CONGRESS RENEWS N.E.A. FUNDING

WASHINGTON, July 24 (LSN) Both fiscal and social conservatives in the U.S. were extremely disappointed this week as the House of Representatives renewed funding to the National Endowment for the Arts. For years, social conservatives have been trying to cut funding to the organization, objecting to the obscene and even blasphemous materials it supports. Moderate reforms, however, helped win over a number of former opponents and the funding measure received the support of 253 congressmen (173 opposed the measure).  The NEA will receive $98 million of taxpayer money in fiscal year 1999, unchanged from this year’s hand-  out. Its budget, however, has dropped from a high of $175 million in 1992. The reforms include “giving Congress more oversight, reducing administrative costs, ensuring that grants reach a broader spectrum of Americans and focusing on education and small-town music programs,” reported The Washington Post. Rep.  Marge Roukema (R-NJ) claimed, “We put in protections and reforms in that legislation so we would not be violating…community standards of decency.”  Opponents of the NEA, however, are doubtful the organization will respect the values of the majority of Americans. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL) said the agency “has proven time and time again that they cannot be trusted as stewards of the people’s money,” and Rep. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called the agency “an elitist organization out of touch with the American people on what art is.”