People attending AAM Annual Meeting in Cleveland:

We thought you'd want to know that Rep. Ralph Regula will be
participating in a session on Monday morning, April 26, 1999, at 10:30,
entitled "Navigating Federal and State Governments for Funds and
Influence."

Mr. Regula chairs the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, which
recommends funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the
NEA and NEH, the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian Institution,
the Holocaust Museum, the National Park Service, and the Bureau of Land
Management (I think I got them all!), all of which obviously are of
great interest to the museum community.  As chair, Mr. Regula gets the
first pass at suggesting recommendations to his subcommittee, so his
opinion carries great weight.

Let me emphasize that we don't want people to attend in order to
complain that funding is too low!   Rather, we urge people to attend
because a healthy attendance will show him that the community cares
about what he has to say, and because he will offer valuable insights on
what works when you approach elected officials.  (And remember, he also
has to make recommendations for a host of other very worthy agencies,
programs, and causes ranging from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to
various mining and energy programs.)

Mr. Regula will also make brief comments at the general session that day
on his predictions for the future of the cultural agencies.

We encourage you to forward this message to other museum-related lists.

See you in Cleveland.

Andy Finch
AAM Government Affairs
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Usual disclaimers apply.