ARTS GROUPS FARE WELL IN ’87 BUDGETS

The fiscal 1987 budgets for the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute for Museum Services have been agreed upon by House-Senate conferees in Washington, and the arts came out better than anyone would have expected when the budget process began seven months ago.

For the fiscal year which began Oct. 1, the conference late Friday night allocated $165 million to NEA and $138.5 million to NEH. To Museum Services, the agency the Reagan Administration wanted to abolish, they gave $21.2 million. These numbers are just a hair away from the amounts the agencies received in fiscal 1986.

The ’87 budgets look even better when compared against the mandatory 4.3% cuts under the Gramm-Rudman budget-balancing law last March, which brought the arts endowment down to $158.5 million, the humanities endowment to $132.7 million and Museum Services to $20.5 million.

In Washington, Rep. Sidney R. Yates (D-Ill.), chairman of the conference, said on Sunday “the amounts made available for the arts are going to take care of their needs for the coming year, and I think it’s a tribute to both the Congress and the Administration.”

Asked why he was crediting the Administration, Yates offered: “I do that in hopes that perhaps they won’t find fault with it.”

Although the House and Senate each must pass upon the entire budget, and the President still has to sign the package, the conference numbers are generally considered the key step in the process.

In St. Paul, Minn., where the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies was holding its annual convention, Anne Murphy, executive director of the American Arts Alliance, said Friday night: “Through thick and thin, we came through it.”

Jonathan Katz, executive director of the arts assembly, expressing satisfaction with the results, said it was “emblematic” of Congress’ concern for the arts in a time of budget crunch. He also noted that “the needs of the arts are certain to grow.”

At the assembly’s main business meeting Saturday, Tom Birch, legislative counsel for the arts agency assembly, noted “Rep. Sidney Yates really did a terrific job for us once again.”

But then he added, tempering the delegates’ optimism: “Looking to next year, it’s going to be a very difficult time because the Gramm-Rudman (deficit-cutting) targets will be even higher. We have to begin now looking toward next spring. If you have been absent from the company of your federal legislators, please renew those acquaintances.”