Support Congressional Creative Economy Legislation

Adopted at the 90th Annual Meeting in 2022

  • WHEREAS, the United States needs to help mitigate creative worker displacement, stimulate local creative workforce growth, strengthen connections for local arts, culture, creative small businesses and networks, create a pipeline for new arts, culture and creative jobs, enrich communities, increase access to culture, and invest in artists and other creative workers, as well as local economies, harmed by COVID-19, and

    WHEREAS, in addition to being an economic driver of 4.2% of the country's GDP, arts and culture have significant economic, social, and individual impact. The presence of arts and culture drives additional spending on local businesses, restaurants, and hotels, increase property values and improves education outcomes for students, boosts community pride and social cohesion, and

    WHEREAS, bipartisan members of Congress in 2022, have introduced several bills that are listed below that seek to both support and employ artists and creative workers and strengthen local economies by galvanizing and investing in a civic infrastructure fueled by creative workers and a recovering creative workforce, and

    WHEREAS, these bills will strengthen equity in the allocation of federal resources for the creative workforce, get creative workers back into jobs by creating workforce grant programs within the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. In the U.S., there are over 673,000 creative businesses—9-in-10 of them small or single-employee businesses—that will benefit from modest changes in current federal policy, and

    WHEREAS, policy proposals would open access to billions in investment in the creative economy, generating positive economic ripple effects in every American community. $3.5 billion in federal funds would be made more accessible for creative businesses for growth capital, skill building, relief, recovery, and more, and

    WHEREAS, these eight bills were developed in collaboration with many partners in the creative economy, including the Get Creative Workers Working coalition, which is made up of 200 local, state, and national cultural organizations and agencies.

    NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors supports legislation to invest in the country's creative economy and workforce and promote equitable economic inclusion, and any and all efforts to get creative workers working again, including enactment of the:
    • Comprehensive Resources for Entrepreneurs in the Arts to Transform the Economy Act (CREATE Act) HR 6381/S.3521
    • Promoting Local Arts and Creative Economy Workforce Act (PLACE Act) HR 6569/S.3560
    • 21st Century Federal Writers Project Act (21CFWP) HR 3054
    • Creative Economy Revitalization Act (CERA) HR 5019/S. 2858
    • Performing Arts Tax Parity Act (PATPA) HR 4750/S. 2872
    • Help Independent Tracks Succeed (HITS) Act H.R. 1945/S. 753
    • Saving Transit Arts Resources Act (STAR Act) HR 2380
    • Arts Education for All Act (AEFA) HR 5581
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