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Advocacy: Empower your voice. The Alabama Alliance for Arts Education is the official state Americans for the Arts Advocacy Captain. As your Huntsville affiliate office, HAAE can help you plug in to informed advocacy sources, techniques, and issues. Join our e-advocacy list to receive legislative updates on current arts education policy issues, and join us in Washington D.C. this April as we lobby to Congressional Representatives on behalf of Alabama's arts. Stay tuned for more information about upcoming arts advocacy events in our community.
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- President Obama's Proposed Tax Reform in Budget Plan May Affect Charitable Giving
09-19-2011:
The Obama administration has recently released the American Jobs Act,
which attempts to address sagging job growth with a combination of tax
and spending policies aimed at encouraging private sector hiring. As
part of the proposal, the administration has once again recommended
capping itemized deductions at 28 percent (down from 35 percent) for
gifts to charity for the highest earning brackets. Read this Washington Post article for more information on the potential impact the nonprofit arts sector fears these reforms could have on charitable giving. - Celebrate National Arts in Education Week! September 11 - 17, 2011
09-12-2011:
Last year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution
declaring the week following the second Sunday of September as Arts in
Education Week. Visit our website to find ways you can get involved and promote arts education in your community this week and check out our arts education blog salon. - Time Running Out for Congressional FY 2012 Appropriations Process
09-05-2011:
This week, Congress returns from their August recess to resume work on
the FY 2012 appropriations process, as they have yet to complete any of
the yearly funding bills. With only 11 working days scheduled before the
start of the the next fiscal year on October 1, it seems likely that
Congress will need to pass a Continuing Resolution to keep federal
agencies, including the National Endowment for the Arts, operating at
the previous year's levels while they work out a long-term funding bill. - Deficit Reduction "Super Committee" May Impact Charitable Deduction
08-29-2011: When Congress returns from recess in September, the 12 members of the House and Senate
making up the newly appointed “super committee” will begin to discuss
new deficit reduction policy changes. While it is unclear what the final
proposal will look like, some have included changes to the charitable
deduction. Americans for the Arts has joined Independent Sector and
other organizations from across the nonprofit sector in expressing
concern and will continue to monitor these proposals. - Congress in Recess for August
08-22-2011:
Congress has recessed for its summer district work period for the month
of August and will return on Wednesday, September 7 to continue work on
appropriations legislation for FY 2012. Neither the House nor the
Senate have approved the FY 2012 Interior bill, which would fund the
National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the
Humanities. The process will be further delayed as Congress must now
also consider the cuts required by the debt limit deal and how they
will impact this year's budget. - Americans for the Arts Signs Letter in Support of Charitable Deduction
08-15-2011:
Americans for the Arts has joined Independent Sector and more than 150
other organizations in a letter to President Obama and congressional
leaders urging them to reject proposals to limit the value of itemized
deductions for charitable donations. As Congress continues to work on
debt reduction solutions, Americans for the Arts remains vigilant on
the impact these proposals could have on the charitable sector. Read the full-page ad that ran in Politico. - White House Features Champions of Change for Arts Education
08-08-2011:
The Champions of Change initiative, started earlier this year, focuses
on different leaders in different subjects and initiatives each week,
including veterans, NASA innovators, AIDS researchers, and leaders in
small business and clean energy. During the week of July 25, the White
House focused on leaders in the field of arts education. Americans for
the Arts was proud to serve as one of the organizations that assisted the White House
and the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities in
nominating some of the Champions that were selected. You can see the
profiles of the champions on the White House website. - U.S. House Rejects Amendment to Further Cut NEA Funding
08-01-2011:
The amendment to the House Interior Appropriations bill proposed by
Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) that would have cut an additional $10.6 million
from the National Endowment for the Arts failed by a vote of 240-181
last week. See how your representative voted here.
The next step is for the entire House Interior bill to be completed and
voted on with the committee-set appropriation of $135 million for the
NEA in the legislation. It is unclear when that will occur. - NEA Funding Cut to Head to U.S. House Floor This Week
07-25-2011:
The Interior Appropriations bill, which proposes to reduce NEA funding
by $20 million to $135 million for FY 2012, is scheduled to head to the U.S. House floor this week
as the next step in the funding process. On the House floor, the
bill could be subject to amendments to increase the cut even further or
eliminate the NEA altogether. - Full U.S. House Appropriations Committee Approves $20 million Cut for NEA
07-18-2011: The full U.S. House Appropriations Committee passed FY 2012 budget legislation
that included a $20 million cut in funding for the National Endowment
for the Arts from the agency's FY 2011 level of $155 million.
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