Representative Bonamici Meets with GIA’s Members
Grantmakers in the Arts’ members were treated to an online Member Discussion with Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) on November 20, 2025. This visit was made possible through Penn Hill Group, with whom GIA works on federal advocacy. Representative Bonamici serves on several House Committees and Caucuses, including the Committee on Education and Workforce, where she is the Ranking Member of the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee and also serves on the Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee. Representative Bonamici also serves as the co-founder and co-chair of the House STEAM Caucus, co-chair of the Career and Technical Education Caucus, co-chair of the Pre-K and Child Care Caucus, and as a member of the Arts Caucus.
Representative Bonamici began by discussing the Arts Education for All Act, which Grantmakers in the Arts and our members have helped inform. The bill would expand arts education programming from preschool through high school and into the juvenile justice system. Representative Bonamici described how the arts improve academic achievement, engagement and social and emotional development. She also made clear that access to the arts education has been limited by income and racial inequities.
A screenshot from GIA’s November monthly member discussion via Zoom.
Representative Bonamici spoke to the application of the arts in other areas, such as the applied sciences, and shared how essential the arts are to the next generation of workers. Employers seek critical thinkers and innovators, skills that are cultivated through the arts.
Representative Bonamici also spoke to the health benefits of the arts, citing Renée Fleming’s Music and Mind, Susan Magsemen’s Your Brain on Art and the NeuroArts Blueprint. She emphasized the critical healing role the arts play in addressing today’s behavioral health challenges, praising former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s prescription for wellness, which includes arts engagement.
Regarding the current presidential administration’s recent decision to move several major U.S. Department of Education programs to other federal agencies through six new interagency agreements, Representative Bonamici clarified that ONLY Congress has the authority to make such changes. This concern is not partisan, as evidenced by this objection from Margaret Spellings, the Secretary of Education under George W. Bush. Representative Bonamici made clear that these actions would be challenged in the courts.
Central to the health of cultural communities is fair payment for artists and arts workers. Representative Bonamici recently introduced the Capital, Repairs, and Employment for Art Talent to Improve Visibility Everywhere (CREATIVE) Act (HR 6165), which would help revitalize communities by supporting arts organizations that build new facilities, improve existing facilities, hire staff, and produce art. A core component of the legislation is ensuring artists and staff are paid for their work. The CREATIVE Act is cosponsored by Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), and Mike Carey (R-OH).
Advocacy consultants Penn Hill Group also highlighted the potential for inclusion of the arts in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, pointing to the bipartisan Creative Economy Revitalization Act introduced by Representatives Leger Fernández and Jay Obernolte (R-CA) as a bill to continue endorsing upon its reintroduction.
While little is expected to move in Congress in the immediate term, educating legislators now is essential to preparing for future legislative activity. Penn Hill Group joined Representative Bonamici in encouraging GIA’s members to advocate for the arts with elected officials, including those representing their districts as well as relevant House committee members and Senate committee members. Advocacy must be rooted in stories of impacts within our communities. Statistics matter, but stories about people are more powerful.
Grantmakers in the Arts thanks Representative Bonamici for her support of the arts and for joining GIA’s members. The arts matter, are worthy of public investment, and deserve our collective advocacy.
