#30. @realDonaldTrump, how would eliminating the NEA balance the federal budget? #100Days100Qs

President Trump, how would eliminating the NEA balance the federal budget?

Even before Donald Trump took office, there were rumblings on Capitol Hill about his plans to cut the popular National Endowment for the Arts. The agency, which has been around for more than 50 years, funds museums, school programs and art for veterans, among other things.

Its budget amounts to a little more than $147 million — a fraction of the $4 trillion the US is projected to spend during the next budget cycle.

But conservatives have long complained that funding art at the expense of the American taxpayer is wasteful spending. And now that Republicans control all three branches of government, they see this as the time to zero out the program.

Proponents of the NEA, however, argue that the already lean agency is instrumental in communities. 

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Republican, is among those who have championed the agency. On his website, he states, "I strongly support a music and art program for every student in our public school system. To the degree in which the National Endowment of the Arts encourages and enhances those opportunities, I support their efforts."

Also, Dana Gioia, who led the NEA under former President George W. Bush, described the agency as “probably one of the cheapest economic development programs the United States has.”   

This isn’t the first time the NEA has come under fire. In the early 1990s, Jesse Helms, a conservative senator from North Carolina, called for the agency’s demise after learning that federal funding had gone toward a photography exhibition of Robert Mapplethorpe's work. Mapplethorpe’s photos contained nudity and bondage scenes of gay men, which Helms considered to be “indecent.” Helms’ objections led to a broader discussion about free speech both in the arts and society at large.

This time around, however, the debate over the NEA's future is strictly budgetary. 

So, what's wrong with the government supporting the arts? How will scrapping the NEA save the taxpayers money?

Over President Donald Trump's roughly first 100 days, we'll be asking him questions that our audience wants answers to. Join the project by tweeting this question to @realDonaldTrump with the hashtag #100Days100Qs. See more of our questions at pri.org/100questions.