Last Monday, the Trump administration released the broad outlines of its FY 2020 budget request. Today, the administration released more detailed budget documents.

The Bad News

For the third year in a row, the administration is calling for the elimination of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Department of Education’s Title VI and Fulbright-Hays programs, and several other humanities funding streams. See our full funding chart here.

The Good News

In each of the past two years, Congress forcefully rejected Trump’s proposal. Instead of eliminating funding for the agency, the Republican-controlled Congress passed increases. What’s more: we are well positioned to achieve additional increases this year as a result of years of hard work on the part of humanities advocates who have made clear that federal funding for the humanities is crucial to communities around the country.

Members of Congress are circulating bipartisan letters asking for robust increases in funding for the humanities. Last week, we welcomed nearly 200 advocates to Washington D.C. for Humanities Advocacy Day. These advocates urged their Members of Congress to sign on to letters on behalf of the NEH and Title VI and Fulbright-Hays.

The more Members of Congress who sign these letters, the more likely we are to see increased funding for these programs.

Encourage your Member to sign on to these letters! Join us in taking action for the NEH and for Title VI and Fulbright-Hays. And please spread the word!