BUDGET ADVANCES NEH EFFORTS TO ADDRESS "AMERICAN AMNESIA"
FY 2005 funding proposal includes $33 million for We the People initiative

WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 2, 2004)--President Bush's FY 2005 budget request for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) seeks funding of $162 million, including $33 million for the agency's We the People initiative, which would make it the largest competitive grant program in NEH history. We the People is designed to encourage and strengthen the teaching, study, and understanding of American history, culture, and ideas. In May 2003 the President announced that he would request $100 million in new funding over three years in support of the initiative.

"The President's budget request reaffirms his deep commitment to strengthening our citizens' knowledge and understanding of our nation's history and culture," said NEH Chairman Bruce Cole. "NEH accepts this important responsibility with its own commitment to improving historical and civic literacy throughout the nation."

In addition to sustaining the Endowment's ongoing grant programs in support of excellence in the humanities, the FY 2005 funding will expand support for the multi-faceted, agency-wide We the People initiative through a variety of special projects, including the following:

• A new program, "Landmarks of American History," provides K-12 teachers with opportunities to participate in residential summer workshops at important historic and cultural sites across the United States. With the announcement last week of the 2004 Landmarks of American History Teacher Workshops, more than 2,000 teachers will work with distinguished scholars for one week of intensive study on the history and literature associated with historic sites that include St. Augustine, Fla., Mount Vernon, Va., Selma, Ala., and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

• An NEH We the People Challenge Grant competition will encourage educational and cultural institutions to strengthen their programs that advance knowledge of the founding principles of the United States.

• In its very first year the Idea of America Essay Contest attracted more than 1,300 entries from 11th-grade students. Six students submitted prize-winning essays and received recognition from First Lady Laura Bush at a special ceremony in May 2003. Now in its second year, the Idea of America Essay Contest is accepting entries through March 15, 2004, from 11th-graders and 16- or 17-year-old home schooled students.

• The Endowment's first Heroes of History Lecture was delivered last year by distinguished American historian Robert V. Remini, who spoke on "Ordinary Heroes: Founders of Our Republic." The second annual Heroes of History Lecture will be held this fall.

• In 2003 the Endowment established a new We the People Bookshelf program to encourage young people to read and understand great literature while exploring themes central to the American experience. Launched with Lynne Cheney at the Vice President's Residence, the Endowment's first We the People Bookshelf included 15 books for different age groups on the theme of "courage." Through this annual program, NEH is providing approximately 1,000 public and school libraries across the nation with sets of the books on this year's We the People Bookshelf.

• A new program, America's Historic Places, will support public programming at historic and cultural sites across the nation, and Family and Youth Programs in American History will encourage intergenerational reading about significant topics in U.S. history and literature.

• Support for model curriculum projects to help schools establish or improve course offerings in American history, culture and civics.

• Support for local and statewide projects on American history, culture and civics sponsored by the 56 state humanities councils.

President Bush launched the We the People initiative on Constitution Day, Sept. 17, 2002, at a special White House Rose Garden ceremony. The President cited numerous studies that have indicated that many young Americans have at best only a passing knowledge of our nation's history and principles of democratic government.

The FY 2005 budget includes funding for NEH grant programs in support of high quality education, research, preservation, and public programming in the humanities and for the projects and programs of the state humanities councils; challenge and other matching grants to stimulate and match nonfederal contributions to humanities projects; and the Endowment's administrative expenses necessary to operate the agency.

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES

Summary of FY 2005 Request
(in thousands of dollars)

¹Reflects $818 thousand rescission under Public Law 108-7.
²Reduced by $885 thousand rescission under Public Law 108-108 and by $804 thousand rescission under Public Law 108-199.