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THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE

HUMANITIES AND THE NATIONAL

ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS: OVERVIEW

OF PROGRAMS AND NATIONAL IMPACT

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTHY 

FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES 

COMMITTEE ON 

EDUCATION AND LABOR

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, MAY 8, 2008

Serial No. 110–91

Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and Labor

(

Available on the Internet: 

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/house/education/index.html 

(II)

COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR 

GEORGE MILLER, California, Chairman

Dale E. Kildee, Michigan, Vice Chairman 

Donald M. Payne, New Jersey 

Robert E. Andrews, New Jersey 

Robert C. ‘‘Bobby’’ Scott, Virginia 

Lynn C. Woolsey, California 

Rube ́n Hinojosa, Texas 

Carolyn McCarthy, New York 

John F. Tierney, Massachusetts 

Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio 

David Wu, Oregon 

Rush D. Holt, New Jersey 

Susan A. Davis, California 

Danny K. Davis, Illinois 

Rau ́l M. Grijalva, Arizona 

Timothy H. Bishop, New York 

Linda T. Sa ́nchez, California 

John P. Sarbanes, Maryland 

Joe Sestak, Pennsylvania 

David Loebsack, Iowa 

Mazie Hirono, Hawaii 

Jason Altmire, Pennsylvania 

John A. Yarmuth, Kentucky 

Phil Hare, Illinois 

Yvette D. Clarke, New York 

Joe Courtney, Connecticut 

Carol Shea-Porter, New Hampshire 

Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon, California, 

Senior Republican Member 

Thomas E. Petri, Wisconsin 

Peter Hoekstra, Michigan 

Michael N. Castle, Delaware 

Mark E. Souder, Indiana 

Vernon J. Ehlers, Michigan 

Judy Biggert, Illinois 

Todd Russell Platts, Pennsylvania 

Ric Keller, Florida 

Joe Wilson, South Carolina 

John Kline, Minnesota 

Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Washington 

Kenny Marchant, Texas 

Tom Price, Georgia 

Luis G. Fortun ̃ o, Puerto Rico 

Charles W. Boustany, Jr., Louisiana 

Virginia Foxx, North Carolina 

John R. ‘‘Randy’’ Kuhl, Jr., New York 

Rob Bishop, Utah 

David Davis, Tennessee 

Timothy Walberg, Michigan 

[Vacancy]

Mark Zuckerman, Staff Director 

Vic Klatt, Minority Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTHY FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES 

CAROLYN McCARTHY, New York, Chairwoman

Yvette D. Clarke, New York 

Carol Shea-Porter, New Hampshire 

Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio 

Rau ́l M. Grijalva, Arizona 

John P. Sarbanes, Maryland 

Jason Altmire, Pennsylvania 

John A. Yarmuth, Kentucky 

Todd Russell Platts, Pennsylvania, 

Ranking Minority Member 

Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon, California 

Kenny Marchant, Texas 

Luis G. Fortun ̃ o, Puerto Rico 

David Davis, Tennessee 

[Vacancy] 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

Hearing held on May 8, 2008 ................................................................................. 1

Statement of Members: 

McCarthy, Hon. Carolyn, Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities, Committee on Education and Labor ..................... 1

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 2

Platts, Hon. Todd Russell, Senior Republican Member, Subcommittee 

on Healthy Families and Communities, Committee on Education and 

Labor .............................................................................................................. 2

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 3

Statement of Witnesses: 

Burns, Ken, filmmaker ..................................................................................... 4

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 6

Cole, Bruce, chairman, National Endowment for the Humanities ............... 13

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 14

Gioia, Dan, chairman, National Endowment for the Arts ............................ 20

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 22

Glacken, Hon. William F. Mayor, Freeport, NY ............................................ 27

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 28

Kelly, Ryan, Captain, U.S. Army, retired ....................................................... 35

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 36

Schmedlen, Jeanne H., board member and former chair, Pennsylvania 

Humanities Council; former speaker’s representative, Pennsylvania 

Council on the Arts ....................................................................................... 29

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 31

Watkins, Katrine, librarian, Shaler Area Intermediate School .................... 33

Prepared statement of ............................................................................... 34

(1)

THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE

HUMANITIES AND THE NATIONAL 

ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS: OVERVIEW

OF PROGRAMS AND NATIONAL IMPACT 

Thursday, May 8, 2008

U.S. House of Representatives 

Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities 

Committee on Education and Labor 

Washington, DC

The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:00 a.m., in Room 

2175, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Carolyn McCarthy 

[chairwoman of the subcommittee] presiding. 

Present: Representatives McCarthy, Shea-Porter, Kucinich, Sarbanes, Platts, and McKeon. 

Staff present: Tylease Alli, Hearing Clerk; Adrienne Dunbar, 

Education Policy Advisor; Lloyd Horwich, Policy Advisor for Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education; Lamont Ivey, Staff Assistant, Education; Deborah Koolbeck, 

Policy Advisor for Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities; Margaret Young, Staff Assistant, Education; Stephanie 

Arras, Minority Legislative Assistant; James Bergeron, Minority 

Deputy Director of Education and Human Services Policy; Cameron 

Coursen, Minority Assistant Communications Director; Chad Miller, Minority Professional Staff; Susan Ross, Minority Director of 

Education and Human Resources Policy; and Linda Stevens, Minority Chief Clerk/Assistant to the General Counsel. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY [presiding]. Calling the hearing to 

order. A quorum is present. The hearing of the subcommittee will 

come to order. 

Pursuant to Committee Rule 12(a), any member may submit an 

opening statement in writing, which will be made part of the permanent record. 

Before we begin, I would like everyone to take a moment to ensure your cell phones and BlackBerrys are off, members included. 

I now recognize myself, followed by the ranking members, Mr. 

Platts from Pennsylvania, for an opening statement. 

To be very honest with you, Mr. Platts and I have already decided that we are going to change this around a little bit. We will 

both introduce our opening statements for the record. A number of 

our witnesses are on time constraints. We are scheduled to have 

votes around 10:15, 10:20. So to try to get this thing moving and 

2

try to get all the testimony in so there is not a delay for a lot of 

people, we are going to really just go straight into the testimony. 

Mr. Platts? 

[The statement of Mrs. McCarthy follows:]

Prepared Statement of Hon. Carolyn McCarthy, Chairwoman, 

Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities 

As you all know, if you attend my hearings, I often speak of how much I like this 

subcommittee because we handle a lot of issues which directly impact people’s 

lives.The hearings we hold and give us the opportunity to improve people’s lives and 

the community in which they live. That’s why it seems so appropriate to me that 

the Subcommittee has the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts under our jurisdiction. 

The arts and humanities directly impact the lives of each citizen in this nation 

and the arts and humanities have the potential to improve communities across this 

nation. During my time in Congress I have become increasingly familiar and impressed with the work of both the NEA and the NEH. 

The history of these agencies is not without its questions or concerns. In the late 

1980’s and early 1990’s the NEA, and with it NEH, suffered from controversy. In 

the mid-1990’s, perhaps in response to other grant controversies and other concerns, 

Congress cut the budgets of both agencies by approximately one third and reforms 

were enacted. Since the mid-1990’s the agencies have seen less controversy. This is, 

in part, due to the fact that the leadership of both agencies has led them forward. 

Sensible reforms have also been made. 

There is no way that we could possibly explore all of the remarkable programs 

that both of these agencies are engaged in during the course of this hearing. 

In recent years, the NEA has set a goal to have at least one grant recipient in 

every Congressional district in order to increase access to the arts for each citizen. 

The NEH has been working on the Digital Humanities Initiative which is aimed at 

fostering the growth of programs that incorporate digital technologies. As we are living in the digital age, the humanities and the arts are carrying us forward. 

The endowments and their missions have evolved over time, and I am happy to 

help spread the word about these programs and their impact. Today we are going 

to hear from the heads of both agencies, as well as from grantees of each agency. 

We will hear about their experiences working with the two agencies. 

Both the NEA and NEH are involved in more programs than would seem obvious 

to the casual observer. For example, I recently learned that the NEA was involved 

in the Mayors’ Institute for City Design. This program connects mayors with architects and designers to tackle local challenges and help Mayors transform communities through good planning and design. Mayor William Glacken from the Village 

of Freeport, NY, in my district, attended this institute and we will hear from him 

today. 

Research shows that experiences with the arts and humanities improve students’ 

creative problem-solving and innovative thinking skills and can strengthen the mental agility in our older population. Experts say this sort of thinking process may 

help ward off mental diseases such as Alzheimer’s.The arts and the humanities 

ground us, inspire us, and challenge us to grow and expand. Both are truly part 

of the human condition and have a major impact on people’s lives, in our nation’s 

communities and around the world. 

I look forward to today’s testimony. 

Mr. PLATTS. Thank you, Madam Chair. I am glad to submit my 

statement for the record. And thank you for holding this important 

oversight hearing. 

And just want to, most importantly, thank all of our participants 

on the panel for your dedication to telling the story of the importance of the arts and the humanities and the impact it has on our 

nation’s citizens and, I will say especially as a parent of a 3rd-grader and 5th-grader, on our youth and the lasting impact it has on 

them. 

So, appreciate. We will get right to your testimonies. And thank 

each of you for being here. 

3

[The statement of Mr. Platts follows:]

Prepared Statement of Hon. Todd Russell Platts, Ranking Minority 

Member, Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities 

Good morning and welcome. I would like to first thank Chairwoman McCarthy 

for holding this hearing to learn more about the National Endowment for the Arts 

and the National Endowment for the Humanities. I would also like to thank all of 

the panelists for joining us today and providing some insight as to how the arts and 

humanities are used to educate children across America. 

I have seen first-hand the benefits of NEA and NEH local grants in my District, 

including a living museum program interpreting the Underground Railroad, several 

ballet and symphony performances, and a symposium on the events at Little Round 

Top during the Civil War battle at Gettysburg. In addition, their national projects, 

such as The Big Read, Shakespeare in American Communities, and We the People, 

have positively impacted students in my District and across the country. 

As a member of both the Congressional Arts Caucus and the Congressional Humanities Caucus, I strongly believe that exposing children to the arts and humanities can spur their interest in various subjects, as well as afford students with wellrounded educations. The NEA and NEH stimulate children by allowing them to 

learn through paintings, photographs, poetry, plays, and other interactive activities. 

I look forward to learning more about how the Endowments not only engage 

teachers and schools, but educate teachers about effective ways to teach the arts 

and humanities to their students. In addition, I am interested to hear about the various state initiatives and how states respond to the different educational needs of 

students in diverse geographical and economic settings. 

Again, I thank all of the witnesses for joining us and look forward to their testimony. With that, I yield back. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Thank you, Mr. Platts. 

Without objection, all members will have 14 days to submit additional materials or questions for the hearing record. 

Let me explain quickly the lighting system. In front of you, you 

will see that little box. It is green, yellow and red. When your testimony starts, it will start on green. Yellow means start to wind up 

your testimony. And red means, you know, we will let you finish 

your sentence, but then go forward with that. 

Today we will hear from a panel of witnesses. Your testimonies 

will proceed in the order of your introduction. I am going to be brief 

with the introductions, given that we have such a large panel for 

this hearing. 

Our first witness is Mr. Ken Burns. I yield to the distinguished 

Congresswoman from New Hampshire, Ms. Shea-Porter, to introduce him. 

Ms. SHEA-PORTER. Thank you, Chairwoman. 

I am pleased to have the opportunity today to introduce a resident of my home state of New Hampshire, Ken Burns. Probably 

you really don’t need this introduction if you have ever watched television or a documentary. 

Ken Burns has built quite the impressive resume through over 

30 years of work as a documentary filmmaker. The topics of his 

documentaries range from Thomas Jefferson, my personal hero, to 

the Civil War to World War II and even a history of the Congress. 

Of course, these are just a few. 

The honors and awards that have been bestowed upon Ken’s 

work include two Oscar nominations, the Peabody Award, and 

seven Emmy awards. And my staff member pointed out that that 

is seven more than I have ever received. The full list of his awards 

is certainly much longer than this, but I think, based on these exVerDate 0ct 09 2002 14:32 Sep 02, 2008 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 G:\DOCS\110TH\HFC\110-91\41983.TXT HBUD1 PsN: DICK
4

amples, we can all get a sense of how truly accomplished Ken really is. 

And I would like to add, Ken, that you were the one who managed to get every generation of my family sitting together, interested in the same show at the same time. So I thank you for that. 

So, in the interest of keeping this very brief, I will just conclude 

by welcoming you, thank you for coming, and saying how happy I 

am to see you here today testifying on such an important issue. 

Thank you, and I yield back. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. I thank you, Ms. Shea-Porter. 

Again, we are going to be a little unorthodox. Again, Mr. Burns 

has to leave here by 10:55, and we are going to have votes. 

So, Mr. Burns, if you would give your 5 minutes of testimony, 

and then we will follow through. Thank you. 

STATEMENT OF KEN BURNS, FILMMAKER 

Mr. BURNS. Good morning. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman and 

distinguished members of the subcommittee, Ms. Shea-Porter, 

thank you. It is an honor for me to appear before you today, and 

I am grateful that you have given me this opportunity to express 

my thoughts on the programs of the National Endowment for the 

Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

Let me begin by saying that I am a passionate supporter of the 

Endowments and their unique role in fostering creativity and 

scholarship and the transmission of the best of our diverse culture 

to future generations. In my view, anything that threatens the Endowments weakens our country. While they have nothing to do 

with the actual defense of our nation, I know that, they just help 

to make our country worth defending. 

Few institutions provide such a direct, grassroots way for our 

citizens to participate in the shared glories of their common past, 

in the power of the priceless ideals that have animated our remarkable republic and our national life for more than 200 years and in 

the inspirational life of the mind and the heart than an engagement with the arts and humanities always provides. 

For all of my life, I have been a student of our nation’s diverse, 

fascinating history and rich cultural legacy. I have been foremost 

a filmmaker, but I also think of myself as an amateur historian—

‘‘amateur’’ in the classic 19th-century sense. That is, one who engages in the study of a subject out of a deep and abiding love and 

a desire to share that knowledge with as many of his fellow citizens as possible. 

And for more than 30 years, I have been producing historical documentary films that shed light on facets of that subject that I love 

so dearly. These films range from the construction of the Brooklyn 

Bridge and the Statue of Liberty to the turbulent life of the Southern demagogue Huey Long; from the serene simplicity of Shaker 

architecture to the jubilation and spontaneity of jazz; from the sublime pleasures and unexpected lessons of our national pastime to 

the terrible watershed experiences of our civil war and World War 

II. 

Over this time, I have been able to realize my dream of sharing 

the American experience, what I have found so compelling and enduring about our epic American story. 

5

Throughout my professional life, I have been fortunate to work 

closely with both the National Endowment for the Humanities and 

the National Endowment for the Arts. Nearly all of my films have 

been produced with the support and encouragement of the National 

Endowment for the Humanities, either at the state or national 

level. On other occasions, I have enjoyed support from the National 

Endowment for the Arts. 

I first received an NEH grant in 1979, as I embarked on my first 

project for public television, a film about the construction of the 

Brooklyn Bridge. The application process was not unlike the building of that bridge: complex, demanding and time-consuming. 

[Laughter.] 

But at this very early stage of my development as a filmmaker, 

the experience of competing successfully for an NEH grant helped 

me set high standards of excellence in filmmaking, writing, scholarship, even budgeting. Throughout, we were encouraged and challenged to maintain and strengthen our commitment to the inclusion of all communities who have contributed to this great nation. 

Over the years, I would apply many times to NEH for support 

on a variety of projects. Working with NEH staff and humanities 

scholars ensured that my projects stayed true to rigorous intellectual standards and reached a broad, receptive, national audience of 

Americans. 

This interaction has been a powerful influence on my own work, 

even when my applications have not been successful. On the few 

occasions in my professional life when I did not enjoy Endowment 

support, I tried, with decidedly mixed results, to duplicate the arduous but honorable discipline the NEH imposes on every project 

that comes its way, simply because I thought it would make my 

films better. 

Without a doubt, my work could not, would not, have been possible without the Endowments. My series on the Civil War, for instance, could not have been made without early and substantial 

support from NEH. The NEH provided one of the project’s largest 

grants, thereby attracting a host of other funders. 

Many applicants find that grants from NEH or NEA are a kind 

of seal of approval that signify excellence. This coveted imprimatur 

helped me to convince private foundations, corporations and other 

public funders that my films were worthy of their support. 

NEH oversight and involvement helped me in every aspect of the 

production. And through unrelated grants to other institutions, 

they helped restore the archival photographs we would use to tell 

our histories. Much of the seminal research our scholars provided 

also came from NEH-supported projects. 

And NEH’s interest in our progress ensured at critical junctures 

that we did not stray into myth or hagiography. I am extremely 

grateful for all those things. 

The Endowments were a tremendous help to my work, and their 

recent initiatives continue to provide crucial support where it is 

most needed: in the preservation of Americans’ cultural legacy. 

I am especially impressed with the work of both Endowments in 

helping teachers bring Shakespeare, jazz and American history to 

life in the classrooms. 

6

NEA Chairman Dana Gioia and NEH Chairman Bruce Cole have 

each brought new vigor to the missions of their respective agencies. 

Chairman Dana Gioia, a poet, has developed popular programs 

that engage hundreds of thousands of high-school students in the 

recitation of poetry and the pleasure and power of great language 

spoken well. The NEA is bringing literature back into public discourse through The Big Read, introducing hundreds of thousands 

of students to their first live performances of a Shakespeare play 

and giving our military veterans a voice to write their own stories 

through Operation Homecoming. 

Thank you. 

[The statement of Mr. Burns follows:]

Prepared Statement of Ken Burns, Filmmaker 

Madame Chairwoman and distinguished members of the Subcommittee: It is an 

honor for me to appear before you today, and I am grateful that you have given me 

this opportunity to express my thoughts on the programs of the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Let me begin 

by saying that I am a passionate supporter of the Endowments and their unique 

role in fostering creativity and scholarship and the transmission of the best of our 

diverse culture to future generations. 

Few institutions provide such a direct, grassroots way for our citizens to participate in the shared glories of their common past, in the power of the priceless ideals 

that have animated our remarkable republic and our national life for more than two 

hundred years, and in the inspirational life of the mind and the heart that an engagement with the arts and humanities always provides. 

For all of my life, I have been a student of our nation’s fascinating history and 

rich cultural legacy. I have been foremost a filmmaker, but I also think of myself 

as an amateur historian—‘‘amateur’’ in the classic sense. That is, one who engages 

in the study of a subject out of a deep and abiding love. 

And, for more than 30 years, I have been producing historical documentary films 

that shed light on facets of that subject I love so dearly, American history and culture. These films range from the construction of Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of 

Liberty to the turbulent life of the demagogue Huey Long; from the serene simplicity of Shaker architecture to the jubilation and spontaneity of jazz; from the sublime pleasures and unexpected lessons of our national pastime, baseball, to the terrible watershed experiences of the Civil War and World War II. Over this time, I 

have been able to realize my hope of sharing what I have found so compelling and 

enduring about our epic American story. 

Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to work closely with both the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts. 

Nearly all of my films have been produced with the support and encouragement of 

the National Endowment for the Humanities, either at the state or national level. 

On other occasions, I have enjoyed support from the National Endowment for the 

Arts. I first received an NEH grant in 1979, as I embarked on my first project, a 

film about the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. The application process was not 

unlike the building of that bridge—a complex, demanding, and time-consuming 

process. But, at this very early stage of my career, the experience of competing successfully for an NEH grant helped me set high standards of excellence * * * in 

filmmaking, writing, scholarship, and even budgeting. 

Over the years, I would apply many times to the NEH for support on a variety 

of projects. Working with NEH staff and humanities scholars ensured that my 

projects stayed true to rigorous intellectual standards and reached a broad, receptive audience of Americans. This interaction has been a powerful influence on my 

work, even when my applications have not been successful. On the few occasions 

in my professional life when I did not enjoy Endowment support, I tried—with decidedly mixed results—to duplicate the arduous but honorable discipline the NEH 

imposes on every project that comes its way, simply because I thought it would 

make my films better. 

Without a doubt, my work would not have been possible without the Endowments. 

My series on the Civil War, for instance, could not have been made without early 

and substantial support from the NEH. The NEH provided one of the project’s largest grants, thereby attracting a host of other funders. Many applicants find that 

grants from NEH or NEA are a kind of ‘‘seal of approval’’ that signify excellence. 

7

Especially early in my career, this coveted imprimatur helped me to convince private foundations, corporations, and other public funders that my films were worthy 

of their support. NEH involvement helped me in every aspect of the production, and, 

through unrelated grants to other institutions, they helped restore the archival photographs we would use to tell our histories. Much of the seminal research our scholars provided also came from NEH-supported projects. And NEH’s interest in our 

progress ensured at critical junctures that we did not stray into myth or hagiography. I am extremely grateful for all those things. 

In a filmed interview several years ago, the writer and essayist Gerald Early told 

us that ‘‘when they study our civilization two thousand years from now, there will 

only be three things that Americans will be known for: the Constitution, baseball 

and jazz music. They’re the three most beautiful things Americans have ever created.’’ His wonderful, smile-inducing comment made me realize that my professional 

life in a way has been a series of projects that have tried to honor that statement 

of his. We grappled with many Constitutional issues in our Civil War series (the 

Constitution’s greatest test) and in many other films, including, I might add, a history of this great institution, the Congress; explored our national pastime and its 

exquisite lessons in our series on baseball; and more recently we struggled to understand the utterly American art form of jazz. 

In producing all these films we were reminded daily that the true genius of America is improvisation, our unique experiment a profound intersection of freedom and 

creativity, for better and for worse, in nearly every gesture and breath. We discovered that nowhere is this more apparent, of course, than in jazz—the subject of a 

2001 documentary series we made with support from both the NEA and the NEH. 

To me jazz is an enduring and indelible expression of cultural diversity and our nation’s great genius and promise. Jazz was founded by African-Americans, people 

who have had to improvise even more than other Americans. And in that struggle, 

they were able to create the only art form we Americans have ever invented, jazz 

music, out of which, nearly every other musical form that we enjoy today has 

sprung. R& B, soul, rock, hip hop, rap all have their ancestry in jazz music. 

Jazz offers a prism through which so much of American history can be seen—it 

was a curious and unusually objective witness to the Twentieth Century. It was the 

soundtrack that helped Americans get through two world wars and a devastating 

Depression. It is about movement and dance, communication between artist and audience, suffering and celebration. Most of all, the story of jazz is about race and race 

relations and prejudice. It is an uniquely American paradox that our greatest art 

form was created by those who have had the peculiar experience of being unfree in 

a free land, and during the production we began to suspect that African-American 

history might actually be at the heart of American history—not something we 

should separate and segregate into the cold month of February. Jazz musicians, 

Black jazz musicians in particular, carry a complicated message to the rest of us, 

a genetic memory of our great promise and our great failing, and the music they 

created and then generously shared with the rest of the world. Fittingly, both Endowments helped preserve and transmit this important story by providing major 

support that made our jazz documentary series possible. 

The Endowments were a tremendous help to my work and their recent initiatives 

continue to provide crucial support where it is most needed—in the preservation of 

America’s cultural legacy and engagement of Americans in their intellectual growth. 

I am especially impressed with the work of both Endowments in helping teachers 

bring Shakespeare, jazz and American history to life in the classroom. 

NEA Chairman Dana Gioia and NEH Chairman Bruce Cole have each brought 

new vigor to the missions of their respective agencies. Chairman Dana Gioia, a poet, 

has developed popular programs that engage hundreds of thousands of high school 

students in the recitation of poetry and the pleasure and power of great language 

spoken well. The NEA is bringing literature back into public discourse through The 

Big Read, introducing hundreds of thousands of students to their first live performance of a Shakespeare play, and giving our military veterans a voice to write their 

own stories through Operation Homecoming. Their Shakespeare and Jazz in the 

Schools educational toolkits have reached thousands of teachers and millions of students. 

NEH Chairman Dr. Bruce Cole, an art historian, has made the study and understanding of American history an even greater emphasis at his Endowment. Through 

the We the People program, the NEH has confirmed its leadership role in encouraging greater knowledge of American history and culture * * * among young people 

as well as their parents and teachers. Through public programming (like my documentary films), scholarship, education programs, state humanities councils, preservation efforts, challenge grants, and special projects such as Picturing America, that 

provide teachers with iconic American works of art as signposts to American history, 

8

the Humanities Endowment has helped address one of the greatest needs of our 

time—a deeper and richer understanding of our shared past. 

The historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. has said that we suffer today from ‘‘too 

much pluribus and not enough unum.’’ Few things survive today that remind us of 

the Union from which so many of our personal as well as collective blessings flow, 

and, in work such as my own, we are challenged to maintain and strengthen our 

commitment to inclusion of all communities who have contributed to this great nation. And it is hard not to wonder, in an age when the present moment consumes 

and overshadows all else—our bright past and our dim unknown future—what finally does endure? What exists in America today to encode and store the genetic 

material of our civilization, to inspire our children to learn the great stories of history and literature and to master and create art? I believe the Arts and Humanities 

Endowments provide one clear answer. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. I thank you for your testimony. 

Mr. Burns, for 30 years you have been a filmmaker, and during 

that time you have received grants from the NEA and NEH. Do 

you feel those grants from these agencies are critical to the continued growth of American arts and culture? 

And I guess I want to bring it down to even another area. Like, 

in my hometown, or in Long Island, we have many young people 

that are interested in getting into the arts. And how would you 

feel, you know, with the funding that hopefully will get with the 

NEH that helps those young students? 

Mr. BURNS. It is critical. And it is true in the arts, and it is true 

in the humanities. I come from a very small state—in many ways, 

like our country itself. We are stitched together by words and, most 

importantly, their dangerous progeny, ideas. 

And at a grassroots level, the arts and the humanities and the 

programs, sometimes at a local library, sometimes in a public television program that attracts tens of millions of people, help to 

stitch the still, sort of, fragile constituency that we have together. 

It has been critical over the last 30 years to everything that I 

have done. I can’t imagine any of the films that I have been known 

for being made without the rigorously earned imprimatur from the 

Humanities and the Arts. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. I thank you for that. 

And I have to say, you sound like you are from New York. You 

really talk fast. [Laughter.] 

Mr. BURNS. I was born in Brooklyn, Madam Chairwoman. That 

says it all, doesn’t it? [Laughter.] 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. That says it all. 

Mr. Platts? 

Mr. PLATTS. Thank you, Mr. Burns, for your passionate message 

and important one. 

You mentioned the important support of NEA and NEH and 

that, kind of, seal of approval, I think is how you said it, to then 

go to the foundations or corporations. 

Is there a general framework, from a percentage standpoint, on 

a typical project that is NEH money or NEA money, kind of the 

seed money, you know, that just gives you a start, that then the 

return on investment, I guess is how I would say it, for the taxpayer is dramatically greater? 

Mr. BURNS. I believe in every, sort of, metric or calculation that 

you could apply. Yes, we would normally start off a project and 

submit ourselves to the rigorous, time-consuming process of preVerDate 0ct 09 2002 14:32 Sep 02, 2008 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 G:\DOCS\110TH\HFC\110-91\41983.TXT HBUD1 PsN: DICK
9

paring a proposal for the Endowments, sometimes going to 200 or 

300 pages in the case of a large series like ‘‘The Civil War’’ or 

‘‘Baseball’’ or ‘‘Jazz.’’

Once that support came in, it not only permitted us to further 

refine scripts, but to go out into a diverse patchwork quilt of potential funders in the private sector—private foundations, corporations—and seek their support. And that money, that seed money, 

is helpful in every sense of the word. 

And if, which is rare in documentary films, these films make 

money, the program income is returned back to the Endowment. I 

am extremely proud of the fact that the $1,349,500 grant I received 

for the Civil War series was paid back in full to the Endowments, 

which allowed them to put it back into other public programs. 

And, to me, that is a model of government priming the pump, in 

the sense that President Reagan used to talk about, as a partnership between private and public monies. 

Mr. PLATTS. And that very much—I, kind of, see government’s 

role, in many ways, beyond just NEH and NEA, of, kind of, that 

helping individuals to then help themselves or advance whatever 

the cause is. 

Mr. BURNS. You are looking at, sort of, evidence of that. I don’t 

recognize the person who first knocked on the door of the NEH in 

1977 and the person I am today. And a lot of it had to do with that 

discipline I hope my testimony at least hinted at. And I will be—

I mean this from the bottom of my heart—forever grateful for that 

rigorous discipline. 

Mr. PLATTS. And the rigor of it is something that you obviously 

endorse——

Mr. BURNS. Yes. 

Mr. PLATTS [continuing]. And the changes that have occurred 

over, say, the last 20 years in what is demanded of applicants is 

something that is a positive and that we are at a right spot today, 

as compared to perhaps maybe early on, and we have kind of refined it? 

Mr. BURNS. Yes, I think that is true. 

One always wishes there was more funding. I was saying before 

the testimony that my series on the Civil War and baseball, the 

National Endowment for the Humanities’ contribution was fully a 

third of our budget. By the time we got to ‘‘Jazz,’’ the third of our 

major series, they gave the largest grant they could possibly give, 

but that represented 6 to 8 percent of our budget. 

But all of us in the documentary community, some of us complain about this rigorous process. But I felt early on to embrace it 

put me in contact with humanities scholars. 

I hired William Leuchtenburg, the dean of American historians, 

for my third film on the demagogue Huey Long, and I have used 

Professor Leuchtenburg in almost every film I have made since as 

a, kind of, you know, backstop, make sure we get it right, you 

know? 

As you are telling a dramatic story, you cut corners; it is inevitable. And to have a scholar there or the set of scholars that we 

employ reminding us of a higher calling, in essence, I think has 

made my work better, not burdened it with bureaucratic apparatus. 

10

Mr. PLATTS. Well, my time is about out. I would just say, as one 

who grew up with a great love of history—and being born in York, 

the Articles of Confederation signed there, Gettysburg and the heroic efforts of so many Americans on that battlefield, and Carlisle 

and Jim Thorpe, I kind of grew up in the middle of history. 

My worry today is how to make sure today’s generations and the 

generations to come maintain that interest and, actually, hopefully, 

strengthen it. And works such as yours, in partnership with NEA 

and NEH, certainly are playing a critical role in making sure that 

happens. 

So thank you for your testimony, and thanks for being here 

today. 

Mr. BURNS. Thank you, sir. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Ms. Shea-Porter? 

Ms. SHEA-PORTER. Thank you. 

I, too, was a transplant from Brooklyn, but I learned to speak 

slower. [Laughter.] 

And my father was born in Brooklyn, and my family is from 

there. And so, watching your documentary on the Brooklyn Bridge 

was very emotional for all of us to see that. So I just wanted to 

thank you for that and all of the other projects. 

What I wanted to ask you about was, I know that you have anecdotal evidence about how your documentaries are used in schools. 

But could you expand on that, please? A lot of people look at these 

programs and say, ‘‘Oh, that is nice, but what is it really doing for 

this generation? Are they really educating?’’

So could you just tell us what you hear from schools and administrators around the country? 

Mr. BURNS. Absolutely, and thank you for that opportunity. 

Of course, one of the silent partners here today is our magnificent Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS itself. Most 

broadcast television is sky-writing: It disappears at the first zephyr. And that is what I think you are alluding too. 

The reason why I have stayed my entire professional life in public television, despite offers that were more lucrative in one calibration of that, is because these films have an afterlife. 

We enjoy a tremendous response in schools, and PBS Video distributes these. And I am very happy to say that ‘‘The Civil War’’ 

is the most watched history video in our school systems today. And 

I have had beyond anecdotal evidence that nearly all the other 

films are engaged. 

Teachers come up to me everywhere I speak and talk about the 

way in which the book, still the greatest mechanical device on 

earth and yet suffering this day in our media culture, how they 

have been able to supplement and interest people by bringing them 

in with the stories that we have been able to tell. 

It has just been a fascinating story. I meet with kids all the time. 

I went to the National History Day at the University of Maryland, 

not too far from here, last spring in advance of our World War II 

thing, and I was mobbed like I was a rockstar. It was terrifying. 

[Laughter.] 

And it was kids who had grown up with these films in school. 

And it was interesting to see that they do permit us, I think, to 

bridge that gap between an older generation that is still devoted, 

11

understandably and delightfully so, to the book and the younger 

generation so distracted by television and computers, the Internet 

and video games, that a visual form of communication is sometimes 

a way to bring them in. 

And I have spent my entire professional career telling stories 

that haven’t been told, seeking underserved populations and reaching out to them. 

I am finishing a film on the national parks, and one of the grants 

I got from the Haas, Jr. Foundation is deliberately specified to go 

into underserved populations and to reach out to them in Spanishlanguage translation, in reaching into the inner cities to show them 

the films and having programs that bring them to our national 

parks. 

So we have done this in every single film. So just getting it out 

isn’t enough. We have other responsibilities. 

Ms. SHEA-PORTER. Right. And I want to thank you for that. 

I also would like to point out, as you know, that so much of what 

passes for history is really entertainment. And to have actually 

documentaries that provide facts is very valuable right now. Because they have crossed the line so many times in film lately, that 

to have actual facts for kids to learn, and in an entertaining manner as well, is terrific. 

Thank you. 

Mr. BURNS. Thank you. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. I would like to recognize that the ranking member on the full committee has joined us to hear the testimony, Mr. McKeon from California. 

Mr. Kucinich? 

Mr. KUCINICH. First of all, I want to welcome members of the 

panel. And thanks to each of you for your commitment to enriching 

knowledge in this country, to attempting to keep American on a 

more humane path, and to help us, in many cases, remember who 

we are, remember the finest sentiments that inform our humanity. 

I want to thank you. 

I also would like to pick up on a comment that Mr. Burns just 

made. 

When you look at our heavily mediated culture, with its 24-hour 

news cycles, cable television with the—you can be getting many different messages at once on a screen. You can get a crawl and, like, 

a ticker; you can have somebody telling you one thing, the graphics 

behind them can say another; the Internet. There seems to be, kind 

of, a linearity to our communications and a truncation, at the same 

time, which almost informs or entrains us into a shorter attention 

span. 

Mr. BURNS. That is right. 

Mr. KUCINICH. Would you agree with that? 

Mr. BURNS. I agree completely, sir. And I have worked—as you 

know, the length of my films challenge even the most attentive. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. KUCINICH. People would say, I am sure you have run into 

it, that at times you get into discussions where people would say, 

‘‘Well, this is just—people aren’t interested in this kind of stuff. 

They can’t follow it; it is too long.’’ Do you get that occasionally? 

12

Mr. BURNS. All the time, Mr. Congressman. I remember testifying before a similar committee 15 years ago, and the great anxiety was about the visual stimulation, the quick-cutting of MTV, for 

example. And now it has just gone into this multiprocessing, multilayered screen that we see on most every channel. 

I think that we begin to understand in the humanities and in the 

arts that all real meaning accrues in duration, that the work we 

are proudest of, the relationships that we care most about, have 

benefited from our sustained attention. 

And yet, we live in an environment in which we are so multitasking that we think that, because we are able to do that, that 

we are able to receive them physiologically, that meaning has accrued. It does not. 

Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Chair, you know, compare this to the 

kind of environment so many of us find ourselves in, where we are 

conducting a conversation where we are on a BlackBerry. Okay? 

All of us understand this. You are on a phone while you are driving. We are here in this committee room, and we are seeing a 

screen with votes, you know, counting down. And what happens is 

there then becomes a lack of attention. 

So what I wanted to point out is what many of you already know, 

but it bears repeating, that the kind of work that you do, Mr. 

Burns, with the documentation, literally documentaries, has a way 

of not just holding people to an attention, but also helping people 

to be able to make connections that this heavily mediated society 

with its truncated messages and skipping from one topic to another 

does not often permit. 

So I just wanted to thank you for the commitment that you have 

had, which, I imagine, in some cases, has been long-suffering, but 

to see the product of your work has really been to experience, in 

some ways, the miracle of persistence. And so we thank you. 

Mr. BURNS. Thank you, sir. 

Mr. KUCINICH. And I want to thank the chair for her role in 

causing this hearing to come forward. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Thank you, Mr. Kucinich. 

As you heard, the bells are on. What we are going to do is go 

to Mr. Cole. Mr. Platts will introduce you. And then we are going 

to try and work it out where we can run back and forth and get 

here and get it going. 

Mr. Burns, I thank you so much. In record time, you are out of 

here. [Laughter.] 

Mr. BURNS. With your permission, Madam Chairman, I would 

like to stick around for as long as my schedule permits. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. We would love to have you here. Thank 

you. 

Mr. Platts? 

Mr. PLATTS. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

And we do appreciate all of our witnesses’ understanding of the 

juggling today, with the vote schedule as it is going. 

But I am pleased to introduce Dr. Bruce Cole, chairman of the 

National Endowment for the Humanities. Chairman Cole has 

served as chairman at NEH since 2001, when he was appointed by 

George W. Bush. 

13

Dr. Cole came to the NEH in December of 2001 from Indiana 

University in Bloomington, where he served as a distinguished professor of art history and a professor of comparative literature. 

As NEH chairman, Dr. Cole has launched We the People, a program to encourage the teaching, study and understanding of American history and culture. The program includes summer seminars 

at our nation’s historic landmarks to enhance teachers’ knowledge 

of American history. In addition, the program distributes classic 

children’s books to libraries and schools across the country. 

I recently had the pleasure of meeting with Dr. Cole, and during 

this meeting we discussed the newest initiative, Picturing America. 

This program aims to teach students about American history by exposing them to high-quality reproductions of historic works of art 

and photographs, as we have here in the hearing room. 

I certainly thank Chairman Cole for his leadership at NEH and, 

again, appreciate him being today to share his knowledge and expertise. 

Thank you, Madam Chair. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Thank you. 

I know, Mr. Cole, you are also under constraints to leave. Would 

you mind giving the 5-minute testimony? 

STATEMENT OF BRUCE COLE, CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES, ACCOMPANIED BY THOMAS 

LINDSAY, DEPUTY CHAIRMAN 

Mr. COLE. Thank you very much. Thank you, Madam Chairman 

and distinguished members of the subcommittee. I am honored to 

appear before you to speak on behalf of the National Endowment 

for the Humanities. 

I ask that my prepared remarks be entered into the record. 

The NEH’s enabling legislation declares that, ‘‘Democracy demands wisdom and vision in its citizens.’’ Since 1965, the Endowment has fostered this wisdom and vision by promoting excellence 

in the humanities and conveying the lessons of history to all Americans. 

Our relatively small agency supports a variety of grant programs 

and special programs. From projects that shed light on ancient 

truths to summer workshops that refresh teachers’ knowledge of 

the humanities, the NEH is deeply engaged in our nation’s cultural 

life. 

During my time as chairman of the Endowment, we have pursued several new initiatives to fulfill our mandate to democratize 

the humanities and bring their benefits to every citizen. 

The most prominent is our We the People program, which seeks 

to encourage and strengthen the teaching, study and understanding of American history and culture. Today I want to highlight the newest element of We the People, an initiative called, Picturing America. 

This initiative is bringing high-quality reproductions of great 

American art to schools and public libraries nationwide where they 

can help citizens of all ages connect to the people, places and ideas 

that have shaped our country. 

So far, for the first round, we have had over 30,000 applications. 

We will have another round beginning August 4th. 

14

To give the committee an overview of Picturing America, I would 

now like to play a very brief video produced by the Endowment’s 

friends at the History Channel. 

[Video played.] 

Mr. COLE. Obviously just a brief glimpse of our Endowment’s 

contribution to our nation’s history and culture. And for more details, please see my prepared testimony. 

I look forward to answering your questions. Thank you. 

[The statement of Mr. Cole follows:]

Prepared Statement of Bruce Cole, Chairman, National Endowment for the 

Humanities 

Madame Chairman and Distinguished Members of the Subcommittee: I am honored to appear before you to speak on behalf of the National Endowment for the 

Humanities (NEH). I wish to begin by giving you a sense of the Endowment’s overall mission, and then discuss the ways we are fulfilling this mission through our 

programs and initiatives. 

Our agency’s enabling legislation declares that ‘‘democracy demands wisdom and 

vision in its citizens.’’ The Endowment fosters this wisdom and vision by promoting 

excellence in the humanities and conveying the lessons of history to all Americans. 

Since its funding in1965, NEH has proved to be an effective way for the federal government to promote the study and understanding of history, literature, philosophy, 

languages, and other humanities subjects throughout the nation. 

The NEH provides grants for high-quality projects that seek to preserve and provide access to cultural and intellectual resources in the humanities; strengthen humanities teaching and learning in the nation’s schools and institutions of higher 

education; facilitate basic humanities research and original scholarship; and provide 

opportunities for all Americans to engage in lifelong hearing in the humanities. The 

Endowment also provides significant support for the projects and programs of our 

essential partners, the 56 state humanities councils. NEH grants typically go to cultural institutions, such as museums, archives, libraries, colleges, universities, public 

television and radio stations, and to individual scholars. In fiscal year 2007, we received approximately 4,500 applications and awarded nearly 900 grants. 

As a taxpayer-funded agency, we believe an essential part of the Endowment’s 

mandate is to democratize the humanities and bring their benefits to citizens across 

our nation. In recent years, we have pursued several new initiatives to fulfill this 

mandate. The most prominent of these is our We the People program, now in its 

sixth year. This program seeks to encourage and strengthen the teaching, study, 

and understanding of American history and culture. 

We created this program to meet a real and significant challenge: In recent years, 

numerous surveys and tests have shown that our society is growing less familiar 

with our origins and key institutions, and our citizens less informed about their 

rights and responsibilities. 

The NEH has a crucial role to play in addressing this worrisome trend. Through 

We the People, we are leading a renaissance in knowledge about American history 

and ideals. Since its inception in 2002, the program has received over $66 million 

in support from the President and Congress. The Endowment has used these funds 

to provide over 1,400 We the People grants—and these grants have gone to every 

state and territory in the Union. 

Today, I want to discuss the newest element of We the People—an initiative 

called Picturing America. On February 26, I joined President Bush and the First 

Lady at the White House for the national launch of this initiative, which supports 

We the People’s mission in a unique and exciting way. 

Americans are united not by race or religion or birth. Instead, we are bound by 

ideas and ideals that every citizen must know for our republic to survive. That survival is not preordained: the habits and principles of our democracy must be learned 

anew and passed down to each generation. Picturing America helps us meet this 

challenge, by using great American art to ensure that our common heritage and 

ideals are known, studied, and remembered. Works of art are more than mere ornaments for the elite; they are primary documents of a civilization. A written record 

or a textbook tells you one thing—but art reveals something else. Our students and 

citizens deserve to see American art that shows us where we have come from, what 

we have endured, and where we are headed. 

With this in mind, the NEH has chosen notable works of American art that will 

bring our history and principles alive for students and citizens of all ages. Picturing 

15

America includes masterpieces of painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, 

and decorative arts, including beloved works such as Emanuel Leutze’s Washington 

Crossing the Delaware, Norman Rockwell’s Freedom of Speech, and Frank Lloyd 

Wright’s ‘‘Fallingwater’’ house. The featured works range from pre-colonial times to 

the present. 

Through Picturing America, NEH is distributing forty large, high-quality reproductions of these masterpieces to tens of thousands of schools and public libraries 

across America, including public, private, parochial, and charter schools, and home 

school associations. And they get to keep these reproductions permanently, ensuring 

that the initiative’s impact will be felt for decades. 

Along with the reproductions, schools and libraries will receive an in-depth teachers resource book, which helps educators use Picturing America to teach history, literature, and other subjects. The Endowment has also created a dynamic online resource for all Americans, located at http://picturingamerica.neh.gov. This site provides access to the images, resource book, and scores of lesson plans, and also provides detailed information on the art and artists. 

The scope of this program is unprecedented for the NEH. Through Picturing 

America, we are extending the Endowment’s reach exponentially. We are broadening public awareness of the humanities by bringing American history and art to 

millions of young people and their families. In January we began accepting applications for the fall 2008 Picturing America awards. By the time we reached the application deadline on April 15, Picturing America had received more applications than 

NEH received for all its grant programs over the past six years. 

The initiative also enjoys support from a wide range of federal partners, including, 

to date, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Office of Head Start, and 

the National Park Service. The Endowment has also forged partnerships with a 

number of non-federal supporters who are helping to extend Picturing America’s impact, including the American Library Association and the History Channel, as well 

as private philanthropists. 

We are also excited about the role the state humanities councils will play in this 

initiative. The councils have been integral to the success of the We the People program, and we look forward to their contributions to Picturing America. 

By appealing to our young peoples’ eyes, Picturing America will make an indelible 

impression on their minds and hearts. These masterpieces will give millions of students and their families a deeper understanding of American history and principles—and that will help make them better citizens. 

Another way the Endowment is democratizing the humanities is through our 

work in the digital humanities. The humanities are a dynamic enterprise, and NEH 

has a duty to stay abreast of changes in the field and provide leadership where it 

can be most effective. Digital technology is bringing the humanities to a vast new 

audience, and changing the way scholars perform their work. It allows new questions to be raised, and is transforming how we search, research, display, teach, and 

analyze humanities resources. 

To focus the Endowment’s digital efforts and ensure their effectiveness, we created an agency-wide Digital Humanities Initiative in 2006. In the brief time since 

its inception, the initiative has instituted several grant categories, attracted many 

new grant applicants to the NEH, and funded a wide range of innovative projects. 

To date, the Endowment has made 57 awards for projects that are now exploring 

new approaches to studying and disseminating the humanities. More than half of 

these grantees had never received NEH awards, which suggests that we have 

tapped an important unmet need. 

Building on the success of the initiative and demonstrating our long-term commitment to this new frontier in the humanities, we recently transformed the initiative 

into a permanent Office of Digital Humanities. This office will work with other NEH 

staff and scholars, and with other funding bodies, both in the United States and 

abroad, to pursue the great opportunities offered by the digital humanities. 

The international nature of the digital humanities is particularly important. Digital technology allows scholars from different nations to collaborate more closely. To 

this end, the Endowment is actively pursuing joint efforts with our international 

peers, which helps to fulfill the charge in our founding legislation to ‘‘foster international programs and exchanges.’’ For example, we recently joined with the United 

Kingdom’s Joint Information Systems Committee to sponsor a program of Transatlantic Digitization Collaboration Grants. These grants will help build a ‘‘virtual 

bridge’’ across the Atlantic through support of digital projects that will unify American and British collections of artifacts, documents, manuscripts, and other cultural 

materials. 

Last year NEH also entered into a partnership with the National Research Council of Italy, and we are working on other collaborations with agencies in Japan, 

16

China, Germany, and Mexico. Digital technology offers the Endowment an unparalleled opportunity to fulfill our mandate to bring the humanities to every citizen. We 

are pursuing that opportunity aggressively. 

The Endowment’s grant-making programs continue to support high quality 

projects in all fields and disciplines of the humanities. These time-tested and costeffective programs advance scholarship, education, preservation, and public understanding in the humanities throughout the United States. In FY 2007, NEH funds 

supported nearly 1,100 humanities projects in all states of the nation, as well as 

the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. territories. An additional 2,000 

awards were made, in partnership with the American Library Association, to libraries through our annual We the People Bookshelf program. The products of these 

grants, as well as the projects funded through the state humanities councils, annually reach millions of Americans of diverse backgrounds. In addition to the projects 

I have already mentioned, some of our other recent noteworthy grants and accomplishments include: • More than 4,200 teachers from every state of the nation participated in NEHsupported seminars, institutes, and workshops in 2007. Summer seminars and institutes were offered on such diverse subjects as Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, the 

works of Mark Twain, World War II and its legacy in France, the plays of William 

Shakespeare, the significance of Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, and 

the art of teaching the Italian language through Italian art. Landmarks of American 

History workshops were held for schoolteachers at Mount Vernon, Pearl Harbor, the 

FDR library and museum at Hyde Park, and Ellis Island. NEH’s education programs are based on the idea that students benefit most when their teachers have 

a mastery of their disciplines and are themselves actively engaged in learning. • The 56 state humanities councils supported thousands of high quality humanities projects that reached millions of Americans. These included reading and discussion programs, speakers’ bureau presentations, local history projects, films, exhibitions, teacher institutes and workshops, literacy programs, and Chautauqua-type 

historical performances. Whether through grant-making or sponsoring their own 

programs, state humanities councils strengthen the cultural and educational fabric 

of their states by reaching into rural areas, urban neighborhoods, and suburban 

communities. • Recent NEH grants to produce authoritative editions of the papers of notable 

Americans and other world figures, as well as other research tools and reference 

works, include the papers of Abraham Lincoln; a Documentary History of the First 

Federal Congress; an edition of the correspondence of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning; a scholarly translation of a collection of ancient Jewish 

writings, including the Dead Sea Scrolls; and an interactive website featuring the 

cartographic history of water systems in ancient Rome. NEH also is supporting a 

project at New York University to digitize thousand of pages of Afghan books, serials, and documents published between 1870 and 1930 that are currently held in 

public and private collections in the United States, Europe, and Afghanistan. Serious works of scholarship such as these are important resources for scholars, students, and teachers. 

• We are continuing our special initiative and partnership with the National 

Science Foundation to document the world’s endangered languages. This initiative 

supports projects that create, enhance, and deepen our knowledge of the estimated 

3,000 currently spoken languages that are threatened with extinction in the near 

future. Thus far, NEH has provided 53 awards totaling nearly $4.5 million for 

projects to record, document, and archive information relating to these languages, 

including the preparation of dictionaries, lexicons, and databases. For example, recent grants are supporting the preparation of a dictionary of Klallam, an endangered Salishan language spoken in Washington state and Vancouver Island; the documentation of the linguistic characteristics of the Comanche language; and a project 

at the University of California, Berkeley that is enhancing access to linguistic materials that document over 130 endangered American Indian languages. 

• Notable NEH-funded television productions that aired on PBS recently examined key aspects of American history and culture, as well as the history of other 

nations. The epic series, The War—a 14-hour, seven-episode film by noted 

filmmakers Ken Burns and Lynne Novick—aired last fall and was watched by nearly 40 million Americans. The series covered key events of World War II as seen 

through the eyes of people in four communities in the United States. The Endowment also provided funding for a two-hour documentary on Alexander Hamilton, architect of the modern American economy, champion of a strong central government, 

and leader of one of the nation’s first political parties. The prime-time broadcast of 

this film on PBS was accompanied by an extensive website with special features 

that included an interactive timeline, teacher’s guide, and video streaming. Another 

17

recent film NEH-supported, The Rape of Europa, is now being shown through theatrical release and at film festivals nationally and internationally. Adapted from a National Book Award-winning history by Lynne Nicholas, the documentary tells the 

story of the looting of European art treasures by the Nazis during World War II 

and the efforts to restore these artworks to their rightful owners. 

• The Endowment also is supporting projects related to the observance of bicentennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln in 2009. To date, NEH has invested more 

than $4.7 million in projects that will be available to the public during the bicentennial. This includes, for example, the creation and nationwide circulation of a panel 

exhibition, ‘‘Forever Free: Abraham Lincoln’s Journey to Emancipation,’’ that incorporates rare documents and drawings on Lincoln’s role in the emancipation of slaves 

during the Civil War. The exhibition is scheduled to travel to more than 100 libraries through early 2010. With a grant of $345,000 from NEH, the National Trust for 

Historic Preservation has created an exhibition and guided tours at the newly restored Lincoln Cottage in Washington, DC, which was used by Lincoln and his family as a seasonal retreat from 1862 to 1864. 

• Building on our support for projects related to our 16th President, the Endowment has embarked on a long-term initiative to observe the sesquicentennial of the 

Civil War in 2011. We have already supported a number of planning projects, including a broad-based Civil War Sesquicentennial Project hosted by the Chicago 

Historical Society; an exhibition and programs on the war in Missouri; workshops 

in Mississippi for community college faculty on ‘‘War, Death, and Remembrance: 

The Memory and Commemoration of the American Civil War; and the preservation 

of Civil War muster rolls by the Pennsylvania Heritage Society. In 2009, the interest among cultural organizations to mount such programs will intensify, and NEH 

is prepared to invest We the People funds to support these teaching and learning 

opportunities. 

Today I have only scratched the surface of the many ways in which the Endowment contributes to the well-being of our nation. We are proud of NEH’s continued 

role in cultivating the enlightened citizenship that our national survival requires. 

Madame Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank you again for this 

opportunity to discuss the plans and priorities of the NEH. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Thank you, Mr. Cole. 

And I have to say that, being that we are all on the Education 

Committee, most of us spend an awful lot of time in schools. And 

when we see our young students and how bright and enthusiastic 

they are—but we also know that they are into, as Mr. Kucinich 

said, their computers and everything else like that. But when you 

bring the art into the classroom, it just certainly brightens their 

whole world. 

And in my former life before I came here, I was a nurse. And I 

have gotten very interested in art in dealing with the mentally ill, 

on how that changes their world. And we did the same thing with 

the children who lost their parents on 9/11. We brought in an art 

program back into my district to have them heal their wounds and 

certainly express themselves through art. 

So I thank you for that. 

Mr. Platts? 

Mr. PLATTS. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

Dr. Cole, thanks for your presentation and sharing the video. 

I want to, kind of, echo the chairwoman and especially the NEH’s 

partnering with teachers and what a critical partnership that is. 

And I know from my own experience, beyond the upbringing of 

my mom and dad and their lessons of being engaged in community 

service, it was my 8th-grade history teacher, social studies teacher, 

that inspired my interest in the political arena and in public service. And I have known ever since that this very job I now hold is 

what I hope to do. 

18

And I think I mentioned when we met recently, my 3rd-grade 

son, Tom, when we were looking at the pictures and the George 

Washington ones, he just did a term paper in 3rd grade—it is kind 

of high-school level from when I was there—on George Washington. 

And your organization, NEH, partnering with their teachers because of, through them, how you will reach our children in just 

such huge numbers. 

And you mentioned the number of applications you have. And I 

guess that is my one question, is just, if you could expand on this 

new Picturing America and the interest. And my understanding is 

the outreach to, whether it be urban, suburban or rural settings, 

teachers, public schools, charter schools, private schools, that it is 

comprehensive. And if you could expand on that, that would be 

great. 

Mr. COLE. I would be happy to do that. 

Let me just talk a little bit about what the chairwoman said. 

I taught, co-taught I should say, in 1st and 4th grade at Robert 

Brent Elementary School here. They are a pilot recipient of Picturing America. We piloted in 1,500 schools. Fifty percent of those 

schools were in cities under 25,000. 

I really spent a sleepless night before I did that. I said, how am 

I going to speak to 1st-graders and 4th-graders? When I got into 

that classroom, I was just amazed at the creativity and enthusiasm 

and excitement that these pictures generated, not only on the part 

of the 1st-and 4th-graders, but on the part of the teachers. I didn’t 

get a word in edgewise. 

This, Picturing America, extends the NEH’s reach exponentially. 

Hitherto, we have supported an effort that reached 4,000 libraries. 

That was our We the People Bookshelf, which sends high-quality 

books on American history themes—courage, freedom, created 

equal—to public libraries. 

We had, in 3 months, over 30,000 applications from public libraries and schools—schools all over the country and schools in our 

major cities. New York City, which was the first large district to 

come in, has 1,400 schools. This will reach 1,100,000 students. 

We are going to have a second round, which will begin on August 

4th. We hope to reach another 30,000 students. 

What I like about this so much is that this is the most direct 

way, the way with the fewest barriers, to get our young people and 

our library patrons into American history and culture. And it is especially important, I think, when waves of new people are coming 

to this country and they don’t have that good language schools. 

And it is not cooked for them, as the teacher said. I love this 

video, because you see it at work. It is not cooked for them. It is 

a process of discovery. 

And the other interesting part of this that I am so enthusiastic 

about is that this will introduce kids to art. I taught in university, 

a Class 1 research university. Many of my students, middle-class 

students, had never been to a museum. They had no art in their 

homes. 

But just think about the millions of kids who are in inner-city 

schools, less privileged schools, who will never get to a museum, 

even if a museum is a couple miles away—or rural areas. This will 

introduce them not only to their history in the most direct way, 

19

with the fewest barriers, but it will also give them a sense of the 

transformative power that art can have in their lives. And I think 

that is a great gift. 

Mr. PLATTS. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Thank you. 

With your indulgence now, we are down to zero time for our 

votes, we will run, vote, and come back. So we are in recess. We 

will be back. 

[Recess.] 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. The committee will now come to order. 

Let us explain what the situation is. They are starting to do 

some procedural votes, so we are going to have interruptions, it 

seems, continuously. I already have permission that I will miss the 

next vote, and then we will have a recommittal, which will be 15 

minutes, 10 minutes of debate, 15 minutes. So we are hoping that 

we are going to be able to get through at least the testimony before 

I have to leave. 

My colleague has to leave for the 5-minute vote. We are going to 

win, so they don’t need my vote. [Laughter.] 

It is nice being in charge. 

Anyway, let us go on. 

Mr. PLATTS. And, Madam Chair, just to express my appreciation 

to our witnesses as well and understand the juggling we are doing. 

And after this, for the chair, we probably have about a 45-minute 

block before the next long series. But we do appreciate your understanding. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. So we should be able to get through the 

testimony. 

May I introduce next Mr. Gioia. He is responsible for the agency’s national initiatives, a series of programs in different disciplines 

that provide excellent and varied arts experiences for audiences 

across the country. We look forward to hearing of this work and 

other activities at the NEA. 

Now it is also my honor to introduce the mayor of Freeport, New 

York, William Glacken. The village of Freeport is in my district, 

and I was happy to learn that Mayor Glacken attended the NEA 

program, which will help improve the quality of life in his village. 

I look forward to learning of this program and the activities that 

it has spurred. 

I now yield again to Mr. Platts to introduce our next witness. 

Mr. PLATTS. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

I am very pleased and proud to introduce a constituent, longtime friend and former coworker. When I was right out of college, 

Jeanne Schmedlen and I had the pleasure to work for Governor 

Thornburgh way back when. 

Jeanne, it is great to see you, and thanks so much for being here 

with us. 

Jeanne currently serves as the director of special projects and 

chief of protocol for the speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and has served as a public servant in state government for many years, as I referenced. 

Jeanne has been a life-long supporter of the arts and humanities 

and has volunteered her time as a board member of several state, 

national and local performing and visual arts organizations. 

20

Jeanne is the first Pennsylvanian to be appointed to serve on the 

board of directors of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council by two 

successive governors, importantly, of different parties. In Pennsylvania politics, that is quite an accomplishment. Jeanne has also 

served as chairman of the board, as well as the development committee chair to the Pennsylvania Humanities Council. And for her 

unwavering support of the arts and humanities, Jeanne was recognized as a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania in 2005. 

So, Jeanne, thanks so much for being here with us. And I hopefully am going to get to hear your testimony, as well. So we appreciate your service in Pennsylvania and your testimony here today. 

Thank you. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. The next witness is Katrine Watkins. 

Holds two master’s degrees, including one in library science. For 

the past 10 years, she has been the librarian at Shaler Area Intermediate School. She is a published poet and has crafted innovative 

activities and games for young people. She will tell us today about 

the Picturing America in her school. 

May I apologize for Mr. Altmire; he is on the floor. It is his 

amendment that is up next. So that is why he is not here to introduce you. 

Our final witness today is Mr. Ryan Kelly, retired captain of the 

Army National Guard. Today Mr. Kelly will share his experiences 

working with the NEA program Operation Homecoming, which 

helps troops and their families write about their wartime experiences. We look forward to learning about this program. 

For those of you who have not testified before this subcommittee, 

let me explain our lighting system—which I did in the beginning. 

For everyone, including members, we are limited to 5 minutes for 

our presentation or questioning. 

We are ready to go. 

STATEMENT OF DANA GIOIA, CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL 

ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS 

Mr. GIOIA. Good morning, Madam Chairman and distinguished 

Ranking Member. And good morning, too, to the hardworking staff 

members here. 

I would like to enter my written testimony into the record and 

spend this time, which is the first time we have had the opportunity to speak before this subcommittee, less formally. 

The NEA is a 43-year-old public agency that has made enormous 

contributions to American culture. Yet, despite its many accomplishments, in the 1990s the agency became embroiled in many 

controversies that weakened its ability to serve the American people. 

When I arrived at the agency 51⁄2 years ago, the NEA was still 

reeling from the cultural wars. Its morale was low. Its strategies 

were uncertain and defensive. Its relations with Congress were 

problematic. Its reputation with the press was mixed, at best. And 

its credibility with the American people had been compromised. 

While the survival of the agency seemed secure, there was a general consensus among all of our constituents that our best days 

were behind us. 

21

I am both happy and relieved to report that none of these issues 

face us today. The agency is full of renewed energy and confidence 

in its mission. We are backed by the enthusiastic support of both 

the arts and the educational communities. The agency’s public 

credibility has never been higher. And we have won and, we hope 

with you, maintain broad bipartisan support from Congress. The 

once-skeptical press now recognizes and celebrates our progress. 

In essence, what we have done is to build a positive, inclusive, 

national consensus about the importance of supporting the arts and 

arts education through the federal government. 

We have accomplished this turnaround by focusing on three core 

values that are consistent both with the public nature of the agency and the nature of art itself. Those values are artistic excellence, 

fair and democratic access, and, finally, a belief in the transformative power of art, both in the lives of individuals and in communities. 

Now, I could talk about each of these qualities forever, but, in 

the interest of time, I would like to say how they are embodied in 

our very simple mission statement, which is to bring the best of 

arts and arts education to all Americans. And we have been committed to this despite our limited budget, our limited personnel, 

and, dare I say, 6 years ago, the widespread expectations of failure. 

We have brought this ambitious mission to reality in many ways, 

but most dramatically through the new national initiatives that 

reach, today, every corner of the United States. These programs 

allow the agency to serve millions of Americans, especially students, in both cost-effective and artistically effective, powerful 

ways. And we have been able to add these ambitious programs 

without cutting any of our core, established programs. 

Now, most of the issues facing local arts organizations, individual 

artists, are national, even global, issues. And the local situation is 

most effectively and efficiently solved by strategic national action 

brought to a local level. 

The nature and quality of these national initiatives is perhaps 

best illustrated through our first one, Shakespeare in American 

Communities. This initiative helps fund superb American theater 

companies to tour and provide high-school students with the opportunity to see the Shakespeare play that they are actually studying, 

supported by prize-winning, free educational material provided by 

the NEA to all teachers in public, private, religious, and home 

schools. 

To date, the Shakespeare program has allowed 77 companies to 

visit over 2,300 municipalities and 3,000 high schools across all 50 

states, as well as military installations, providing employment for 

2,000 actors, bringing 1.3 million students into a professional production of Shakespeare, and, perhaps most important, reaching 20 

million kids in their classrooms. It would be hard to overstate the 

impact of this. 

We have similar programs in jazz, in poetry recitation. We have 

also done programs such as the Mayors’ Institute and Operation 

Homecoming that will be discussed by other witnesses. And our 

American Masterpieces program tours visual, dance, theater and 

music programs and has created the largest literary program in the 

United States. 

22

And each of these things has been done in partnership with regional arts organizations, local arts organizations, individual arts 

organizations, mayors’ offices, libraries, and schools. 

And during these 5 years, we have also been able to address 

what I think was a major and real issue with the Endowment: a 

perceived elitism, because we did not serve almost 20 percent of 

the United States, representing 80 million people in 125 congressional districts. I am happy to report that we now reach every community in the United States and have had, for the last 5 years, a 

grant in every congressional district serving these people. 

I look forward to answering any of your inquiries. 

[The statement of Mr. Gioia follows:]

Prepared Statement of Dana Gioia, Chairman, National Endowment for the 

Arts 

Madame Chairwoman and Distinguished Members of the Subcommittee: I am 

honored to appear before the committee to report on the current state of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and provide you with information on our programs and national initiatives. 

Over the last six years, the National Endowment for the Arts has demonstrated 

what the agency can accomplish with a compelling vision and exemplary performance. There is a new consensus in Washington and across the nation that the National Endowment for the Arts makes a singular contribution to the lives of all 

Americans. We do this by fostering artistic excellence and bringing the best of the 

arts and arts education to all Americans. I am proud to say that the agency is now 

operating with high artistic standards, inclusive partnerships, improved efficiency, 

and unprecedented democratic reach. 

I. Background 

The Current State of the Arts in America 

The arts are a reflection of America’s identity and civilization—dynamic, diverse 

and original. America’s artistic achievements encompass traditional fields like literature, concert music, painting, theater, and design, and pioneering efforts in 

newer forms such as jazz, blues, film, modern dance and musical theater. Over the 

past century, no other nation has surpassed the United States in its creative 

achievements—from the high arts to folk and popular arts. And it is not an accident 

that there is a deep connection between creative genius in the arts and our nation’s 

success in science, business and technology. 

In other ways, however, we are experiencing an impoverishment of American culture. Fifty years ago, along with Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, and Sandy Koufax, 

most Americans could have named, at the least, Robert Frost, Carl Sandburg, Arthur Miller, Thornton Wilder, Georgia O’Keeffe, Leonard Bernstein, Leontyne Price, 

and Frank Lloyd Wright. Not to mention scientists and thinkers like Linus Pauling, 

Jonas Salk, Rachel Carson, and Margaret Mead. 

Americans were not smarter then, but American culture was. Even the mass 

media placed a greater emphasis on presenting a broad range of human achievement. Televised variety programs like the Ed Sullivan Show, featured classical musicians like Jascha Heifetz and Arthur Rubinstein, opera singers like Robert Merrill 

and Anna Moffo and jazz greats like Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. The 

same was true of literature. Robert Frost, John Steinbeck, Lillian Hellman and 

James Baldwin were featured on general-interest television shows. All of these people were famous to the average American—because the culture considered them important. Today, no citizen would encounter that range of arts and ideas in the popular culture. Almost everything in our national culture, even the news, has been reduced to entertainment, or altogether eliminated. 

This loss of recognition for artists and thinkers has impoverished our culture in 

innumerable ways. Our children are not presented with role models who lead a successful and meaningful life who are not denominated by money or fame. Adult life 

begins in a child’s imagination and we have relinquished that imagination to the 

marketplace. 

The role of culture must go beyond economics. Culture should help us know what 

is beyond price and what does not belong in the marketplace—providing some cogent view of the good life beyond mass accumulation. In this respect, our culture 

is failing us. 

23

Arts Education 

There is only one social force in America potentially large and strong enough to 

counterbalance this commercialization of cultural values—our educational system. 

At one time the majority of public high schools in this country provided a music program with choir and band, sometimes a jazz band, or even an orchestra. High 

schools offered a drama program, sometimes with dance instruction. And there were 

writing opportunities in the school paper and literary magazines, as well as studio 

art training. 

We are sorry to note that these programs are no longer widely available. This 

once visionary and democratic system has been almost entirely dismantled by wellmeaning but myopic school boards, county commissioners and state officials. Art has 

become an expendable luxury, and 50 million students have paid the price. Today 

a child’s access to arts education is largely a function of his or her parents’ income. 

The purpose of arts education is not to produce artists, though may be a byproduct. The real purpose of arts education is to create complete human beings capable 

of leading successful and productive lives in a free society. 

This is not happening now in American schools. The situation is a cultural and 

educational disaster with huge and alarming economic consequences. If the U.S. is 

to compete effectively in the new global marketplace, it is not going to succeed 

through cheap labor or cheap raw materials, nor even the free flow of capital or a 

streamlined industrial base. To compete successfully, this country needs creativity, 

ingenuity and innovation. 

Civic Engagement 

Marcus Aurelius believed that the course of wisdom consisted of learning to trade 

easy pleasures for more complex and challenging ones. Our culture is trading off the 

challenging pleasures of art for the easy comforts of entertainment. And that is exactly what is happening—not just in the media, but in our schools and in civic life. 

Entertainment promises us a predictable pleasure—humor, thrills, emotional titillation or even the odd delight of being vicariously terrified. It exploits and manipulates who we are rather than challenging us with a vision of who we might become. 

Recent studies conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts, in partnership 

with the U.S. Census, have found that our country is dividing into two distinct behavioral groups. One group spends most of its free time sitting at home as passive 

consumers of electronic entertainment. The other group also uses and enjoys the 

new technology, but these individuals balance it with a broader range of activities. 

They go out—to exercise, play sports, volunteer and do charity work at about three 

times the level of the first group. What is the defining difference between passive 

and active citizens? It is not income, geography or even education. It is whether or 

not they read for pleasure and participate in the arts. These cultural activities seem 

to awaken a heightened sense of individual awareness and social responsibility. 

Today, there is a growing consensus across the country that something must be 

done to fill the vacuum created in many lives with the dominance of the commercial 

mass media and entertainment, and the loss of arts education in our schools. The 

mission of the National Endowment for the Arts is to provide national leadership 

to encourage and preserve excellent art; to help make it available to all Americans, 

especially those who traditionally have not had access to it because of economic and 

geographic barriers; and to connect and engage children and youth with America’s 

distinguished artistic legacy. 

II. NEA Goals and Accomplishments 

Over the last six years, the National Endowment for the Arts has refocused its 

programs to emphasize excellence and service to the American people. We have piloted and launched successful new approaches to public outreach and retooled our 

capacity to develop and deliver programs that celebrate the best of our culture. 

Today, we celebrate America’s great artists as recipients of NEA Jazz Masters, 

NEA National Heritage Fellows, National Opera Honors recipients, and National 

Medal of Arts awards—not only with a one-time award, but also with national 

events broadcast on television and radio. We showcase the contributions of Jazz, 

Shakespeare and poetry in classrooms using our multi-media educational toolkits 

provided free to middle and high school teachers. And we provide exemplary materials and programming that make it possible for communities and generations to 

come together to read of a literary masterpiece. 

The Arts Endowment’s programs now reach into every corner of our nation—

bringing the best of the arts and arts education to the broadest and most varied 

audiences possible. 

NEA grants are producing economic benefits throughout the country by nurturing 

local arts groups that enhance local economies. With each dollar awarded by the 

24

NEA generating on average $6-$7 dollars from other sources, the NEA is triggering 

an investment of approximately $600 million for the arts from private donors and 

non-federal sources. 

We welcome this opportunity to showcase the following programs and national initiatives that exemplify NEA’s effort to serve the American people through commitment to excellence, broad geographic reach, and arts education. 

Challenge America: Reaching Every Community 

The creation of the Challenge America program in 2001 marked a turning point 

in NEA history by challenging the NEA to broaden its service to Americans outside 

established cultural centers. The Challenge America program enabled the NEA to 

broaden the geographic distribution of grants; although initially, it failed to fully realize its goals of reaching the entire nation. In an average year, NEA direct grants 

collectively reached only about three quarters of the United States (as measured by 

Congressional districts). Consequently, areas of the nation representing more than 

70 million citizens received limited direct service from the agency. 

Five years ago, we set the goal of awarding at least one direct grant to a deserving arts organization in every Congressional district in the United States. In fact, 

we even changed the name of the program from Challenge America to Challenge 

America: Reaching Every Community. More than just a name, this change reflected 

a renewed commitment to public service and outreach. In 2005, in 2006, and again 

in 2007, the NEA realized 100% coverage with direct grants awarded in all 435 districts. In 2008, the NEA will again achieve its 100% coverage goal. The Arts Endowment considers the new Challenge America program one of its central achievements. 

Partnerships 

Everything the NEA does it does in partnership. This is most obvious in the agency’s basic grant matching requirements whereby the NEA leverages federal dollars 

by achieving private sector matches. Less evident but equally important this partnership strategy strengthens local arts organizations and builds communities. 

NEA’s project grants develop partnerships in a direct way by encouraging local investment in arts organizations. Our national initiatives create partnerships of enormous range and diversity—uniting government, non-profit, and private sector organizations in support of arts and arts education across the nation. 

A Big Read grant, for example, originates from the Arts Endowment but is administered by Arts Midwest, a regional arts organization. Each grant is then awarded 

to a local applicant (usually a library, museum, or literary organization) which uses 

it to build local partnerships that can easily involve more than a hundred organizations, including schools, newspapers, public radio and television stations, cultural 

institutions, chambers of commerce, private business, and mayors’ offices. Multiply 

these local networks across hundreds of Big Read cities in all 50 states, and one 

finds tens of thousands of partners all focused on celebrating literature. Such programs help realize the initial vision of the NEA by its founders 43 years ago to be 

a catalyst of American creativity in every corner of the nation. 

III. National Initiatives 

American Masterpieces 

Many Americans are unfamiliar with the significant artistic and cultural achievements of our nation. They have few opportunities in school or daily life to learn 

about the arts or acquire skills to appreciate or participate in them. To address this 

challenge, the Arts Endowment established American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius. It vividly embodies the goals of excellence and outreach 

by featuring educational programs along with presentations of artistic works themselves. 

Now in its fourth year, American Masterpieces has added chamber music and presenting to visual arts, dance, choral music, musical theater, and literature. American Masterpieces grants have enabled 31 museums in 16 states to tour exhibitions 

to 142 cities across the nation, reaching an estimated audience of 12 million. Choral 

music grants have supported the creation of eight regional festivals celebrating 

American choral music in 12 states and the District of Columbia. Fifty-four grants 

are helping dance companies and college dance programs revive and tour American 

choreographic masterpieces. In musical theater, 13 theater companies in 18 states 

are reviving and touring significant American musicals. All these programs are 

reaching underserved rural and urban communities and introducing new generations to their rich artistic legacy. 

25

The Big Read 

In November 2007, the NEA followed its widely discussed 2004 report Reading 

at Risk with a comprehensive new study To Read or Not to Read: A Question of 

National Consequence. This new report presents the results of governmental and 

private sector studies on reading. The data in To Read or Not To Read paints a simple, yet sad, portrait of reading in America today—Americans, especially teenagers 

and young adults, are reading less. Because they read less, they do not read as well. 

This decline in reading ability has a measurably negative impact on their educational, economic, personal, and civic lives and our nation’s future. 

Challenged to stem the decline in reading, the NEA has expanded the literary 

component of American Masterpieces called The Big Read. With Mrs. Laura Bush 

as its honorary chair, the Endowment is uniting communities and generations 

through the reading and discussion of a common book. To make The Big Read work, 

communities are creating new partnerships involving schools, libraries, literary centers, arts councils, dance and theater companies, symphony orchestras, museums, 

and television and radio stations, as well as mayors’ offices and chambers of commerce—all with the common goal of broadening the reading of quality literature in 

every segment of the community. 

In 2008, The Big Read will provide grants to cities, large and small, across all 

50 states. The goal is to reach a total of 400 cities, touching every U.S. Congressional district. Widely covered in the press, The Big Read has become a national 

symbol of the importance of reading in a free society. 

Poetry Out Loud 

Meanwhile, the NEA’s high school poetry recitation contest, Poetry Out Loud, is 

currently completing its third national year in 2008. Cosponsored by the state arts 

agencies, this highly popular program reaches all fifty states plus the U.S. Virgin 

Islands and the District of Columbia. Since it began as a pilot program in 2005, 

nearly 450,000 students have entered the competition. This program combines literary education and practical training in public speaking with the thrill of competition. 

One unexpected development in Poetry Out Loud has been its enormous popularity with the press, which often covers this arts program as if it were local sports. 

The NEA takes special pride in seeing young arts participants recognized publicly 

in their own communities on a par with local star athletes. 

Shakespeare in American Communities 

The NEA’s Shakespeare program is now in its fifth year with Shakespeare for a 

New Generation, a program that focuses on providing American students an opportunity to see a live professional performance of Shakespeare. By the end of 2008, 

some 175 grants will have been awarded to 77 theater companies to bring productions of Shakespeare to more than 2,300 communities in mostly small and mid-sized 

cities, including18 military bases. Nearly 2,000 actors have performed for 1.2 million 

students attending 3,600 middle and high schools. 

The award-winning NEA Shakespeare in American Communities classroom toolkit has now been distributed free to 55,000 schools (32% of which are located in 

rural communities) reaching 20 million students. The NEA’s Shakespeare program 

has reached deeply into all 50 states with an overwhelmingly positive response from 

teachers and students alike. 

NEA Jazz in the Schools 

The Arts Endowment’s long-standing support of jazz was broadened in 2006 with 

the NEA Jazz in the Schools program, an engaging and substantive introduction to 

jazz created for high schools. Developed with Jazz at Lincoln Center, an academic 

tool-kit, made available in January 2006, proved so popular that every kit was 

quickly requested by teachers across the U.S. The NEA’s recent budget increase allowed us to create more kits to meet thousands of unfilled backorders. The NEA 

Jazz in the Schools kit is now used by over 11,000 teachers in 8,100 schools across 

all fifty states. 

Used by teachers during Black History Month, as well as throughout the year, 

the program reaches some 5.6 million students, introducing students to jazz as a 

distinctively American art form as well as a powerful and positive force in AfricanAmerican social history. This educational program was added while the agency 

maintained its NEA Jazz Masters touring, radio, and awards programs. 

Operation Homecoming and Other Programs for the Military 

The NEA concluded the first phase of its historic Operation Homecoming program 

last year. Supported by The Boeing Company, the program brought 55 writing workshops to U.S. military bases in five countries, involving 6,000 troops and their 

26

spouses. The program climaxed with the publication of wartime writing by U.S. 

troops in The New Yorker and a volume by Random House, as well as the production of two films, one of which became a finalist for the 2008 Academy Award for 

best full-length documentary. 

The program was so meaningful to U.S. troops that we initiated a second phase 

focusing on the servicemen and servicewomen most deeply affected by the war. 

Phase II of Operation Homecoming will sponsor extended writing workshops led by 

noted American authors in 25 Veterans Administration and Department of Defense 

medical facilities as well as V.A. centers across the nation. 

International Initiatives 

When I came to the NEA in 2003, I was dismayed to learn how little was done 

in international cultural exchange. Over the past few years, the NEA has focused 

on developing several programs that showcase America’s artistic creativity and excellence abroad. We now provide assistance to U.S. music and dance ensembles invited to perform in international festivals, and we have joined with the Open World 

Leadership Program to support short-term residencies for Russian artists and arts 

administrators with U.S. arts groups. 

As a partner in the State Department’s Global Cultural Initiative launched in 

2006, the NEA has begun a series of international literary exchanges with Russia, 

Mexico, Egypt, Pakistan, and other nations. The State Department has recognized 

the potential of The Big Read to serve as an effective vehicle for cultural diplomacy. 

Big Read programs have now been initiated as mutual cultural exchanges between 

the U.S. and Russia, Egypt, and Mexico. American novels are featured in civic reading programs in those nations while classics of Russian, Egyptian, and Mexican fiction have become part of the U.S. domestic program. These bilateral literary programs also provide the basis for unprecedented exchanges as groups of writers, 

teachers, and librarians visit the host cities in each nation. 

IV. Looking to the Future 

As we look to the future, at least two major challenges face the NEA and the citizens it serves. The first is the diminished state of arts education in the nation’s 

schools. There is now an entire generation of young Americans for whom the arts 

have not played a significant role in their intellectual and personal development. 

This trend is not merely a cultural matter but a social and economic one. As these 

young men and women enter the new global economy of the twenty-first century, 

many of them will not have had opportunities to develop the skills of innovation and 

creativity they need to succeed. American schools need help to better realize and 

achieve the full human potential of their students. While we are proud of our current arts education programs, we are also deeply conscious of the millions of students, especially in the earlier grades, whom we do not reach at all. 

The second challenge speaks to an even broader issue, namely America’s place in 

the world. The United States needs to expand its cultural exchanges with other nations. This investment in cultural diplomacy would not only benefit American artists 

by providing them with greater opportunities, but more important, it would help the 

nation itself more effectively communicate with the rest of the world in ways that 

transcend political and economic issues. The arts have the potential to represent the 

best aspects of a free and diverse democracy in a way that speaks to the hearts and 

minds of people everywhere. It would be an enormous missed opportunity if the 

United States did not use the creativity of its own people in addressing the rest of 

the planet. 

The arts offer us an irreplaceable way of understanding and expressing the 

world—equal to but distinct from scientific and conceptual methods. Art addresses 

us in the fullness of our being—simultaneously speaking to our intellect, emotions, 

intuition, imagination, memory and physical senses. There are some truths about 

life that can be ex pressed only as stories or songs or images. Art delights, instructs, 

consoles. It educates our emotions. And it remembers. Art awakens, enlarges, refines and restores our humanity. 

As we contemplate the future of the National Endowment for the Arts, we remain 

confident in the continuing relevance of our mission to bring the best of the arts—

new and established—to all Americans. The Arts Endowment’s goal is to enrich the 

civic life of the nation by making the fruits of creativity truly available throughout 

the United States. In a dynamic nation with a growing and diverse population, this 

goal will remain a constant challenge: a great nation deserves great art. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Thank you. 

Next, Mayor Glacken? 

27

STATEMENT OF WILLIAM F. GLACKEN, MAYOR 

Mr. GLACKEN. Madam Chair, Ranking Minority Member and 

members of the subcommittee, I thank you for the opportunity to 

address the House of Representatives’ Committee on Education and 

Labor Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities hearing on the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, scheduled for this morning, May 8th. 

I have been the mayor of the incorporated village of Freeport, 

New York, a highly culturally diverse community of 44,000, situated on the south shore of Long Island, approximately 29 miles 

east of Manhattan, since 1997. 

In December of 2006, I had the privilege of attending the Northeast Mayors’ Institute on City Design, held at the Massachusetts 

Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The institute 

is a program of the United States Conference of Mayors and the 

National Endowment for the Arts with collaborating universities, 

in this case MIT. 

And each organization provided personnel who actively participated in the conference. The NEA’s design director at that time, 

Jeff Speck, was one of the most active and valuable members of the 

resource team. 

The Mayors’ Institute program provides a very unusual opportunity for a small number of elected officials, academic experts and 

design professionals to spend time together, focusing on and applying their expertise to real-world problems that affect the future of 

the communities that each mayor represents. 

At MIT, I was one of eight mayors participating. One of the 

unique elements of the program is that mayors are asked to attend 

without their planning or other supporting staff and to present in 

their own words the specific design or planning problem facing 

their communities. Then the problem is opened up to analysis and 

feedback, not only from the resource team professionals, but especially from the other mayors, who speak the same language and 

understand the challenges and opportunities of real-world governance as no one else can. 

The case history sessions are alternated with presentations by 

the resource team on general aspects of urban design. These presentations were a valuable part of the whole experience and reinforced the message that community design is a critically important 

process and that mayors need to be directly involved. 

When my turn came, I presented the problem of revitalizing 

Freeport’s North Main Street corridor, a one-mile corridor running 

north from the Long Island railroad station in downtown Freeport, 

which has resisted positive change for decades and which remains 

the worst-looking, most run-down portion of what is otherwise an 

attractive, stable, middle-class, residential community. 

In the course of the 3-day conference, an intense examination of 

the problem by all of the participants pointed the way to some very 

positive solutions, which I found highly encouraging. In fact, at one 

point during the conference, one of the participants remarked, in 

referring to the North Main Street corridor, ‘‘What you have here, 

Mayor Glacken, is a gold mine.’’

I left the conference feeling both enthusiastic and greatly encouraged, and with a focus on implementing the recommendation that 

28

we pursue a full, comprehensive plan for the corridor and develop 

the zoning changes that would be needed to make real change. 

The process of assembling the necessary funding took over a 

year, but with our own resources from the Community Development Block Grant program, assistance from Nassau County, and a 

special appropriation obtained through the efforts of Congresswoman McCarthy and Senators Schumer and Clinton, we are now 

in a position to hire a smart-growth planning firm with a regional 

or national reputation to complete the North Main Street corridor 

plan, including a form-based zoning code, which the village of Freeport will adopt some time next year. 

I am sure that every mayor in this country could tell you about 

the increasing limitations we have on the resources available to 

apply to the challenges we face. There is never enough time or 

money to do all that needs to be addressed. 

At the Mayors’ Institute, there was time to learn from outstanding professionals and to discuss common problems with fellow 

mayors. What a luxury that seemed during the weekend, and what 

a positive outcome it is now producing for Freeport. 

Planning is the key to the successful revitalization of aging 

downtowns across this country, because great places don’t happen 

by accident. The active participation and funding of agencies such 

as the National Endowment for the Arts ensure that the Mayors’ 

Institute program remains a rich, multifaceted experience, one that 

includes the elements of beauty and delight, along with utility and 

functionality. 

I urge you to support NEA’s continued involvement in this and 

other programs that have a real impact on communities like mine 

across the country. 

Thank you. 

[The statement of Mr. Glacken follows:]

Prepared Statement of Hon. William F. Glacken, Mayor, Freeport, NY 

Madame Chair, Ranking Minority Member and Members of the Subcommittee: I 

thank you for the opportunity to address the House of Representatives’ Committee 

on Education and Labor Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities Hearing on the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the 

Humanities, scheduled for this morning, May 8th. I have been the Mayor of the Incorporated Village of Freeport, New York, a highly culturally diverse community of 

44,000 situated on the south shore of Long Island, approximately twenty-nine (29) 

miles east of Manhattan, since 1997. In December 2006, I had the privilege of attending the Northeast Mayors’ Institute for City Design, held at the Massachusetts 

Institute of Technology, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Institute is a program 

of the United States Conference of Mayors and the National Endowment for the 

Arts with collaborating universities (in this case MIT), and each organization provided personnel who actively participated in the conference. The NEA’s Design Director at that time, Jeff Speck, was one of the most active and valuable members 

of the resource team. 

The Mayors’ Institute program provides a very unusual opportunity for a small 

number of elected officials, academic experts, and design professionals to spend time 

together focusing on, and applying their expertise to, real world problems that affect 

the future of the communities that each Mayor represents. At MIT, I was one of 

eight Mayors participating. One of the unique elements of the program is that Mayors are asked to attend without their planning or other supporting staff, and to 

present in their own words the specific design or planning problem facing their communities. Then the problem is opened up to analysis and feedback, not only from 

the resource team professionals, but especially from the other Mayors, who speak 

the same language and understand the challenges and opportunities of real world 

governance as no one else can. The case history sessions are alternated with presenVerDate 0ct 09 2002 14:32 Sep 02, 2008 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 G:\DOCS\110TH\HFC\110-91\41983.TXT HBUD1 PsN: DICK
29

tations by the resource team on general aspects of urban design. These presentations were a valuable part of the whole experience, and reinforced the message 

that community design is a critically important process, and that Mayors need to 

be directly involved. 

When my turn came, I presented the problem of revitalizing Freeport’s North 

Main Street Corridor, a one-mile corridor running north from the Long Island Rail 

Road station in downtown Freeport, which has resisted positive change for decades, 

and which remains the worst looking, most run-down portion of what is otherwise 

an attractive, stable, middle class residential community. In the course of the threeday conference, an intense examination of the problem by all of the participants 

pointed the way to some very positive solutions, which I found highly encouraging. 

In fact, at one point during the conference, one of the participants remarked, in referring to the North Main Street Corridor, ‘‘What you have here, Mayor Glacken, 

is a goldmine!’’

I left the conference feeling both enthusiastic and greatly encouraged, and with 

a focus on implementing the recommendation that we pursue a full comprehensive 

plan for the corridor and develop the zoning changes that would be needed to make 

real change. 

The process of assembling the necessary funding took over a year, but with our 

own resources from the CDBG program, assistance from Nassau County and a special appropriation obtained through the efforts of Congresswoman McCarthy and 

Senators Schumer and Clinton, we are now in a position to hire a smart-growth 

planning firm with a regional or national reputation to complete the North Main 

Street Corridor plan, including a form-based zoning code, which the Village of Freeport will adopt some time next year. 

I am sure that every Mayor in this country could tell you about the increasing 

limitations we have on the resources available to apply to the challenges we face. 

There is never enough time or money to do all that needs to be addressed. At the 

Mayors’ Institute, there was time to learn from outstanding professionals, and to 

discuss common problems with fellow Mayors. What a luxury that seemed during 

the weekend, and what a positive outcome it is now producing for Freeport. 

Planning is the key to the successful revitalization of aging downtowns across this 

Country, because great places don’t happen by accident. The active participation 

and funding of agencies such as the National Endowment for the Arts, ensure that 

the Mayors’ Institute program remains a rich, multi-faceted experience, one that includes the elements of beauty and delight along with utility and functionality. I urge 

you to support NEA’s continued involvement in this and other programs that have 

real impact on communities like mine across the country. Thank you. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Thank you, Mayor. 

Ms. Schmedlen? 

STATEMENT OF JEANNE H. SCHMEDLEN, DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL PROJECTS AND CHIEF OF PROTOCOL OFFICE, SPEAKER OF THE PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

Ms. SCHMEDLEN. Good morning. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

Thank you, Congressman, for asking me to be here today. Appreciate it. 

In delivering the Nancy Hanks Lecture in March, modern philosopher Daniel Pink spoke of society’s required shift to creativity and 

innovation for the United States of America to remain a leader in 

the new global economy. 

Bob Lynch of Americans for the Arts, in recent testimony, said 

that, ‘‘Art is a pillar of creativity and innovation.’’ So, too, are the 

humanities. 

Together, the arts and humanities have become our 21st-century 

keystone for the future in our economy, in education, and enlightenment. 

I am Jeanne Schmedlen, as Congressman Platts said. I am director of special projects and chief of protocol for the speaker of the 

Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Dennis M. O’Brien. PreVerDate 0ct 09 2002 14:32 Sep 02, 2008 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 G:\DOCS\110TH\HFC\110-91\41983.TXT HBUD1 PsN: DICK
30

viously, I have held senior staff positions with two speakers, a first 

lady, and a governor. And I think I know the commonwealth well. 

I am a life-long supporter of the arts and the humanities. And 

I greatly value the contributions of the National Endowments to 

the well-being of Pennsylvania over the past 40 years. 

The Endowments elevate, educate and stimulate like no other 

federal agencies. And they do this through direct grants and, more 

importantly, through support of their state counterparts. 

Today I would like to talk about how our partnerships with the 

Endowments allow us to reach some of whom I consider underserved populations in Pennsylvania, those living in the vast regions 

between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and in our northern and 

southern tiers. 

As the former chair of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, I 

know the value of state councils in extending the reach of the humanities to underserved populations. Across the country, councils 

use their funding from the NEH’s federal-state partnership to do 

this. And this means starting and developing relationships that 

last over many years, and building the capacity of rural organizations to do high-quality programming, connect better to their surrounding communities, and expand public participation in the humanities. 

In Pennsylvania, I have seen the council devote enormous staff 

effort to reach into every county in the commonwealth. And we 

have 67 counties. Just last December, in making decisions on 

grants, we were delighted that the application judged to be the 

highest quality was from the Northern Tier Cultural Alliance. It 

was for ‘‘2008: The Year of the Barn,’’ and it was a project on the 

importance of agriculture in the heritage and culture of Pennsylvania’s north country. 

We shaped our speakers bureau, Commonwealth Speakers, to be 

the strongest in presentations rooted in state heritage and the arts 

and made this a 67-county program every year. 

One of our speakers gave a presentation in remote Cameron 

County on ‘‘Bagpipes: A Historical Perspective.’’ Sixty people 

showed up, and he said, ‘‘As always, rural areas are starving for 

more cultural programs. An audience such as this was rather large 

for such a small community, which indicates the need.’’

In the 19th Congressional District, Congressman Platts’s district, 

where I live, which serves Adams, Cumberland and York Counties, 

I know that there has been an abundance of Commonwealth 

Speaker presentations. In the 2-year program between 2006 and 

2007, there were 31. 

The PHC also has forged a splendid partnership with the Pennsylvania General Assembly. And together, we annually host the 

Speaker’s Millennium Lecture at the Capitol, just across the river 

from Cumberland County. 

Most of our live audience for the free public lecture by prominent 

historians, academics and authors come from the 19th District, and 

our Pennsylvania Cable Network broadcasts the lecture far and 

wide across the state, reaching millions in rural areas as well as 

urban. Speakers have included historian David McCullough and 

author John Updike. 

31

The PHC systematically promotes humanities programs to county historical societies in rural counties and has achieved amazing 

results there. I would like to refer to my written testimony for 

other examples of arts and humanities programs in rural areas. 

And I would just like to conclude—here we are. I would like to 

repeat my opening statement: The arts and humanities truly are 

our keystone for the future. The ingenuity of the mind cannot be 

computerized or outsourced. The power to create and learn is in all 

of us. And through every citizen’s continued access to arts and humanities programs, we can cultivate and unleash the innovation 

and creative spirit that will sustain our country’s leadership and 

enrich and enhance our lives through the 21st century and beyond. 

I am sorry I went so long, ma’am. 

[The statement of Ms. Schmedlen follows:]

Prepared Statement of Jeanne H. Schmedlen, Board Member and Former 

Chair, Pennsylvania Humanities Council; Former Speaker’s Representative, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts 

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: In delivering the Nancy Hanks 

Lecture in March, modern philosopher Daniel Pink spoke of society’s absolutely required shift to creativity and innovation for the United States of America to remain 

a leader in the new global economy. Bob Lynch of Americans for the Arts, in recent 

testimony said that ‘‘art is a pillar of creativity and innovation.’’ So are the humanities. Together, the arts and humanities have become our 21st century keystone for 

the future, in our economy, in education, in enlightenment. 

I am Jeanne Schmedlen, Director of Special Projects and Chief of Protocol for the 

Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Dennis M. O’Brien. Previously, I held senior staff positions with two Speakers, a First Lady and a Governor. I know the Commonwealth well, I am a lifelong supporter of the arts and 

humanities and I greatly value the contributions of the National Endowments to the 

well-being of Pennsylvania over the past forty-plus years. The endowments elevate, 

educate and stimulate like no other federal agencies and they do this through direct 

grants and, more importantly, through support of their state counterparts. Today 

I will talk about how our partnerships with the endowments allow us to reach some 

of whom I consider underserved populations in Pennsylvania—those living in the 

vast region between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and in our northern and southern 

tiers. 

As former chair of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, I know the value of the 

state councils in extending the reach of the humanities to underserved populations. 

Across the country, councils use their funding from the NEH’s Federal-State Partnership to do this. And this means starting and developing relationships that last 

over many years, and building the capacity of rural organizations to do high quality 

programming, connect better to their surrounding communities and expand public 

participation in the humanities. 

In Pennsylvania, I have seen the council devote enormous staff effort to reach into 

every county in the Commonwealth, and there are 67. Just last December, in making decisions on grants, we were delighted that the application judged to be the 

highest quality was from the Northern Tier Cultural Alliance for ‘‘2008: The Year 

of the Barn,’’ a project on the importance of agriculture in the heritage and culture 

of Pennsylvania’s north country. 

We shaped our speakers bureau, Commonwealth Speakers, to be strongest in 

presentations rooted in state heritage and the arts and made this a 67-county program almost every year. 

One of our speakers, Paul Ferhrenbach, gave a presentation in remote Cameron 

County on ‘‘Bagpipes: A Historical Perspective.’’ Sixty people showed up. He told us: 

‘‘As always, rural areas are starving for more cultural programs. An audience such 

as this was rather large for such a small community—which indicates this need.’’

In the 19th Congressional district, where I live, which includes Adams, Cumberland and York counties, I know that there has been an abundance of Commonwealth Speaker presentations. In the two-year program period of 2006-2007, there 

were 31. The PHC also has forged a splendid partnership with the Pennsylvania 

General Assembly and together, we annually host the Speaker’s Millennium Lecture 

at the Capitol, just across the river from Cumberland County. Most of our live audience for the free public lecture by prominent historians, academics and authors 

32

come from the 19th district and our Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN) sends the 

lecture far and wide across the state, reaching millions more. We hosted John 

Updike and David McCullough for these lectures, among others. 

The PHC systematically promotes humanities programming to county historical 

societies in rural counties and has achieved amazing results there with groups such 

as the Warren Historical Society and the Jefferson County Historical Society, variously embracing Native American history, family histories, the heyday of the timber industry, the Depression, World War II and the New Deal. Empowered by the 

council’s support, the Jefferson County group also achieved a major direct grant 

from the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

The PHC also formed a partnership with the state arts council to expand artsrelated programming into rural areas. The council linked art to heritage and this 

had strong appeal in rural regions. The PHC awarded a grant to the Community 

Education Council of Elk and Cameron Counties for ‘‘Young Mark Twain,’’ a presentation by the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera’s Gallery of Heroes program. The presentation at five elementary schools meant, for many children in this remote rural area, 

the first time that they had seen a performance by a professional theater company. 

The council has worked intensively with public libraries in rural districts to expand their programming for adult and inter-generational audiences, especially in literature, through its book discussion series, Read About It! Since 2000 41% of these 

discussions have been in rural counties. 

The council also has developed special projects with NEH funds, and then leveraged its success to raise private money for specifically rural projects. An example 

is ‘‘Technology and Community,’’ developed with NEH funds and then expanded 

with a grant from the Heinz Endowments, and, later, ‘‘Schools and Communities,’’ 

a public engagement project for schools in southwestern Pennsylvania, also funded 

by the Heinz Endowments. 

In addition, the council has taken the initiative to shape the behavior of large institutions located in rural areas, in order to make them more responsive to local 

needs. An outstanding example of this is the partnership with the Institute for the 

Arts and Humanities at Penn State. Together, we developed ‘‘Public Humanities 

Scholars’’ to match Penn State faculty from its main and branch campuses with 

local organizations to both plan and conduct public programs in16 mostly rural 

counties. 

I greatly value my close association with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts 

(PCA). Here I have seen a deep commitment to outreach to previously underserved 

regions which has been greatly expanded during recent administrations. 

Just last month, 20 Pennsylvania communities across the Commonwealth participated in PCA’s American Masterpieces, a four-week tour of the works of American 

master choreographer and Pennsylvania native Paul Taylor’s dance companies. Students in small cities across the state gained an unsurpassable experience and creative opportunity in their own Pennsylvania hometowns that would not have been 

available to them otherwise. 

Federal arts funding also flows to benefit Pennsylvania’s school students and help 

build the workforce of the future through the PCA’s Arts in Education Partnership. 

NEA funding in partnership with state dollars assists hundreds of Pennsylvania’s 

schools to support curriculum, enrich the important work of art educators and provide additional opportunities for students to explore and develop their creative abilities. 

Other arts education projects in previously underserved regions undertaken by 

the PCA include: 

Aliquippa Middle School in Beaver County, where 7th and 8th grade students 

worked with textile artist Cathleen Richardson Bailey on a collaborative quilt 

project, ‘‘From Our Hands,’’ designed to stimulate creativity, cognizant and tactile 

abilities. 

Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 in the Lehigh Valley’s RESOLVE program hosted 

a residency by ensemble members of Touchstone Theatre. RESOLVE serves 12 

school districts in Monroe and Northampton counties and is part of the intermediate 

unit’s work with students from Partial Hospitalization Program sites and Emotional 

Support program classrooms. 

A sculpture garden was created by an artists and students at the Bentworth Elementary School in rural Bentlyville. 

South Brandywine Middle School in Coatesville developed a residency with The 

People’s Light & Theatre Company as part of their social studies curriculum in exploring Underground Railroad history with 8th grade students. 

As a result of its groundbreaking work with 17 Bradford-Tioga Head Start centers 

across Pennsylvania’s north central region, the rural Northern Tier Partnership for 

Arts in Education/Bradford County Regional Arts Council was named one of three 

33

international models for its Learning Communications Skills through the Arts program in early education. 

Yet another outstanding example of educational excellence fostered by federal and 

state arts dollars took place just yesterday in the Chamber of the Pennsylvania 

House of Representatives during our state’s annual Arts in Education Day celebration. Pennsylvania State Poetry Out Loud Champion, Francesca Fiore, a West Chester Area School District student recited a poem to enthusiastic response from the 

House members. Her performance was carried ‘‘live’’ across the state by PCN, to 

communities large and small. 

The arts and humanities truly are our keystone for the future. The ingenuity of 

the mind can not be computerized or outsourced. The power to create and learn is 

in all of us and through every citizen’s continued access to arts and humanities programs we can cultivate and unleash the innovation and creation that will sustain 

our country’s leadership and enrich and enhance our lives through the 21st century 

and beyond. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. It is quite all right. Thank you very 

much. 

Ms. Watkins? 

STATEMENT OF KATRINE WATKINS, LIBRARIAN, SHALER 

AREA INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL 

Ms. WATKINS. Good morning. 

Nine hundred 8th-and 9th-graders attend Shaler Area Intermediate School in Glenshaw, Pennsylvania, a community bordering 

on Pittsburgh. On a cold and snowy day this past January, we unpacked the Picturing America posters. We oohed and aahed, and 

then made John J. Audubon’s ‘‘American Flamingo’’ the unofficial 

mascot of our school library. 

Since then, the Picturing America grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities has truly enriched our lives. The Picturing America posters dovetail perfectly with our American Cultures courses. This semester, we have used the poster images in research projects on topics such as the Industrial Revolution, Pennsylvania Folk Art, and the Jazz Age, as well as for a display in our 

library during February for Black History Month. 

Art teachers have also used the Picturing America posters to 

highlight the American art in our district curriculum, especially 

those artists with a regional connection, such as Mary Cassatt and 

Frank Lloyd Wright. 

Both the Picturing America Web site and the teachers’ resource 

book have been described by our staff as ‘‘visually and logically organized, allowing quick access to background information, activities 

and meaningful questions.’’

In the coming year, we hope to promote the Picturing America 

program beyond our school. Our students’ parents will be able to 

view a month-long display of the posters in our school district’s administrative offices. 

We also plan, as an outreach to our community this November, 

to invite veterans who are honored at an annual celebration at our 

school to visit the Picturing America exhibit and speak with students who will volunteer as experts about the images on display. 

Valuable as the Picturing America posters are to teaching our 

curriculum, however, perhaps their greatest worth is their limitless 

potential to teach us all—students, staff and parents—about ourselves. Yes, the posters may be checked out of the library and used 

to broaden students’ knowledge of a particular place and time. But 

34

even when they are displayed on an easel, for no reason other than 

their power as works of art, they change our lives. 

An industrial arts teacher, looking at the desolation of Edward 

Hopper’s ‘‘House by the Railroad,’’ asked me, ‘‘Do you know this 

place?’’ A lanky 14-year-old 8th-grade boy does a double-take when 

he walks past the photo of Frank Lloyd Wright’s inventive masterpiece, ‘‘Fallingwater.’’ He asks, ‘‘How do you do that?’’

Last week I pulled out the photo of the ‘‘Selma-to-Montgomery 

March for Voting Rights in 1965,’’ which Dr. Cole has brought with 

him today, for a friend teaching a novel set during the civil rights 

movement. I looked at that storm cloud, real and metaphorical, 

printed the accompanying description from the Web site, and read 

about those who ‘‘face human and natural obstacles that stand in 

the way of heroic action.’’

Before I carried the poster up the hall, I was compelled to ask 

of myself, as my colleague did, ‘‘Do you know this place?’’, and to 

ask of myself, as my student did, ‘‘How do you do that?’’ And finally, these many years after the march to Montgomery, I was 

compelled to ask of myself, ‘‘Are you someone who would walk with 

them?’’

Norman Cousins said, ‘‘A library should be the delivery room for 

the birth of ideas, a place where history comes to life.’’ The Picturing America grant makes it possible for history to come to life 

at Shaler Area Intermediate School, in our classrooms and in our 

library, and for its lessons to come to life in our hearts. 

Thank you. 

[The statement of Ms. Watkins follows:]

Prepared Statement of Katrine Watkins, Librarian, Shaler Area 

Intermediate School 

Nine hundred eighth and ninth graders attend Shaler Area Intermediate School 

in Glenshaw, Pennsylvania, a community bordering on Pittsburgh. On a cold and 

snowy day this past January, we unpacked the Picturing America posters, oohed 

and aahed, and made John J. Audubon’s American Flamingo the unofficial mascot 

of our school library. Since then, the Picturing America grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities has truly enriched our lives. 

The Picturing America posters dovetail perfectly with the scope and sequence of 

our district’s Social Studies curriculum. In our American Cultures courses, 

eighthgraders study the Colonial Period through the Civil war; ninthgraders learn 

about the Westward Movement through the Cold War and take a one—term history 

course on the Sixties through the present day. This semester we have used the poster images in research projects on topics such as the Industrial Revolution, Pennsylvania Folk Art, and the Jazz Age, as well as for a display in our library during February for Black History Month. 

Art teachers have also used the Picturing America posters to highlight the American art in our district curriculum, especially those artists with a regional connection, such as Mary Cassatt and Frank Lloyd Wright. In addition, they plan to use 

the posters to supplement the teaching of various media, such as acrylic and oil 

painting, collage, pottery and sculpture, and stained glass. Several of the posters, 

such as Copley’s Paul Revere and Lange’s Migrant Mother, may be used to complement lessons on portraiture. 

Both the Picturing America web site and the teachers resource book have been 

described by our staff as ‘‘visually and logically organized, allowing quick access to 

background information, activities, and meaningful questions.’’ As the school librarian, I frequently have used both supplemental resources in making crosscurricular 

connections as I plan lessons with my colleagues. 

In the coming year, we hope to promote the Picturing America program beyond 

our school. Our students’ parents will be able to view a monthlong display of the 

posters in our school district’s administrative offices. We also plan, as an outreach 

to our community this November, to invite veterans who are honored at an annual 

35

celebration at our school to visit the Picturing America exhibit and speak with students who will volunteer as ‘‘experts’’ about the images on display. 

Valuable as the Picturing America posters are to teaching our curriculum, however, perhaps their greatest worth is their limitless potential to teach us 

allstudents, staff and parents—about ourselves. Yes, the posters may be checked out 

of the library and used to broaden students’ knowledge of a particular place and 

time, but even when they are displayed on an easel, for no reason other than their 

power as works of art, they change our lives. 

An Industrial Arts teacher, looking at the desolation of Edward Hopper’s ‘‘House 

by the Railroad,’’ asks me, ‘‘Don’t you know this place?’’

A lanky fourteenyearold eighthgrade boy does a doubletake when he walks past 

the photo of Frank Lloyd Wright’s inventive ‘‘Fallingwater.’’ He asks, ‘‘How do you 

do that?’’

Last week I pulled out the poster of Karales’ ‘‘SelmatoMontgomery March for Voting Rights in 1965’’ for a friend teaching a novel set during the Civil Rights movement. I looked at that storm cloud, real and metaphorical, printed the accompanying 

description from the Picturing America website, and read about those who ‘‘face 

human and natural obstacles that stand in the way of heroic action.’’

Before I carried the poster up the hall, I was compelled to ask of myself, as my 

colleague did, ‘‘Don’t you know this place?’’ And to ask of myself, as my student did, 

‘‘How do you do that?’’ And finally, these many years after the march to Montgomery, I was compelled to ask of myself, ‘‘Are you someone who would walk with 

them?’’

Norman Cousins said, ‘‘A library should be the delivery room for the birth of ideas 

a place where history comes to life.’’ The Picturing America grant makes it possible 

for history to come to life at Shaler Area Intermediate School, in our classrooms and 

in our library, and for its lessons to come to life in our hearts. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Thank you very much. 

Captain Kelly? 

STATEMENT OF CPT RYAN KELLY, U.S. ARMY, RETIRED, PARTICIPANT IN OPERATION HOMECOMING, A PROJECT SUPPORTED BY THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS 

Captain KELLY. Good morning. And thank you, Madam Chairwoman and staff, for having me here today. It is my profound 

honor. 

I first became involved with the National Endowment for the 

Arts through a program called Operation Homecoming. The NEA 

initiative brought distinguished writers, including Tobias Wolff, 

Tom Clancy, Jeff Shaara, Bobbie Ann Mason, and Mark Bowden, 

to conduct writing workshops at 25 military installations from 

April 2004 to July 2005. 

It also offered an open call for writing submissions to troops who 

had served since 9/11 and for their families. And that call resulted 

in more than 10,000 pages of submissions to the NEA. 

I first heard of the project when I was serving as a company commander and Black Hawk pilot in Iraq. I was stationed up by Tikrit. 

And, as you can imagine, in Iraq, the days are incredibly long, the 

weather unbearably hot and the missions unrelenting and oftentimes unforgiving. There is an undercurrent of fear and tension 

that runs through every day in Iraq, coursing though the air like 

an invisible stream, chilling every decision, every act, and every 

thought. 

So you can imagine my reaction when my soldiers came to me 

and said, we have heard about Operation Homecoming; what do 

you think? And, frankly, I didn’t know what to tell them, because 

it had never been done before. I didn’t know what the arts had to 

do with the military. 

36

But after participating in the workshops and taking part in Operation Homecoming, something remarkable and wonderful happened to them. They let down their guard, dropped their preconceived notions, and started writing. 

And I did, too. I used to sit in my office late at night and pound 

out letters home. The ability to share my experiences with my family kept me sane. Many of the soldiers kept journals, wrote poems, 

composed stories or essays. What the NEA has done with Operation Homecoming is to record those writings, unvarnished, unfettered, uncensored by distance and the reflection of time. 

This is truly a historical initiative. The NEA’s Operation Homecoming informs into the American consciousness the individual experience of war that has never been done before. 

A letter from a soldier comes home, and it arrives to the family 

members, and it is passed from hand to hand and saved in an 

album or tied with a ribbon and put in a shoebox or saved in the 

family Bible. It is saved because there is a truth—a painful, tearful, joyful truth—in it, and that truth makes the writing more than 

a living record of separation and sacrifice; it elevates it to art. 

The NEA has brought the voices of the soldiers and their experiences and their families into the living rooms of America. The NEA 

has allowed us, as a people, as a nation, to understand, or at least 

come closer to understanding, what war is and what it is not. 

This project has shown us the unimaginable sacrifices of war and 

its impact, not only on families and soldiers, but on communities, 

on states and our nation. It has illuminated the humor and insanity of the war, but, above all, the NEA has revealed the humanity 

of the people in it. And this is its most powerful revelation. 

Personally, the project gave me and still gives me a sense, as a 

soldier, as a writer, as a man and as an American, that what I was 

doing mattered; that, regardless of politics or feelings about the 

war, people back home cared about me and about my soldiers. It 

reinforced the message that America wanted to hear from us, hear 

our voices, share our experiences and remember them. For what is 

sacrifice worth if it is forgotten or ignored? 

Throughout history, soldiers have written about their experiences 

in war and combat, and some of the world’s greatest works of fiction have been told by veterans, from Cervantes to Hemmingway 

to Heller. If the quality of work in Operation Homecoming is any 

indication, there will be a whole new crop of writers to emerge directly because of the NEA. 

I urge you to continue your support of the National Endowment 

for the Arts. It is imperative that programs such as Operation 

Homecoming survive and flourish because a great nation does deserve great art. And the pursuit of that art, ma’am, is noble and 

it is right and it is just. It is not only who we are, but it is who 

we strive to become. 

Thank you. 

[The statement of Captain Kelly follows:]

Prepared Statement of CPT Ryan Kelly, U.S. Army, Retired 

Madame Chairwoman and distinguished members of the Subcommittee: 

My name is Ryan Kelly, and I come before you today to speak in support of the 

National Endowment for the Arts. I first became involved with the N.E.A. through 

its program called Operation Homecoming. 

37

The N.E.A. initiative Operation Homecoming brought distinguished writers—including Tobias Wolff, Tom Clancy, Jeff Shaara, Marilyn Nelson, Bobbie Ann Mason, 

and Mark Bowden—to conduct writing workshops at 25 domestic and overseas military installations from April 2004 through July 2005. Operation Homecoming also 

offered an open call for writing submissions to troops who had served since 9/11, 

along with their spouses and families. That call resulted in more than 10,000 pages 

of submissions. 

I first heard of Operation Homecoming while I was serving as a Company Commander and Black Hawk pilot in Iraq in 2005. I was stationed with the 1-150th 

General Support Aviation Battalion near Tikrit, Iraq. In Iraq, the days are incredibly long, the weather unbearably hot and the missions unrelenting and often, unforgiving. There is an undercurrent of fear and tension that runs through every day 

in Iraq, coursing though the air like an invisible stream, chilling every decision, 

every act, every thought. 

Soldiers do many things to while away the time when they are not working. I 

used to sit in my office late at night and pound out letters home to my wife Judy, 

and my mother Lynn. Writing helped me shed the fear of death, the fear of making 

the wrong decision, of getting my men and women killed, of killing someone else, 

of getting shot down, or blown up, the fear of ending up in one of the black-rubber 

body bags we carried in the rear of the helicopters. 

Many of my soldiers kept journals, wrote poems, composed stories or essays. Some 

kept them private, others made them public. But the work they created had one 

commonality: it captured the essence of war and more importantly, the experiences 

of the people fighting it—in Iraq and at home. The work generated by this anthology 

spans the gamut. In my own letters, I wrote about everyday life in Iraq and hero 

missions: 

* * * And they are the worst kind. It’s the body bag in the back that makes the 

flight hard. No jovial banter among the crew. No jokes of home. No wisecracks about 

the origin of the meat served at the chow hall, just the noise of the flight—the 

scream of the engines, the whir of the blades clawing at the air, the voice crackling 

over the radio and the echo of your own thoughts about the boy in the bag in the 

back * * * if it weren’t for the army uniforms and the constant noise of helicopters 

taking off and landing, and the Russian 747-like jets screaming overhead every hour 

of the day, and the F-16s screeching around looking for something to kill, and the 

rockets exploding, and the controlled blasts shaking the windows and the ‘thump, 

thump, thump’ sound of the Apache gun ships shooting their 30mm guns in the 

middle of the night, and the heat and the cold, and the hero missions and the leaking body bags and the stress, and the soldiers fraught with personal problems—

child custody battles fought from 3000 miles away, surgeries on ovaries, hearts, 

breasts, brains, cancers, transplants, divorces, Dear John letters, births, deaths, 

miscarriages and miss-marriages—and the scorpions and the spiders who hide 

under the toilet seats, and the freakish bee-sized flies humming around like miniature blimps, and the worst: the constant pang of home, the longing for family, the 

knowledge that life is rolling past you like an unstoppable freight train, an inevitable force, reinforcing the desire for something familiar, the longing for something 

beautiful, for something safe, to be somewhere safe, with love and laughter and poetry and cold lemonade and clean sheets, if it weren’t for all that, Iraq would be 

just like home. Almost. 

Peter Madsen wrote about the struggles at home. His wife, Specialist Juliet C. 

Madsen, was an Army Medic stationed in Iraq. After she deployed to war, he was 

left to care for their three children. The following is an excerpt of his letter. 

I am a single father of three, a sometimes retail and distribution manager, and 

a husband. When I first thought about my wife going over there, in the desert, I 

had to smile; even she will admit that she looks a little funny with all her gear on. 

Juliet is tiny and childlike buried beneath a mound of fatigues and body armor. 

Blonde wisps of hair escape from under her Kevlar helmet. I could never have imagined this very attractive, blonde waif of a girl going to war, but there she is * * * 

I have learned what our soldiers’ wives have lived for generations: hope and grief 

and perseverance. I find humor with my children every day. When you are seven, 

two wrongs really do make a right. Seventh-graders can be cruel to one another, 

but fathers can make it better. Why would you wash the minivan with a steel-wool 

brush? I don’t know, but her heart was in the right place. Each morning when I 

wake up, I kiss my children and hold them close. We talk about Mom and the war, 

but we leave CNN off. We go to bed each night and all say one prayer: ‘‘God, please 

bring our mommy home safe.’’ She is always in our hearts and in our thoughts and 

we can hardly wait to have her home with us. I say an extra prayer, too, just for 

me: ‘Thank you, God, for giving me this time with my children.’ I don’t know where 

38

our story will end. I just know that we make it through each day with love and 

laughter, and that is good enough for now. 

What the National Endowment for the Arts did with Operation Homecoming was 

record the experience of war. Unvarnished. Unfettered. Uncensored by distance and 

the reflection of time. 

This is truly a historical initiative. The N.E.A.’s Operation Homecoming informs 

into the American consciousness the individual experience of war in a way that has 

never been done before. When a letter from a soldier at war arrives in the mailbox, 

it is passed from hand to hand, from one family member to the next, read by friends 

and associates and co-workers, and ultimately, saved in an album, put in a shoe box 

or placed in the family Bible. It is saved because there is a truth in it—a painful, 

tearful, joyful, soulful, heart-breaking, humorous, truth. And that truth makes the 

writing more than a living record of separation and sacrifice of honor and death. 

It elevates the writing to art. 

Operation Homecoming brings the voices and experiences of soldiers and their 

families into the living rooms and dining rooms of ordinary Americans; it serves up 

the soldiers’ experiences at the family dinner table and in the classroom. Operation 

Homecoming allows us, as a people, as a nation, to understand—or at least come 

closer to understanding—what war is and what it is not. It lets us see war’s terrible 

costs, paid in bone and blood and tears. It shows us the unimaginable sacrifices of 

war and its impact, not only on our families and our soldiers, but on our communities, our states and our nation. It illuminates the humor and insanity of war. But 

above all, it reveals the humanity of the people fighting in it. And this is its most 

powerful revelation. 

I never heard the boom-CRUNCH, only imagined it later. There was strong braking, followed by a great deal of shouting * * * somebody was wailing in Arabic, 

hypnotically, repetitiously. He was an older man with a silver beard, a monumental, 

red-veined nose, and a big, thick wool overcoat. He was hopping like a dervish, bowing rapidly from the waist and throwing his arms to the sky, then to his knees, over 

and over again in a kind of elaborate dance of grief. I walked to the car with an 

Air Force sergeant and moved the older man aside as gently as possible. It’s hard 

to describe what we found in the car. It had been a young man, only moments earlier that night. I put my arm around him and guided the old man to the road. 

‘Why can’t he shut up?’

‘You ever lose a kid?’ This is a pointless question to ask a soldier who’s practically 

a kid himself. 

They had been on their way back to Sinjar, just a few miles away. The younger 

man had been taking his father back from shopping. They were minutes from home. 

We didn’t find any weapons in the car—either piece of it. There was no propaganda, 

nor were there false IDs. If we had stopped these people at a checkpoint, we would 

have thanked them and let them go on. The young man had been a student. Engineering. With honors. Pride of the family. What we like to think of as Iraq’s future. 

Finally, I had to ask: ‘‘What does he keep saying?’’

The terp looked at me, disgusted, resigned, or maybe just plain tired. ‘‘He says 

to kill him now’’—excerpted from Sergeant Jack Lewis’ Operation Homecoming narrative. 

Personally, Operation Homecoming gave—and still gives—me a sense as a soldier, 

as a writer, as a man, and as an American, that what I did mattered. That, regardless of politics or feelings about the war, people back home cared about me, and 

about my soldiers. It reinforced the message that America wanted to hear from us, 

hear our voices, share our experiences and remember them. 

For what is the value sacrifice if it is forgotten or ignored. 

Throughout history, soldiers have written about their experiences in war and combat. Some of the world’s greatest works of fiction have been created by veterans. 

From Miguel de Cervantes to Leo Tolstoy, from Ambrose Bierce to Ernest 

Hemmingway, from Joseph Heller to Tobias Wolf. Operation Homecoming includes 

nearly 100 personal letters, private journals, poems, stories, and memoirs of service 

and sacrifice on the front lines and at home. A whole new crop of writers will 

emerge from this war. 

I urge you to continue and increase your funding of the National Endowment for 

the Arts. It is imperative that programs such as Operation Homecoming survive and 

flourish because ‘a great nation deserves great art’. 

I leave you with a poem from the Operation Homecoming by Captain Michael 

Lang, titled Reflections. 

39

In the desert, there is sand 

and space, filled up by wind

and heat. It’s black at night, 

lightless, aside from the stars.

When the storms came one night, 

I smoked out in the sand.

And glowed within the world 

the lighting revealed.

Thank you for your time and attention. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Thank you, Captain. 

Mr. COLE. Madam Chairman? I have to leave, with your permission. But may I ask Tom Lindsay, who is the deputy chairman, to 

come to the table? 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Absolutely. 

Mr. COLE. Thank you very much for this opportunity. I appreciate it greatly. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. And thank you for taking the time to 

educate all of us. 

Mr. COLE. I am sorry I have to leave, but thank you. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. And I thank everybody for their testimony. 

I think with the education through all of you—and believe it or 

not, this will be on C-SPAN, so people, you know, at different times 

of the day and night will see this. Because, unfortunately, we see, 

especially with the economy that we have today, that a lot of our 

schools that have arts classes, have humanities programs, we are 

going to start seeing cuts, because those are usually the first place. 

So, with the work that you are all doing, we will still encourage 

and be in our communities. And I think that is important. 

I guess what I am going to first do, because I am hoping Mr. 

Platts will be back—he is going to run, vote, and be back—but as 

to authorization, we don’t get to hand out the money. However, we 

do know everyone wants as much funding as everyone can provide. 

Support for the arts and the humanities is critical for our nation 

and our culture. The programs you have spoken about today clearly 

have impact on the lives of our citizens across the country on a 

daily basis. 

Beyond financing these agencies, what role do you think that 

Congress is playing in supporting both Endowments and their missions? 

And I will throw that out to you, because it is important, as we 

go through our committees—it goes from the subcommittee, it goes 

to the full committee—obviously, you know, we will be looking to 

see hopefully for reauthorization. 

But what other kind of help do you possibly need to make sure 

that the program is spread throughout the country? 

Mr. LINDSAY. Well, I would say, more of the same. We have been 

very grateful for the support that we have received during this 

chairman’s tenure. We think that it is a just amount. We think 

that we have used it with discretion and with good judgment. The 

NEH is known for only the best of the best projects. 

And I would say, on behalf of the chairman, on behalf of the entire agency, we are grateful for the support that we have received, 

40

and look forward to continued support. And I think the chairman’s 

attitude would be expressed as, if it is not broke, don’t fix it. And 

we don’t think it is broke. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Thank you. 

Anyone else? 

Mr. GIOIA. Madam Chairman? You have asked a philosophical 

question, and I would like to give you a philosophical answer, 

which is, our agencies are actually quite small in the context of the 

American economy, in the context of American culture. What we 

provide is not only funding, but it is a kind of symbolic leadership. 

The strength of our symbolic leadership is that our agencies are extensions of the U.S. government, which, in a sense, try to portray 

the best values of the U.S. government. 

So I would say that what we would look to from the authorization process—and I think it is not inconsistent with what my colleague from the Humanities just said—is the creation and support 

of a consensus about the importance of these things, about the importance of arts in education, the importance of arts in communities. So that, as we go forward and we give what are really, actually, quite small grants, those grants maintain their catalytic ability, so that every dollar that we give generates seven, eight and 

sometimes as much as 12 additional dollars. 

What we look forward to is working together with you to portray 

and present this national consensus about the importance of these 

endeavors. And we thank you for your support. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Thank you. 

Captain Kelly, as you described the program and how it helped 

your unit and the soldiers that you worked with, what do you think 

should be the next phase of Operation Homecoming? 

Captain KELLY. Thank you for the question. 

I think the next phase of Operation Homecoming should be 

writings from soldiers who were injured in the war. And I understand that the NEA has already taken up that project. 

But I do feel passionately about this particular project in the 

NEA. And the reason is because I have seen what it can do. I have 

seen that the arts have penetrated into a community that they 

hadn’t before, and that is the U.S. military. And I have seen the 

transformation of soldiers who were dubious at best about the impact of arts in their lives transform and now become writers, and 

some want to become painters, et cetera. 

So, to answer your question, whatever the decision is that the 

NEA makes, I think that this is a project worth continuing. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Thank you. 

Ms. Watkins, did the NEH encourage you to incorporate the community in the Picturing America program? What sort of activities 

outside of the standard classroom do you use the 40 images of Picturing America? And what other community members are impacted 

by that? 

Ms. WATKINS. Yes, there is encouragement to use it beyond the 

school. 

We have a program every November for veterans that I addressed in my comments. And we always do something arts-related 

for them on a day in November. So we plan to have an arts show 

using these posters and have our students take on an image and 

41

take charge of that image and explain to the veterans who walk 

through the show what the image is about, how it relates to their 

American Culture courses and what their interest is in it. 

Most of the veterans that come to our school are World War II 

veterans, very elderly men and women. And they really look forward to seeing one another and to seeing our students and talking 

to our students about their experiences. And I think that they 

would really appreciate hearing student involvement with American history and would feel good about the new generation, I think. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. One of the things that we have found, 

especially with our World War II veterans, obviously they are getting a lot older, and we had started a program called Oral History. 

And we have gone to our World War II veterans, and we didn’t how 

difficult it was to get them to talk about their history. We actually 

started asking the grandchildren to ask grandpa to talk about 

World War II, because we should have that history. 

My particular district, we actually started looking into those that 

were prisoners of war. And when we presented them for the archives, they did not have any of those stories. 

So, Captain Kelly, what you are doing, you know, hopefully we 

can reach out to our younger members so their history is recorded, 

whether it is through drawings, writings. Because I think all our 

military, for future generations, need to know the history of what 

our people go through to defend this country, and I think it is important. 

So I thank both of you for your work. 

Mr. Platts? 

Mr. PLATTS. Thank you, Madam Chair. I am getting my exercise 

here today, running back and forth. 

Jeanne, I would like to start with you. And with your wealth of 

knowledge for Pennsylvania, if we did not continue NEH and NEA 

funding at the level we are at and there was a reduction or even, 

with inflation, not increases to keep up, what would it do to the 

efforts at the state and local level in Pennsylvania if you didn’t 

have that access to federal funds? 

Ms. SCHMEDLEN. Actually, I think it would be devastating. We 

are trying to get out to all 67 counties now with programs, so that 

those that are underserved can have opportunities. 

And with the money that we have now, I think we have been 

very frugal and very effective, and I think that we could even be 

equally as frugal but more effective if there was an increase. I am 

not asking for an increase; I am just telling you where that might 

go. [Laughter.] 

Mr. PLATTS. Your examples you gave, both in your oral testimony 

as well as your written, does highlight the ability to reach into a 

lot of these smaller communities. If I remember correctly, the 60 

people was Cameron County. 

Ms. SCHMEDLEN. Yes. 

Mr. PLATTS. And for those not from Pennsylvania, to get 60 people out at an art-related event in Cameron County is quite a turnout. 

Ms. SCHMEDLEN. It was. It was amazing. 

And, you know, with the new technology, we are even reaching 

more communities. I mean, with Webcasts and with PCN, we are 

42

reaching many, many more folks than we have in the past. And so 

we welcome a marriage between, you know, the right brain and the 

left brain, as well, here. 

Mr. PLATTS. What happens at the state level with the schools? 

You know, obviously there are some national programs, NEH and 

NEA partnering with schools and teachers. You know, does the 

Pennsylvania Humanities Council play a role in that, or complement it, or doing some things in addition to it? 

Ms. SCHMEDLEN. Both the state arts agencies have strong education programs. The Artists in Schools Program, the Pennsylvania 

Council on the Arts, brings artists into work with children in every 

community, including rural communities. 

Just recently, we had a Poetry Out Loud competition in Pennsylvania, and Francesca Fiore, who was from West Chester, won the 

competition in Pennsylvania. And we spread that word far and 

wide through the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. We had 7,000 

young people that participated this year. 

But the best thing that happened was, just yesterday, we celebrated Arts in Education Day at the Capitol. We brought 700 kids 

from 14 different schools in to perform in different areas of the 

Capitol. And many of those performances were carried by PCN. 

And Francesca came to the House floor, the House chamber, was 

introduced by the speaker of the House, and she performed her 

poem before a live audience of over 3 million subscribers to PCN. 

So, again, we were getting out. 

Anyway, that is an excellent program through the Pennsylvania 

Council on the Arts. 

Mr. PLATTS. Great. 

And, kind of, a follow up on that, Chairman Gioia, the outreach 

to the schools—and, in your testimony, you listed two big challenges, one international and the other in our schools, and the diminished state of arts education in our nation’s schools. 

And I think in our previous conversations—and I know with Dr. 

Cole I had talked about how blessed our family considers, in the 

public schools that we are in in York, that both of my children, 3rd 

grade and 5th grade, have great exposure. In fact, the school art 

show was yesterday after school. Unfortunately we were here voting until about 10:00 last night, so I wasn’t there. But my office, 

my sanctuary here, is kind of a private art gallery from my children because of all the art they do in their school setting, as well 

as at home. 

One of the challenges is getting school boards to understand that, 

you know, cutting art education may save a few dollars in the 

budget, but it will have a much greater negative impact on the 

overall education of the students in that schools. 

Has there been any effort to outreach to the National School 

Boards Association, to make presentations? 

And what I am envisioning, how passionate Mr. Burns, of when 

they have their national conference here, to see if they would allow 

the NEH and NEA to maybe make a presentation as part of their 

program during the national conference each year, to really help 

get across to school board members who are struggling with how 

to make ends meet but to understand that this investment is up 

there with the other curriculum investments as well. 

43

Mr. GIOIA. Yes, there has been. The NEA and myself are constantly traveling, constantly giving talks at national, regional, state 

and local meetings. We have hundreds and hundreds of these 

events. 

The problem, really, is not their receptivity. They are very interested in participating in all of the programs we have. You could see 

that simply by the enormous level of participation at Picturing 

America or the fact that now the majority of high-school students 

in the United States are now using our Shakespeare material. I 

mean, this is unprecedented reach. 

The problem, really, is a broader thing. When I talk about a national consensus, I talk about public opinion, these are not, to me, 

empty issues. There was a breakdown during the culture wars of 

the relationship between the state, federal and local governments 

and education and the arts. The arts suffered from this in some 

ways, but who really suffered are the 60 million American 

schoolkids who have had their arts programs systematically removed from their schools. 

I was a poor kid in a poor neighborhood, but it never seemed to 

me that it was possible that there could be a school that didn’t 

have a band, didn’t have some kind of theater program, some kind 

of choir, some kind of arts programming. This is now the rule in 

American middle schools and high schools. A child’s access to arts 

education has become a function of his or her parents’ income. 

We are trying to address this with our limited means, and the 

NEA is doing it in three ways: by taking arts and introducing them 

into other subjects, like English, history, civics, et cetera, et cetera, 

as appropriate; secondly, by providing high-quality after-school programs and summer programs, which are limited basically by our 

funding but can play decisive roles in a child’s life; and thirdly, by 

trying to get kids actually into a museum, a play, a concert. Somewhere around 70 percent of high-school seniors have never seen a 

spoken, professional play. Consequently, it is not surprising they 

find Shakespeare challenging. 

So we are trying to take leadership in this, but it is a huge issue 

because it is a large nation. My sense, though, is that the educational community is passionately interested in finding a solution 

to this, but it feels as if it is beyond their control. 

Mr. PLATTS. Well, and I think that passion is there in the education community with teachers and administrators. I think the 

greater challenge is maybe, in Pennsylvania, with 501 schools districts, the elected school board members to understand the benefit. 

Because the programs that you are doing are outstanding, but they 

can’t replace the school having its own art program. 

And that is the suggestion of trying to, kind of, inspire or capture—and, Mr. Chairman, not that you are not inspiring or captivating in your presentations, but that average school board member having a Ken Burns make a presentation to them or others in 

the art community that have that national recognition may capture 

a few more school board members to say, ‘‘Hey, we have to tighten 

the belt, but in the long term it is going to hurt us, not help us, 

if we cut art education.’’

Mr. LINDSAY. Yes, I just wanted to add to that—you raised the 

question earlier about the effect of a cut in funding. The chairman 

44

mentioned during his testimony the We the People program, of 

which Picturing America is the capstone. And the We the People 

program is aimed at enhancing the teaching and study of American 

history and culture, and not simply as knowledge for its own sake, 

as good as that is, but toward the end of producing better-informed 

citizens. 

And if you go back to the enabling legislation for the NEH, its 

mandate declares, democracy demands wisdom, wisdom in its people. And survey after survey for the last 20 years—and I don’t have 

to tell you folks; you know this—shows that young people today 

and not-so-young people today, native-born as well as newly arrived immigrants, do not understand the principles that define 

American democracy. And it has been said that we can’t defend 

what we can’t define. 

So my worry would be, if funding were to be cut, that this program, We the People, which really represents a renewal of our fundamental commitment to provide a better-informed citizenry, would 

have a destructive impact on what is already a dangerous situation 

as regards citizen knowledge. 

Mr. PLATTS. Yes, and that engaged citizen is critical in the work 

you are doing and from a democratic standpoint. And then I know 

several of you mentioned in your testimony creativity and innovation, which in today’s marketplace is essential to our nation’s ability to compete. And, you know, it may be innovation and creativity 

in engineering, but, kind of, building that foundation of innovation 

and creativity begins very early on. 

With my 9-year-old, the hardest thing is, at the end of the day—

and they are always trying to push the bedtime back further and 

further. And my 9-year-old knows that he will get extra time when 

I walk into his room and say, ‘‘Lights out,’’ but he is sitting there 

sketching in bed, with his sketchpad, or writing in the journal, you 

know, that, ‘‘Yes, you get a few more minutes,’’ because I don’t 

want to cut him off from that creativity that, you know, he is showing. And, long term, in the economic community, challenges of the 

world economy today, that is going to be critical. 

So, Madam Chair, if I could have the indulgence of one more 

question with Captain Kelly. 

I apologize for missing your testimony, getting the vote in. One, 

I want to first thank you for your service, as one who has not worn 

the uniform but grew up with an amazing mom and dad who instilled in five of us kids why we are so blessed, it is because of 

those who do and have, to you and all who wear the uniform in 

all of our military families. 

And that is my question on the Operation Homecoming, is, any 

insights from your family’s perspective of what this program has 

meant? Because they are kind of the unsung heroes on the homefront that are holding down the fort, whether it be spouses and 

children or parents, siblings. Your perspective on how this has 

helped your family maybe deal with the challenge of your deployment? 

Captain KELLY. It helped them immensely, sir. And I say that 

because it gave them a voice, it gave them an opportunity to write 

about what they were feeling and what they were going through. 

45

The beauty of the program is that it not only captures stories 

from soldiers but also from the soldiers’ families. And that is another dimension that the NEA has brought to the military. For a 

long time, the focus of the military, frankly, has been on the soldier. But, as you said, the unsung heroes of the military is the military family. 

And to include them in the project has been amazing and transforming. I have seen families of my friends who were writing because of this project become more healthy because of it. And so, 

that has been my personal experience with it. 

Mr. PLATTS. Well, you know, I returned a few weeks back from 

my sixth trip to Iraq visiting troops. And each time I have the 

chance to, whether it is Afghanistan or Iraq or elsewhere, with 

troops in Iraq, at any length, with soldiers, Marines, sailors, offer 

to touch base with their family. 

And this trip, we were at the 101st Airborne in Yusufiyah, just 

south of Baghdad. And a young, 32-year-old Army captain, Michael 

Starz, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—and when I got back, I 

touched base, talked to his mom and I talked to his wife, holding 

down the fort with a 4-year-old, a 3-year-old and a 10-month-old. 

And the conversation with her was truly inspiring, that unsung 

service at home that she and her children were making. 

And so, empowering families through this project is one more example of the great outreach that, you know, these programs are 

achieving, and that blessing to our nation. So thank you. 

Thank you, Madam Chair. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. You are quite welcome. 

I just want to ask one follow-up question to the mayor. 

With the program, through the Mayors’ Institute, have you been 

talking to other mayors in Nassau County? Because Nassau County is obviously one of the oldest suburban areas in the country; we 

were one of the first. But with that being said, also your constituents, with the program that you are going to be instituting, what 

is going to be the impact on your constituents through what you 

have learned? 

Mr. GLACKEN. First of all, the plan process is going to begin with 

a charrette, which is going to bring together many, many different 

stakeholders within the community who are affected in one way or 

another by the revitalization of the North Main Street corridor. 

And this includes not only residents in both northwest and northeast Freeport, but also clergy, local businesses, local civic organizations, the chamber of commerce, many of the service organizations 

that provide services in one form or another to the community. 

It is going to be a very, very inclusive process. And it is intended 

to build a consensus, so that the final plan that people come up 

with is something that the entire community will support. 

And once it is in place, then we are in a position to not only seek 

funding from the federal government, but there will also be a great 

deal of interest on the part of the private sector that will come in 

and say, ‘‘They have a comprehensive plan in place. This makes a 

great deal of sense. It has widespread community support, and it 

has the local government backing it to the hills. So that creates a 

very healthy climate for investment and revitalization.’’

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So one of the biggest results of this whole planning process and 

design process is that it brings the entire community together. And 

it was sparked by this program. And I can’t say enough in praise 

of it; it is really a wonderful program. 

And incidentally, you can’t just sign up for it. I mean, you sign 

up for it, but you wait to be called. So, it is sort of by invitation. 

I had expressed an interest in this program through the U.S. Conference of Mayors. And one of the founders of the program, Mayor 

Riley of Charleston, South Carolina, who has done an outstanding 

job revitalizing Charleston, that I would very much be interested 

in having the opportunity someday to participate. And it finally 

happened in December of 2006. 

So I brought a certain level of enthusiasm to it, to the conference, 

to begin with, and I am very glad that I was able to participate. 

It was a very positive experience, and it is now leading to some 

very concrete results that are going to benefit our entire community. 

Chairwoman MCCARTHY. Thank you, Mayor. 

That concludes—because we do have another vote going on, so 

we are not going to torture you all to keep staying here while we 

go vote, because we don’t know how long we are going to be down 

on the floor. 

But I want to thank each and every one of you. I think it is important that, you know, people, the American people, understand, 

you know, why it is so important and how NEA and NEH have actually brought the arts and the humanities to our communities and 

to our children. 

Captain Kelly, I thank you for the work that you have done with 

our military. Our military have gone under great constraints over 

the last several years. And, certainly, I think with all the programs 

that are put together, it does show what we as Americans are, 

what our communities are, and where we came from and we are 

going to go. So I thank you for that. 

I want to thank each of the witnesses for sharing with us some 

of the wonderful programs that NEA and NEH implement. I think 

that it is clear that the programs discussed here today add to education and the experience of the arts and humanities. 

By the way, just to let everybody know, I have a learning disability, so sometimes reading out loud is extremely difficult for me. 

We should remember that the arts and the humanities serve a 

role in our lives in both good and challenging times. The human 

experience and its expression are critical to the growth and advancement of our nation. The NEA and NEH reflect the importance 

of the arts and the humanities to the lives of every citizen of our 

country, and their programs mirror the diversity and creativity 

that is the strength of our nation. 

As previously ordered, members will have 14 days to submit additional materials for the hearing record. Any member who wishes 

to submit follow-up questions in writing to the witnesses should coordinate with the majority staff within the required time. 

Without objection, this hearing is adjourned. Thank you. 

[Whereupon, at 11:57 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]

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