Grassroots advocates throughout the country meet with their House and Senate members back in their district offices. Elected officials are invited to summer youth programs and festivals to see NEA funds at work. At the press conference, members of St. Louis's renowned and NEA-funded Circus Flora perform. Amendment, which would block grant 75 percent of federal arts funding to state agencies and 20 percent to the NEA for national projects and 5 percent for administrative overhead, was defeated by a vote of 61-39. Michael Jordan speaks at a Congressional Arts Breakfast on the leveraging power of federal funding for the arts in the private sector.
Amendment passes by voice vote.
Arts advocates throughout the country play a significant role in working with their Senators to keep the NEA structure in tact with level funding. Motion passes by voice vote. Arts advocates' efforts to place pressure on moderate republicans pay off when the House GOP leadership realizes that it still does not have enough votes to defeat this motion to provide funding to the NEA, thereby allowing the Yates Amendment to pass without even a roll call vote. White House presents the National Medal of Arts awards at a Rose Garden event celebrating the kick-off of National Arts and Humanities Month in October. President Clinton renews his public support of the cultural agencies.