NEA, NEH, NPR

[Kenneth Sloane]

                      Subject:                              Time:  9:51 PM
  OFFICE MEMO         NEA, NEH, NPR                         Date:  2/8/95

I was surprised and pleased to get a personal call today from my congressman,
Sherrod Brown. It was in response to a letter I had sent to Newt Gingrich but
had copied to him, Bill Clinton, My two Senators (Glenn and DeWine) and Bob
Dole. The letter follows this introduction and is self explanatory.

"Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich:

I am very concerned about the sentiment existing in Congress that would cut
back monies to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Public
Radio (NPR). Both of these institutions have contributed immeasurably to the
cultural and educational heritage of America and should continue to
contribute as such.  If you are concerned that either NEA or NPR has a
philosophical bent different than yours, recommend programming that would
reflect your philosophical leanings. Certainly with Public Radio, access is
equally available to us all. If you chose to not avail yourself to that
access, don't penalize others for your choice. Keep America a Democracy that
cherishes Free Speech.

Also, S. 104, the Arctic Refuge Wilderness Bill, should be passed to protect
the area from oil extraction. Studies clearly show that less than a year's
supply of oil for America exits in the region. Why fund such a short term
venture when the money would be much better spent in the development of
alternative fuels. The Japanese and Germans are already doing this and will
have the technologies in place before us if we are not responsive.
Alternative fuel technologies can not only free us from dependence on middle
east oil, they can be designed to pollute much less than fossil fuels and can
provide us with a lucrative manufacturing resource. Let's start developing
alternative fuels now before the Japanese and Germans beat us in this
technological area (the one of the future, I may add) also.      Sincerely,
Ken Sloane"

Be reminded that anything detrimental to the arts affects us all. In addition
to the fact that most -- if not all -- of the colleges and universities in
which we work receive funding from NEA and NEH (National Endowment for the
Humanities), the arts are an expression of the spirit that makes us creative
and alive. Congressman Brown liked my letter and urged me to send it to more
legislative representatives. He also suggested mentioning the small part of
the total federal budget that NEA, NEH, and NPR comprise (cutting them would
reduce the budget only a small fraction of one percent) and commented that
letters (email also) do count. So don't delay, get your letters off soon. If
you don't know what to say, copy my letter or modify it to suit your feelings
about the issue(s). Be involved; don't let Congress wipe out NEA, NPR, and
NEH.

Ken Sloane, Oberlin Conservatory

PS  I hope you don't mind my leaving in the part of the letter that discusses
the Artic National Wildlife Refuge.