AEMI Statement to House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee regarding FY 26 NEA and NEH Funding
April 4, 2025
Dear Chairman Simpson and Ranking Member Pingree,
On behalf of the Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE), I urge the Subcommittee to fund the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) at no less than $209 million each in Fiscal Year (FY) 2026.
Many members of DPE’s affiliate unions in the arts, entertainment, and media industries earn their living working on NEA and NEH-supported productions, programs, and performances. Still more union creative professionals who are employed now in the commercial parts of these industries started their careers working in the nonprofit arts and public media.
Providing no less than $209 million each for the NEA and NEH will ensure that the agencies can continue to support good-paying, family-supporting jobs for middle-class Americans across every state and congressional district. The two agencies are economic drivers that help put people to work creating artistic and educational content, and often in places far from large cultural centers. NEA and NEH-funded programs help veterans heal from the invisible scars of war, inspire the next generation of creators and innovators, and unite people across small towns and big cities. Increasing the NEA and NEH annual funding level to no less than $209 million in FY 2026 is also an important step toward a historical full funding level of $341 million, or $1 per capita.
NEA and NEH funding is also good for local economies. Research shows that audiences spend an estimated $38.46 per person, per event, beyond the cost of admission, on an assortment of goods and services within the communities where they attend arts and cultural programs.
In addition, for many creative professionals, NEA and NEH-funded programs have served as an entry point to careers in commercial arts and entertainment, particularly people who grew up in rural areas. NEA and NEH-funded programs provided these individuals opportunities to develop valuable skills, gain on-the-job experience, and build professional connections.
Put simply, the NEA and NEH continue to be critical agencies for America’s workers and its local economies. Both endowments deliver a high return on investment and cannot be replaced by the private sector. I urge the Subcommittee to fund the NEA and NEH at no less than $209 million each.
If you have any questions, please contact me or DPE Assistant to the President/Legislative Director, Michael Wasser, at mwasser@dpeaflcio.org.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Dorning, President
DPE Statement for Record for DOGE Subcommittee Hearing on NPR/PBS
March 25, 2025
Dear Chairwoman Greene and Ranking Member Stansbury,
On behalf of the Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE), I wish to share our perspective on the importance of public media and the need for Congress to continue funding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).
By way of introduction, DPE is a coalition of 24 national unions representing over four million professionals in nearly every sector and industry. Members of six DPE affiliate unions – American Federation of Musicians (AFM), Directors Guild of America (DGA), International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), and the Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) – work for public television and radio stations across the United States, and on productions created for these outlets. Union members in public media are local reporters, broadcast journalists, writers, editors, producers, control room operators, directors, stage managers, audio and video engineers, technicians, makeup artists, hair stylists, stagehands, performers, musicians, accountants, and graphic designers, among other roles.
Union professionals working on air and behind the scenes across public media demonstrate the economic case for continued, full CPB funding. These are everyday, middle class Americans who are able to sustain careers that provide family-supporting pay, health insurance, and retirement security. They are part of the more than 19,000 people living in big cities and small towns who make real public media’s mission to educate and inform by creating quality, often local, content that is available to virtually every American.
Indeed, for many of these professionals, a commitment to public media’s mission is the reason why they have passed up on more lucrative opportunities in commercial media. They are proud to contribute to quality educational children’s programs, to tell stories about the uniqueness of the American experience, and to take part in their local public media stations’ community enrichment initiatives. Union public media professionals know that the programs they help create – including well-known, long-running public television shows like This Old House, American Masters, and Antiques Roadshow, and popular public radio shows like American Routes – are meaningful to their communities and the American public. Public media union professionals also hold themselves to rigorous ethical standards, a virtue recognized by Americans consistently saying they trust public media.
For some union members, public media has served as an entry point to careers in commercial media, particularly people who grew up in rural areas far from the country’s larger media markets. Local public television and radio stations provided these individuals opportunities to develop valuable technical skills, gain on-the-job experience, and build professional connections.
In closing, I urge this Subcommittee to recognize the economic value of CPB funding and to appreciate the contributions of the professionals who work in public media across the United States. Slashing funding for any part of public media will cost jobs and economically hurt everyday people, while disadvantaging Americans who currently enjoy and benefit from public media programming.
If you have any questions, please contact me or DPE Assistant to the President/Legislative Director Michael Wasser.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Dorning, President