Government Affairs Update: NEA Lawsuit, New Executive Order, Arts Advocacy, and More

The political landscape in Washington, DC continues to evolve daily. Chorus America needs to hear from you: How are the federal government’s actions affecting your work? All stories of specific impact are welcome. Please share your experience here. Thank you to those members who have already shared their stories with us. 

Visit our Government Affairs Resource Page for more tools.

Update: ACLU/Theater Lawsuit vs National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)

Yesterday, the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island heard arguments from the ACLU and theaters suing the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).  The judge is expected to issue a decision by the middle of next week, in advance of the NEA April 7 grant deadline.

“The government is playing games with our clients’ First Amendment rights,” said Vera Eidelman, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “We are in court today to make sure that the NEA can’t pull a bait-and-switch on arts organizations by allowing them to apply free of restrictions, only to disqualify them later. The temporarily suspended rules must be struck down to safeguard artistic expression and First Amendment protections for all.”  Read more from the ACLU press release here.

New Executive Order Calls for Changes at the Smithsonian, public monuments, and more

The President’s Administration released a new Executive Order yesterday aimed at the Smithsonian and other public memorials, monuments, etc.  The Executive Order, Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, begins as follows:

Over the past decade, Americans have witnessed a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.  This revisionist movement seeks to undermine the remarkable achievements of the United States by casting its founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light.  Under this historical revision, our Nation’s unparalleled legacy of advancing liberty, individual rights, and human happiness is reconstructed as inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed. 

Read the full Executive Order here and The Art Newspaper’s article here.

Guest Artist Visa Update

If your choral organization engages foreign guest artists (singers, conductors, composers, instrumentalists, etc.) please visit the latest updates on the Artists from Abroad website.  The updates cover the latest best practices for navigating the guest artist visa petition process, changes for requesting an in-person interview waiver at consulates, and more.  Read the important updates here.

Arts Community Loses Resource in Artist Visa Process

As part of the President’s Reduction in Force (RIF) initiative to shrink the federal government, three oversight agencies within the Department of Homeland Security are being shut down.  One of the agencies, the Ombudsmen for Citizenship and Immigration Services, has been a resource for arts advocates when a foreign guest artist’s visa encountered processing problems and delays.  Read more about the announced closures here.

Key House Legislators for FY26 NEA Funding

In the coming weeks, the FY26 Appropriations Process will kick off. The first Committee to discuss and recommend funding for the cultural agencies is the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee.

If you or your choral group are living and working in the districts of the following House subcommittee members, your voice will have extra weight in the arts funding advocacy process!  Chorus America will send out more information calling for members to send letters to Congress in the coming weeks. 

Majority Party Members                           Minority Party Members

Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) – Chair             Rep. Chellie Pingree (ME) – Ranking Member

Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV)                          Rep. Betty McCollum (MN)

Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA)                 Rep. Derek Kilmer (WA)

Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX)                          Rep. Josh Harder (CA)

Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT)   

Rep. Jake Ellzey (R-TX)     

Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC)

As included in last week’s Government Affairs Update, choral organizations may legally contact their members of Congress to share their stories, concerns, and requests.  Nonprofit organizations are allowed to do an unlimited amount of issue advocacy and they can lobby up to a certain financial amount. 

Find and contact your legislators here.