The Helms Amendment on Controversial Art

As a member of the creative community and as president of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), I am deeply concerned about congressional actions that would bar federal funds to art deemed obscene, indecent or offensive.

Government funding through the National Endowment for the Arts has worked--it has encouraged creativity. I had a first-hand view of this process when I served on the NEA music panel during its early years. Government dictation of standards for deciding which artworks are acceptable for public funding was unimaginable then, as it should be now.

MORTON GOULD

President, ASCAP

New York