(a) Inclusion within the National Endowment for the Arts

There shall be, within the National Endowment for the Arts, a National Council on the Arts (hereinafter in this section referred to as the “Council”).

(b) Appointment and composition of Council

Terms Used In 20 USC 955

  • Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
  • arts: includes , but is not limited to, music (instrumental and vocal), dance, drama, folk art, creative writing, architecture and allied fields, painting, sculpture, photography, graphic and craft arts, industrial design, costume and fashion design, motion pictures, television, radio, film, video, tape and sound recording, the arts related to the presentation, performance, execution, and exhibition of such major art forms, all those traditional arts practiced by the diverse peoples of this country. See 20 USC 952
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See 1 USC 8
  • Majority leader: see Floor Leaders
  • Minority leader: See Floor Leaders
  • Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
  • Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.

(1) The Council shall be composed of members as follows:

(A) The Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Arts, who shall be the chairperson of the Council.

(B) Members of Congress appointed for a 2-year term beginning on January 1 of each odd-numbered year as follows:

(i) Two Members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

(ii) One Member of the House of Representatives appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.

(iii) Two Senator 1 appointed by the Majority Leader of the Senate.

(iv) One Senator appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate.


Members of the Council appointed under this subparagraph shall serve ex officio and shall be nonvoting members of the Council.

(C) 18 members appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, who shall be selected—

(i) from among private citizens of the United States who—

(I) are widely recognized for their broad knowledge of, or expertise in, or for their profound interest in the arts; and

(II) have established records of distinguished service, or achieved eminence, in the arts;


(ii) so as to include practicing artists, civic cultural leaders, members of the museum profession, and others who are professionally engaged in the arts; and

(iii) so as collectively to provide an appropriate distribution of membership among major art fields and interested citizens groups.


In making such appointments, the President shall give due regard to equitable representation of women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities who are involved in the arts and shall make such appointments so as to represent equitably all geographical areas in the United States.

(2) Transition to the new council composition.—

(A) Notwithstanding subsection (b)(1)(B), members first appointed pursuant to such subsection shall be appointed not later than December 31, 1997. Notwithstanding such subsection, such members shall be appointed to serve until December 31, 1998.

(B) Members of the Council serving on the effective date of this subsection may continue to serve on the Council until their current terms expire and new members shall not be appointed under subsection (b)(1)(C) until the number of Presidentially appointed members is less than 14.

(c) Terms of office; vacancies

Each member appointed under subsection (b)(1)(C) shall hold office for a term of six years, and the terms of office shall be staggered. The terms of office of all Council members appointed under subsection (b)(1)(C) shall expire on the third day of September in the year of expiration. No member appointed under subsection (b)(1)(C) shall be eligible for reappointment during the two-year period following the expiration of such member’s term. Any member appointed under subsection (b)(1)(C) appointed 2 to fill a vacancy shall serve for the remainder of the term for which such member’s predecessor was appointed. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, a member appointed under subsection (b)(1)(C) shall serve after the expiration of such member’s term until such member’s successor takes office.

(d) Meetings of Council; quorum; written records

(1) The Council shall meet at the call of the Chairperson but not less often than twice during each calendar year. Ten members of the Council shall constitute a quorum. All policy meetings of the Council shall be open to the public.

(2) The Council shall—

(A) create written records summarizing—

(i) all meetings and discussions of the Council; and

(ii) the recommendations made by the Council to the Chairperson; and


(B) make such records available to the public in a manner that protects the privacy of individual applicants, panel members, and Council members.

(e) Compensation of members

Members shall receive compensation at a rate to be fixed by the Chairperson but not to exceed the per diem equivalent of the rate authorized for grade GS-18 by section 5332 of title 5 and be allowed travel expenses including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by law (section 5703 of title 5) for persons in the Government service employed intermittently.

(f) Advisory functions; policies, programs, and procedures; recommendations; authority of Chairperson; action by Chairperson pursuant to delegation of authority

The Council shall advise the Chairperson with respect to policies, programs, and procedures for carrying out the Chairperson’s functions, duties, or responsibilities under this subchapter, and review applications for financial assistance under this subchapter and make recommendations to the Chairperson with respect to the approval of each application and the amount of financial assistance (if any) to provide to each applicant. The Council shall make recommendations to the Chairperson concerning—

(1) whether to approve particular applications for financial assistance under subsections (c) and (p) of section 954 of this title that are determined by panels under section 959(c) of this title to have artistic excellence and artistic merit; and

(2) the amount of financial assistance the Chairperson should provide with respect to each such application the Council recommends for approval.


The Chairperson shall not approve or disapprove any such application until the Chairperson has received the recommendation of the Council on such application. The Chairperson shall have final authority to approve each application, except that the Chairperson may only provide to an applicant the amount of financial assistance recommended by the Council and may not approve an application with respect to which the Council makes a negative recommendation. In the case of an application involving $30,000, or less, the Chairperson may approve or disapprove such request if such action is taken pursuant to the terms of an expressed and direct delegation of authority from the Council to the Chairperson, and provided that each such action by the Chairperson shall be reviewed by the Council, and that such action shall be used with discretion and shall not become a normal practice of providing assistance under such subsections, except that the terms of any such delegation of authority shall not permit obligations for expenditure of funds under such delegation for any fiscal year which exceed an amount equal to 10 per centum of the sums appropriated for that fiscal year pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of section 960(a) of this title.

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