Former NEA chair defends public funding for the arts

President Donald Trump's proposed budget for fiscal year 2018 calls for an elimination of funding for the National Endowment for the Arts - as well as its sister agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

NEA's budget for fiscal year 2016 was $148 million. Compare that to the defense budget, which is $538 billion. 

Cutting the NEA budget won't save Washington a ton of money, but it would hurt lots of arts organizations and the NEA makes a profound impact to arts on a local level.