20 U.S.C. § 951 : US Code - Section 951: Declaration of findings and purposes

Search 20 U.S.C. § 951 : US Code - Section 951: Declaration of findings and purposes

The Congress finds and declares the following:
(1) The arts and the humanities belong to all the people of the
United States.
(2) The encouragement and support of national progress and
scholarship in the humanities and the arts, while primarily a
matter for private and local initiative, are also appropriate
matters of concern to the Federal Government.
(3) An advanced civilization must not limit its efforts to
science and technology alone, but must give full value and
support to the other great branches of scholarly and cultural
activity in order to achieve a better understanding of the past,
a better analysis of the present, and a better view of the
future.
(4) Democracy demands wisdom and vision in its citizens. It
must therefore foster and support a form of education, and access
to the arts and the humanities, designed to make people of all
backgrounds and wherever located masters of their technology and
not its unthinking servants.
(5) It is necessary and appropriate for the Federal Government
to complement, assist, and add to programs for the advancement of
the humanities and the arts by local, State, regional, and
private agencies and their organizations. In doing so, the
Government must be sensitive to the nature of public sponsorship.
Public funding of the arts and humanities is subject to the
conditions that traditionally govern the use of public money.
Such funding should contribute to public support and confidence
in the use of taxpayer funds. Public funds provided by the
Federal Government must ultimately serve public purposes the
Congress defines.
(6) The arts and the humanities reflect the high place accorded
by the American people to the nation's rich cultural heritage and
to the fostering of mutual respect for the diverse beliefs and
values of all persons and groups.
(7) The practice of art and the study of the humanities require
constant dedication and devotion. While no government can call a
great artist or scholar into existence, it is necessary and
appropriate for the Federal Government to help create and sustain
not only a climate encouraging freedom of thought, imagination,
and inquiry but also the material conditions facilitating the
release of this creative talent.
(8) The world leadership which has come to the United States
cannot rest solely upon superior power, wealth, and technology,
but must be solidly founded upon worldwide respect and admiration
for the Nation's high qualities as a leader in the realm of ideas
and of the spirit.
(9) Americans should receive in school, background and
preparation in the arts and humanities to enable them to
recognize and appreciate the aesthetic dimensions of our lives,
the diversity of excellence that comprises our cultural heritage,
and artistic and scholarly expression.
(10) It is vital to a democracy to honor and preserve its
multicultural artistic heritage as well as support new ideas, and
therefore it is essential to provide financial assistance to its
artists and the organizations that support their work.
(11) To fulfill its educational mission, achieve an orderly
continuation of free society, and provide models of excellence to
the American people, the Federal Government must transmit the
achievement and values of civilization from the past via the
present to the future, and make widely available the greatest
achievements of art.
(12) In order to implement these findings and purposes, it is
desirable to establish a National Foundation on the Arts and the
Humanities.