I first want to thank each of you for your support of our state humanities councils. Last year those thirty-four states contributed a total of more than five million dollars to the state humanities councils. Thank you for your efforts. One important function of the Endowment is to support our state councils. We contributed twenty-nine million dollars to them in 1998, and we have high hopes for increased funding for the year 2000.
Education is a priority in every state.
The state councils are serving students of all ages in every part of the country. That is why your continued support for the state councils is so important. Let me give you just a few examples of what they re doing. The council has sponsored more than thirty such programs designed to help citizens overcome their fear of technology. It has doctors and patients talking about books.