The House-Senate 2004 Interior Appropriations Conference Committee agreed on significant budget increases for the National Endowment for the Arts ($6.7 million) and the National Endowment for the Humanities ($11.2 million). The House and the Senate approved the conference report in the fall.
The $11.2 million increase for the NEH constitutes the largest dollar increase in thirteen years. Of the new funds, about $10 million is allocated to the NEH’s We the People initiative on American history and civics. Five million of the NEA’s increase is designated for Challenge America, an initiative that makes the arts more widely available in underserved communities across the country.
