House Subcommittee Approves 35% Cut to NEA and NEH

On Tuesday morning, July 15, 2025, the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee – in charge of setting next year’s FY’26 funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) – conducted an official markup hearing. This House subcommittee approved a 35% cut to the federal cultural agencies, which would mean $135 million each (down from $207 million) for the NEA and NEH. These cuts would do great harm to the humanities community while making a minuscule impact on the overall federal budget, and the cut to the NEH would bring its funding to levels not seen since 2004.

AFS urges members to take action now by writing or calling state representatives and members of Congress. There is still room for increases in federal funding to take place in the Senate, therefore, it remains important to lobby the Senate to recommend a higher FY’26 funding level for the cultural agencies. Meanwhile, any House floor amendments that would attempt to cut NEA or NEH funding even further must be prevented.