CO) |
Mike | Quigley | (D-IL) |
Kathleen | Rice | (D-NY) |
Cedric | Richmond | (D-LA) |
Ileana | Ros-Lehtinen | (R-FL) |
Jacky | Rosen | (D-NV) |
Dennis | Ross | (R-FL) |
C.A. Dutch | Ruppersberger | (D-MD) |
Bobby | Rush | (D-IL) |
Linda | Sánchez | (D-CA) |
John | Sarbanes | (D-MD) |
Jan | Schakowsky | (D-IL) |
Adam | Schiff | (D-CA) |
Bradley | Schneider | (D-IL) |
David | Scott | (D-GA) |
Robert | Scott | (D-VA) |
Pete | Sessions | (R-TX) |
Carol | Shea-Porter | (D-NH) |
Kyrsten | Sinema | (D-AZ) |
Albio | Sires | (D-NJ) |
Louise | Slaughter | (D-NY) |
Adam | Smith | (D-WA) |
Darren | Soto | (D-FL) |
Jackie | Speier | (D-CA) |
Elise | Stefanik | (R-NY) |
Eric | Swalwell | (D-CA) |
Mark | Takano | (D-CA) |
Mike | Thompson | (D-CA) |
Scott | Tipton | (R-CO) |
Dina | Titus | (D-NV) |
Paul | Tonko | (D-NY) |
Niki | Tsongas | (D-MA) |
Marc | Veasey | (D-TX) |
Filemon | Vela | (D-TX) |
Nydia | Velazquez | (D-NY) |
Tim | Walz | (D-MN) |
Bonnie | Watson Coleman | (D-NJ) |
Peter | Welch | (D-VT |
Frederica | Wilson | (D-FL) |
Joe | Wilson | (R-SC) |
John | Yarmuth | (D-KY) |
Ted | Yoho | (R-FL) |
Don | Young | (R-AK) |
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