Urgent Legislative Action — for Poetry!

Dear Friend of Poetry –

The Massachusetts Poetry Outreach Project ( MassPOP) is the creator of the Poetry Festival along with other efforts to support the poets of Massachusetts. We rarely send an email to our whole list about anything other than the Festival – and we will continue to avoid flooding your inbox with emails other than about the Festival itself. However, we think there is a very important issue that will impact poets and poetry in Massachusetts and across the country and that is whether there will be a small budget increase for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). MassPOP and the Poetry Festival received critical support from MassHumanities which in turn was using money from the NEW appropriations. We had hoped that in the  huge mult-billion dollar stimulus bill that there would be some tiny stimulus package for poets and writers. There wasn’t. Now there is a chance for a modest $15 million increase for NEH. Probably MassPOP and the Festival will not directly benefit from this increase in funding in the coming year – but we know that other programs that support poetry, writing and the whole range of what makes the Humanities, will receive the same kind of critical support – if this increase is passed. And so we want to pass on to you the email that we received from Dave Tebaldi the director of MassHumanities and ask you to contact Senator Kerry and your representatives.

Yours

Michael Ansara

Massachusetts Poetry Outreach Project

Dear Friends,

As you may know, a significant increase for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is currently pending in Congress.  We are asking you to contact your U.S. Representative and Senator John Kerry today and urge them to support additional funding of $15 million for the NEH.

BACKGROUND
NEH is funded through the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, which may be one of the first spending bills voted on by the Senate this month.  House and Senate leaders are trying to complete the appropriations process before the new fiscal year begins on October 1.

The House passed HR 2996, its version of the Interior spending bill, on June 26, with an increase of $15 million for NEH, for a total funding level of $170 million for FY 2010.  The Senate has not yet voted on the bill approved by the full Senate Appropriations Committee on June 25, however, the Senate bill provides for a smaller increase of only $6.3 million for NEH.

Please contact your congressman and Senator John Kerry today and urge them to support the House bill, which will provide Mass Humanities with an increase of more than $100,000 in FY 2010.  Such an increase is desperately needed to offset reductions in both state and private support for the public humanities in Massachusetts.

SAMPLE MESSAGE TO SENATOR KERRY
I request that you support increased funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities.  On behalf of [your organization] and the entire humanities community in Massachusetts, please ask Senators Dianne Feinstein (D/CA) and Lamar Alexander (R/TN), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Interior Appropriations
Subcommittee, respectively, to support the higher House-passed increase of $15 million for NEH.  Your assistance and support is crucial as the FY 2010 Interior bill moves toward a Senate floor vote and joint House/Senate conference.

SAMPLE MESSAGE TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVE
I request that you support increased funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities. On behalf of [your organization] and the entire humanities community in Massachusetts, please ask Congressmen Norm Dicks (D/WA) and Mike Simpson (R/ID), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Interior Appropriations
Subcommittee, respectively, to support the higher House-passed increase of $15 million for NEH.  Your assistance and support is crucial as the FY 2010 Interior bill moves toward a joint House/Senate conference.

ADDITIONAL TALKING POINTS
Please support FY 2010 funding for NEH at the House-passed level of $170 million.  This number represents a much-needed and long overdue increase of $15 million, which will expand the agency’s capacity to support high-quality projects and programs throughout the country.

NEH grants support:
>Collaborative research projects
>Fellowships for college/university-based scholars and independent researchers
>Professional development workshops for teachers and faculty
>Public programs and exhibits at museums, libraries, and historical societies
>Film, radio, and TV programs
>Preservation of historically significant collections
>Capacity building for humanities institutions and programs
>The 56 State humanities councils located in every U.S. state and territory

CONTACT INFORMATION
To facilitate this advocacy effort, and track its results, the Federation of State Humanities has established a web page where you can enter your information and send an email to your Representative with the click of your mouse (click here<https://dnbweb1.blackbaud.com/OPXREPHIL/Link.asp?link=391695>).  There is preformatted letter which you can use as is or edit as you see fit. If you prefer, you can use your Representative’s webform, which you can access by clicking here<https://dnbweb1.blackbaud.com/OPXREPHIL/Link.asp?link=391696>.  You will need your zip code and 4-digit zip code extension.  To reach your Representative by phone, call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask for his/her office.

You can contact Senator Kerry’s office by phone at (202) 224-2742 or fax (202) 224-8525 or by using his web form (click here<https://dnbweb1.blackbaud.com/OPXREPHIL/Link.asp?link=391697>).

THE HOUSE BILL PROVIDES US WITH AN OPPORTUNITY TO SECURE THE LARGEST DOLLAR INCREASE FOR THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES AND THE MASSACHUSETTS FOUNDATION FOR THE HUMANITIES IN OUR HISTORY.  PLEASE DO NOT LET THIS OPPORTUNITY PASS WITHOUT YOUR ACTIVE SUPPORT!

Thank you.

David Tebaldi
Executive Director
Mass Humanities
66 Bridge Street
Northampton, MA 01060
www.masshumanities.org