{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://pingree.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/pingree-selected-serve-board-advising-national-endowment-arts", "Pingree Selected to Serve on Board Advising National Endowment for the Arts", "2017-10-26", "2017", "2017-10", "Democrat", "House", "ME", "Chellie Pingree", "P000597", "pingree.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congresswoman Pingree with NEA Chairman Jane Chu at a 2015\u00a0event in Portland.\nWASHINGTON, D.C.\u2014Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) has been selected as an ex-officio member of the National Council on the Arts, which advises the National Endowment for the Arts on its grant programs and other priorities. She will participate in her first meeting with the council later today.\u00a0\n\u201cThe National Endowment for the Arts plays a pivotal role in supporting the arts and creative economy in Maine. It\u2019s an honor to help advance the NEA\u2019s work through the National Council on the Arts,\u201d said Pingree. \u201cThe public investments we make in the arts are important not just for our culture, but for jobs and the economy. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I\u2019ve been proud to advocate for that funding and tout what it\u2019s made in possible in Maine\u2014from arts exhibitions in Rockland to film festivals in Waterville. I\u2019m excited to use my experience as a Member of Congress to help strengthen the NEA\u2019s efforts however I can.\u201d\nPingree is one of two non-voting Members of Congress currently serving on the council\u2014the other is Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).\u00a0\nThe major areas in which the Council advises the agency and its Chairman are:\n\u2022 Applications for Federal grant funds recommended by advisory panels;  \n\t\u2022 Guidelines outlining funding categories, objectives, and eligibility;  \n\t\u2022 Leadership initiatives and partnership agreements with other agencies;  \n\t\u2022 Agency budget levels, allocations, and funding priorities;  \n\t\u2022 Policy directions involving Congressional legislation and other issues of importance to the arts nationally; and  \n\t\u2022 Recommending individuals and organizations to receive the National Medal of Arts\n Pingree\u2014Dedicated Advocate for the Arts \nPingree has long been recognized as an advocate for the arts in Maine and the NEA. She has hosted the last two NEA Chairmen\u2014Rocco Landesman and Jane Chu\u2014on visits to Maine to see NEA funds in action.\u00a0\nAs a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and the Environment, which oversees funding for the NEA, she worked with colleagues to protect funding for the agency that had been zeroed out in President Trump\u2019s budget proposal.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://pingree.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/pingree-selected-serve-board-advising-national-endowment-arts"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8592871017754078, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}