mr. chairman , i rise in support of this amendment . 
i commend congresswoman slaughter and congressman shays for all of their hard work supporting the arts and humanities through the congressional arts caucus . 
mr. chairman , this a very modest amendment . 
indeed , i would support significantly greater increases for both the national , endowment for the arts and the national endowment for the humanities . 
the reason is quite simple -- these agencies are good for the third district of massachusetts and for every community across the country . 
nationwide , nonprofit arts industries generate $ 134 billion annually in economic activity , support 4.85 million fulltime equivalent jobs , and return $ 10.5 billion to the federal government in taxes . 
measured against $ 1.4 billion in direct federal cultural spending that is a return of nearly eight to one . 
frankly , there are n't many industries that i can think of with those kinds of returns . 
the mid-90s brought drastic funding cuts to federal arts and humanities programs , and it is now more important than ever to keep funding stable . 
by adding $ 10 million for nea and $ 5 million for neh , arts businesses will be able to reinvest into their creative enterprises and back into the community . 
between 2004 and 2005 , growth in the number of arts businesses outpaced total business growth by 5.5 percent vs . 
3.8 percent . 
during this time , when the total number of u.s. jobs shrank 1.9 percent , the drop off of arts employment was less than half that rate . 
in my district , there are 1 , 234 arts-related businesses that employ over 7 , 000 people . 
these businesses range from non-profit museums and symphonies to for-profit films and advertising companies . 
the arts business community serves as a cornerstone for cultural enrichment and the tourist economy . 
studies show tourists spend 7 percent more than their local counterparts on arts events . 
how can we deny that is good for the community 's economic , social , and creative well-being . 
i would urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the slaughter amendment for minor increases in nea and neh funding . 
