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.
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