House Votes to Up NEA's Budget by $10 Million

July 18, 2002; Page A27
By Dan Morgan, Washington Post Staff Writer

The Republican-controlled House voted 234 to 192 yesterday to approve an increase of nearly 10 percent in the 2003 budget for the National Endowment for the Arts, an agency that GOP conservatives had targeted for deep cuts or elimination just a few years ago.

The vote came a couple of hours before the House passed a $20.4 billion natural resources and arts bill that exceeds President Bush's request by nearly $1.5 billion. Late yesterday, the House also voted to prevent the administration from taking any action that could pave the way for drilling off the California coast north of Santa Barbara. House members approved the Interior bill by a vote of 377 to 46.

The NEA came under sharp attack from the new Republican majority in the House in 1995 because of unhappiness over grants to controversial artists during the Clinton administration. But yesterday, 42 Republicans voted for an amendment to give the NEA $10 million more than Bush requested, bringing the total to $120 million.

Government funding for the NEA is now a "nonissue" and Congress is "very satisfied" with the agency, said Rep. Ralph Regula (R-Ohio), who has played a key role in reshaping the NEA's mission.

Under changes pushed by Congress, grants for artists and art education have been dispersed to states more evenly, and there have been no "egregious grants," Regula said.

Critics of the extra funding argued that it was inappropriate given growing outlays for homeland defense and counterterrorism.

"We've got a war going on; let's give it a rest," said Rep. George R. Nethercutt (R-Wash.), who added that "everyone in the House supports the arts."

Bush has vowed to control spending, but that is proving difficult. Earlier this week, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a 4.1 percent pay increase for federal workers, the same as House legislation but more than what Bush wanted. The National Treasury Employees Union called it a "critically important step in the right direction."

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