Trump's 2019 budget includes another attempt at defunding NEA and other cultural agencies

2018-02-14T14:12:00-05:00

The White House has revealed its budget proposal for 2019 and despite recommending a $716 billion spending increase for defense, Trump wants to slash funding for cultural programs. He has suggested cutting the NEA's budget from $150m down to $29m. Other cultural organizations would also see their budgets broken—Trump's plan would cut funding for the National Endowment of Humanities from $150m down to just $42m, the Institute of Museum and Library Services from $231m to $23m, and public television from $495m to just $15m.

Last year, when the President first took office, he similarly tried to institute significant cuts to these federal programs. Despite his best efforts, Congress—who has the final say on passing the federal budget each year—ultimately ended up retaining funding for the various cultural organizations in bipartisan agreement. Beyond being extremely important to the well-being of the country in general, these agencies also support many architectural initiatives that are ...

Architect David Lake pens compelling letter to Congressman decrying proposed cuts to EPA's "Energy Star"

2017-04-04T20:29:00-04:00

As we discussed at the Witte, the EPA’s “Energy Star,” indoor air quality, and materials safety programs directly support the design and construction industry each and every day. The proposed EPA budget eliminates funding for these programs and will severely impact the ability of engineers and architects to meet client demands, fulfill our contractual obligations, and carry out the duties of our licensure to protect the public.

In response to a letter in which Texan Republican Congressman Lamar Smith told David Lake that he gets all of his news from a "biased liberal media," Lake not only kindly (and eloquently) rebutted this inaccuracy, but also encouraged the Congressman not to defund the EPA if he still wants to live in a world with excellent design and construction. Specifically, cutting the EPA's "Energy Star" program will negatively impact the public realm (and generally lead to less excellence in the architecture profession itself).

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Trump's 2019 budget includes another attempt at defunding NEA and other cultural agencies

Architect David Lake pens compelling letter to Congressman decrying proposed cuts to EPA's "Energy Star"