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[Page S1153]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS
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TRIBUTE TO DR. PHOEBE STEIN
Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I would like to take a few
moments to thank and congratulate Dr. Phoebe Stein for her lifetime
commitment to advancing the humanities. At the end of this week, Phoebe
will leave her post as the executive director at Maryland Humanities, a
position she has held for more than 11 years. But Maryland's loss is
the Nation's gain. Effective May 1, Phoebe will succeed Esther
Mackintosh as president of the Federation of State Humanities Councils.
The federation is the national member association of the 56 State and
jurisdictional humanities councils. The Federation's purpose is ``to
provide leadership, advocacy, and information to help members advance
programs that engage millions of citizens across diverse populations in
community and civic life.'' I can't think of anyone better suited for
the job.
Phoebe, a Maryland native, arrived at Maryland Humanities in 2008
after serving as the director of public affairs at the Illinois
Humanities Council, now called Illinois Humanities. She received her
B.A. in English from the University of Michigan and her M.A. and Ph.D.
in English from Loyola University of Chicago.
Phoebe has effectively advocated for the humanities at the local,
State, and Federal level for more than 20 years. Even though Phoebe
became executive director at Maryland Humanities at the beginning of
the Great Recession, she managed to expand the council's partnerships,
programs, staff, financial support and other resources, and, most
importantly, its reach. She hosted a radio spot, ``Humanities
Connection,'' while advancing several of the council's flagship
programs, including Maryland History Day, Museum on Main Street, and
One Maryland One Book. The organization now offers more than 1,000 free
events annually in partnership with more than 500 organizations in more
than 150 communities statewide.
Phoebe has brought Maryland History Day winners to meet with their
elected representatives at the Maryland State House and here at the
U.S. Capitol. She helped to foster a responsive environment following
the death of Freddie Gray in 2015 and launch a Humanities Fund for
Baltimore. She introduced student authors to author Chimamanda Ngozi
Adiche at One Maryland One Book events in 2017. Through it all, Phoebe
has been a joyful and indefatigable advocate, coming up to the Hill or
to Annapolis to lobby or traveling throughout Maryland to bring the
humanities to the people. In 2016, ``The Daily Record'' rightfully
recognized Phoebe as one of Maryland's Top 100 Women.
The National Endowment for the Humanities, NEH, provides funding to
State humanities councils through NEH's Federal/State Partnership
Office. The councils also receive funding from private donations,
foundations, corporations, and from the States themselves. This year,
we will celebrate the 55th anniversary of the NEH's creation. On
September 29, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the National
Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act into law. The act called
for the creation of the NEH and the National Endowment for the Arts,
NEA, as separate, independent agencies. More than 200 people filled the
Rose Garden for the bill signing ceremony, including Gregory Peck,
Dumas Malone, Ansel Adams, Ralph Ellison, Walter Gropius, and Paul
Mellon.
President Trump's fiscal year 2021 budget request once again
tendentiously proposes to terminate the NEH, the NEA, the Institute of
Museum and Library Services, and the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting. In previous years, Congress has ignored these proposals,
and I am optimistic we will do so again this year. I would note that
Federal funding for the NEH peaked in 1994 in nominal terms at $177.5
million; in inflation-adjusted terms--2019 dollars--Federal funding
peaked in 1979 at nearly three times its current level.
On a per capita basis, Federal funding for the NEH amounts to less
than the cost of a single postage stamp. That is a rather paltry
investment since, as author and essayist Mark Slouka wrote in his book,
``Essays from the Nick of Time: Reflections and Refutations,'' ``[T]he
humanities are a superb delivery mechanism for what we might call
democratic values.'' He went on to say:
The case for the humanities is not hard to make, though it
can be difficult--to such an extent have we been
marginalized, so long have we acceded to that
marginalization--not to sound either defensive or naive. The
humanities, done right, are the crucible in which our
evolving notions of what it means to be fully human are put
to the test; they teach us, incrementally, endlessly, not
what to do, but how to be. Their method is confrontational,
their domain unlimited, their ``product'' not truth but the
reasoned search for truth, their ``success'' something very
much like Frost's momentary stay against confusion.
Phoebe Stein understands how important the humanities are to our
individual, collective, and civic well-being. While we Marylanders will
miss her at Maryland Humanities, all Americans are fortunate that she
will be heading the federation, where her passionate advocacy will
extend beyond Baltimore, the Eastern Shore, and the Cumberland Narrows
to redound to the benefit of people and communities across our
Nation.
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