Promoting the Arts, the Humanities, and Museum and Library Services
Establishes the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities as an advisory body housed within the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and directs more than two dozen federal departments and agencies to coordinate with the arts and humanities endowments on joint initiatives.
Creates a formal infrastructure for federal arts and cultural policy by tying the arts, humanities, museums, and libraries to priorities including economic development, public health, climate resilience, and civic engagement.
What this order does
What it orders
The order establishes the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities within the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The Committee is composed of the heads of the NEA, NEH, and IMLS, plus up to 25 presidentially appointed non-federal members drawn from private life and state, local, and Tribal officials. It also invites four additional non-voting members including the Librarian of Congress and the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. The Committee is purely advisory — it issues recommendations to the President and agency heads on topics ranging from community well-being and public health to climate resilience and civic engagement. IMLS funds and staffs the Committee, which meets twice a year and terminates two years from the signing date unless the President extends it.
The order also directs the heads of 25 named federal departments, agencies, and White House policy offices to coordinate with NEA, NEH, and IMLS heads and consider joint projects advancing the order's cultural policy objectives. It does not itself create any enforceable rights or alter existing agency authorities.
Who it affects
Federal agencies directed to coordinate — primarily NEA, NEH, and IMLS — along with up to 25 presidential appointees serving on the Committee. Artists, humanities scholars, educators, cultural institutions, and underserved communities are the intended beneficiaries of the policy priorities the Committee is charged with advancing.
Why it matters
Federal support for arts and cultural programs gains a formal coordinating body with direct advisory access to the President and agency heads. Institutions such as museums, libraries, and archives that depend on NEA, NEH, or IMLS funding may see those agencies better integrated with larger federal priorities like health, housing, and climate.
What must happen and when
How the order is supposed to work
IMLS funds and staffs the Committee; a designated Executive Director coordinates its work and meets quarterly with all three agency heads. The Committee meets twice a year; the Chair or Co-Chairs report annually to the President through the NEA, NEH, and IMLS heads. Federal agencies listed in Section 3 are directed to coordinate and consider joint initiatives, but no enforcement mechanism is specified. The Committee automatically terminates two years after signing unless the President extends it. The Federal Advisory Committee Act applies, with the IMLS Director performing presidential functions under that Act.
Actions and deadlines
- Appoint up to 25 non-Federal members and designate a Chair or Co-Chairs for the Committee
- IMLS Director designates an Executive Director to coordinate the Committee's work
- Executive Director meets with heads of NEA, NEH, and IMLS on a quarterly basis
- Committee meets twice per year
- Chair or Co-Chairs report annually to the President through NEA, NEH, and IMLS heads
- Committee terminates unless extended by the President