Grammys organization calls Trump's budget proposal to cut NEA 'shortsighted and alarming'
A slew of actors and actresses have also slammed the budget proposal.
— -- President Donald Trump's proposal to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts is "shortsighted and alarming," according to the music industry's largest organization of recording professionals.
"Music and art serve as one of America’s greatest exports, and support jobs for creators in cities, towns and rural areas across the country," Neil Portnow, president and CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement. "The White House proposal to eliminate funding for the National Endowment for the Arts is shortsighted and alarming."
The NEA is an independent agency of the federal government that funds artistic projects. It was created by an act of Congress in 1965.
Portnow also addressed the impact that the arts has on the economy and culture at large. "The modest support that we provide to music and the arts is returned many times over, whether measured in jobs and economic impact, or sheer cultural enrichment and introspection," he said.
The Academy "will ask Congress to maintain funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and renew our commitment to America’s creators," Portnow added.
NEA chairman Jane Chu was a bit more tempered with her words, saying she is "disappointed" with the proposal in Trump's $1.15 trillion budget, which was released Thursday.
"We are disappointed because we see our funding actively making a difference with individuals of all ages in thousands of communities, large, small, urban and rural, and in every Congressional District in the nation," Chu said in a statement. "We understand that the President's budget request is a first step in a very long budget process; as part of that process we are working with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to prepare information they have requested. At this time, the NEA continues to operate as usual and will do so until a new budget is enacted by Congress."
Hollywood also reacted, with a slew of actors and actresses taking to Twitter to slam the president's proposal.
BILLY EICHNER