The arts and humanities offer an opportunity for every American to become a participant in activities that add fullness, expression, challenge and joy to our daily lives. We Republicans consider the preservation of the rich cultural heritages of our various ethnic groups as a priority goal.
During our bicentennial year we have celebrated our anniversary with cultural activities as varied and colorful as our cultural heritage. The Republican Party is proud of its record of support to the arts and humanities during the last eight years. We are committed to steadily increase our support through the National Endowments for the nation's museums, theaters, orchestras, dance, opera and film centers as well as for individual artists and writers.
This upward trend in funding for the National Arts and Humanities Endowments deserves to continue. But Washington's presence should never dominate; it must remain limited to supporting and stimulating the artistic and cultural lives of each community.
We favor continued federal assistance to public broadcasting which provides us with creative educational and cultural alternatives. We recognize that public broadcasting is supported mainly through private sector contributions and commend this policy as the best insurance against political interference.
In 1976, we have seen vivid evidence that America's history lives throughout the nation. We support the continued commemoration throughout the bicentennial era by all Americans of those significant events between 1776 and 1789 which contributed to the creation of this nation. We support the efforts of both the public and private sectors, working in partnership, for the historic preservation of unique and irreplaceable historic sites and buildings.
We propose safeguarding the rights of performing artists in the copyright laws, providing tax relief to artists who contribute their own talents and art works for public enjoyment, and encouraging the use of one percent of the cost of government buildings for art works.
Much of the support of the arts and humanities comes from private philanthropy. This generosity should be encouraged by government policies that facilitate charitable donations.
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