the 1990’s, the bonds cost less in interest than the
regular EE bonds.
In his 2000 state of the union address, President
Clinton announced the national budget enjoyed a
$184 billion surplus, some of which would be used to
pay off a portion of the national debt. Yet in his an-
nouncement of a budget surplus, Clinton left unsaid
that some $160 billion came from the Social Security
trust fund. Starting in 1984, the retirement program
ran a surplus because of higher payroll taxes. The
Social Security funds were then loaned to the federal
government, artificially lowering the deficit. Also
contributing to the budget surplus were the ever-
increasing tax revenues from the skyrocketing stock
market. By 2000, cracks had developed in the mar-
ket, a warning of a future crash and a significant
reduction in the taxes paid.
Impact The reduction of the national budget defi-
cit calmed political fears of an out-of-control debt
and removed the national debt as a political issue in
the 2000 presidential race.
Further Reading
Berman, William C.From the Center to the Edge: The Pol-
itics and Policies of the Clinton Presidency. New York:
Rowman & Littlefield, 2001. An examination of
the Clinton administration and its economic and
foreign policy. Includes discussions of his budget
policies and his achievements in reducing the
budget deficit.
Christensen, Jane.The National Debt: A Primer. Haup-
pauge, N.Y.: Nova Science Publishers, 2004. A
wide-ranging examination of the debt, who owns
the debt, how it has grown, and the cost in interest
payments.
Kelly, Robert, and Nelson Benton.The National Debt
of the United States, 1941-2008. Jefferson, N.C.:
McFarland, 2008. A detailed analysis of the na-
tional debt and its growth through the latter years
of the twentieth century. Particular attention is
paid to the Clinton administration and the presi-
dent’s attempt to reduce the budget deficit.
Douglas Clouatre
See also Balanced Budget Act of 1997; Bush,
George H. W.; Clinton, Bill; Contract with America;
Defense budget cuts; Line Item Veto Act of 1996; So-
cial Security reform; Stock market.
National Endowment for the
Arts (NEA)
Identification U.S. public agency that supports
projects in the arts
During the 1990’s, the NEA awarded thousands of grants
but struggled economically as a result of controversial bud-
get cuts.
The NEA is the largest national funder of the arts in
the United States. Its mission is to support works of
artistic excellence, advance learning in the arts, and
strengthen the arts in communities.
Funding Controversies From 1990 to 1995, Con-
gress granted the NEA between $152 and $175 mil-
lion annually. In 1996, however, Congress cut NEA
funding to $99.5 million because of pressure from
conservative groups, such as the Reverend Donald
Wildmon’s American Family Association. The Reli-
gious Right criticized the agency for funding such
controversial artists as Robert Clark Young, Andres
Serrano, Robert Mapplethorpe, and the “NEA
Four”—Karen Finley, Tim Miller, John Fleck, and
Holly Hughes—whose proposed grants had been ve-
toed by NEA chairperson John E. Frohnmayer in 1990.
Congress also voted to phase out funding for the
agency over a two-year period, and the House of
Representatives announced a plan to eliminate the
endowment. Congress placed specific limitations on
the NEA. Except for the literature fellowships, all in-
dividual grants were eliminated, but the honorific
National Heritage Fellowships and American Jazz
Masters awards were kept. Congress also prohibited
the seasonal or general operating support grants, al-
lowing only project support to organizations. Re-
strictions were imposed on allowing grantees to
subgrant to third-party organizations and artists.
As a result of the budget reduction, the agency
was forced to organize itself and the staff was cut by
47 percent, from 279 to 148. The NEA suffered fur-
ther reductions in its budget with a 1999 budget of
$98 million.
Chairs The 1990’s opened with a change in the
chair of the NEA. At the very end of 1989,
Frohnmayer was appointed by President George
H. W. Bush to lead the agency. His leadership was
challenged by the Religious Right, however, and
after two years of controversies, especially those
surrounding its funding of projects by polarizingThe Nineties in America National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) 603