The House’s FY14 Interior Appropriations bill which sets the budget for the NEA was released in late July allotting only $75 million for the agency. This amount is 49% less than the President’s recommendation of approximately $154.5 million. The full House Appropriations Committee met to markup the interior bill. Rep. Nita Lowey (D-7th NY) and Rep. David E. Price (D-4th NC) submitted an amendment to restore NEA funding to the President’s requested level, but it was defeated by a 19-27 vote. On August 1, the Senate Committee on Appropriations released its draft interior bill for FY14 restoring the NEA’s funding back to the President’s level of $154.5 million. Budget talks, though, were put on hold until after the August recess, leaving about one month until the end of the current fiscal year to make decisions on the FY14 budget.