TCG Bulletin

December 2007, Volume 30, Issue 12

ADVOCACY NEWS FROM THE AMERICAN ARTS ALLIANCE AND TCG

Register Now for National Arts Advocacy Day, March 31–April 1, 2008!

Arts Advocacy Day will begin on Monday, March 31, 2008, with a day of legislative training sessions and guest speakers. The Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy takes place on Monday evening at the Kennedy Center. This year's speaker is Daniel Pink, a best-selling author and an expert on innovation, competition and the changing world of work. On Tuesday morning, the day begins with the Congressional Arts Breakfast on Capitol Hill and continues with Hill Visits to elected officials. Members of Congress want and need to hear from their constituents—your involvement does make a difference and we hope you will consider participating in this year's event.

Action: Arts Advocacy Day is taking place on March 31 & April 1. If you can attend, please register by visiting the Americans for the Arts website and please contact Laurie Baskin at (212) 609-5900 x228.

NEA and Arts Education Funding Stalled

Potential historic increases in funding for the NEA ($35 million, approved by the House in June) and Arts Education within the U.S. Department of Education ($3 million, approved by both Houses in their Conference Report) are in jeopardy as Congress and the White House face off over total spending for the current fiscal year. On November 13, the President vetoed the Labor-HHS-Education funding bill, which included unprecedented support for arts education funding and would have fully funded long-awaited research on the status of arts education in our nation's schools. Only one of the 12 federal FY08 spending measures—the Defense Bill—has been signed into law. Congress may craft a catch-all spending bill in December, an Omnibus Bill, but holding on to the gains in arts funding will be tough as Washington policymakers whittle away at all proposed increases in domestic spending.

Action: Please continue to remind your elected officials of the importance of federal funding for the arts and arts education in your communities!

Congress Acts to Improve Visa Process

The House Judiciary committee recently approved legislation to improve the visa process for artists. The "Arts Require Timely Service (ARTS) Act", sponsored by Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) and 10 other bipartisan congressional leaders, would make the artist visa process more reliable, efficient and affordable for not-for-profit arts-related petitioners.

Amendments that would have drastically limited the effectiveness of the ARTS Act were defeated and the Act was approved for consideration by the full U.S. House of Representatives.

An identical provision, S. 2178, has been introduced by Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT). As Congress finishes its work for 2007, the Performing Arts Visa Task Force will continue to work to advance these improvements to the visa process. We will keep you posted regarding specific, strategic advocacy opportunities!

Action: None

Inside Tips for Your Next Visa Petition

In late September, representatives of the American Arts Alliance met with top officials at the processing unit in California—one of two locations that process all arts-related visa petitions—to describe the visa obstacles encountered by performing arts organizations and gain insights into the petition process.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials were welcoming, listened to the concerns of arts petitioners, and provided helpful information about the current visa process. The California processing center alone receives nearly 60,000 petitions each month for a wide array of visa classifications for workers and visitors traveling to the United States. Simply getting an artist's petition through the mailroom can be a significant challenge.

Action: Visit the Artists From Abroad website, which has been updated to reflect new tips that can help your visa petition make its way more quickly and reliably through the process.

IRS to Step Up Tax Enforcement

Foreign artists are subject to specific tax withholding rules. The IRS has recently announced plans to beef up enforcement of these withholding requirements. According to an IRS official, "The bottom line is the IRS is concerned that foreign athletes and entertainers pay their fair share of withholding tax and do the proper reporting for earnings in the United States."

As the IRS considers creating new guidance and outreach regarding foreign artist withholding, the Performing Arts Visa Task Force is conveying the unique concerns of the not-for-profit performing arts community.

Action: Visit the tax section of the Artists From Abroad website to be sure your theatre is familiar with the tax requirements for foreign guest artists.

White House Announces 2007 National Medal of Arts Recipients

President George W. Bush recently announced the recipients of the 2007 National Medal of Arts. Nine medals will be presented by the President and Mrs. Laura Bush in an East Room ceremony at the White House. The NEA manages the National Medal of Arts nomination process.

2007 National Medal of Arts Recipients:

Action: Visit the NEA website for more information.

Next Section: Development

Copyright 2007 Theatre Communications Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Information appearing in the TCG Bulletin may not be reprinted without permission.