Arts Groups Would Get Small Boost From Obama Budget Plan

President Obama today proposed to increase the budgets next year for the federal agencies that distribute arts and humanities grants.

Mr. Obama proposed spending almost $154.3-million each on the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities in the 2013 fiscal year, up from $146-million this year.

Not all of the money will go directly to supporting arts programs. Each group will get $3-million to help it move out of the Old Post Office Pavilion in Washington, which the federal government has decided to lease to a company owned by real-estate magnate Donald Trump, who plans to develop a luxury hotel.

The arts agency said in a statement that the proposed 2013 budget would allow it to increase its grants to state arts agencies, regional arts organizations, and nonprofits by $6.7-million, to $124.2-million, with some of the money coming from cuts in administrative costs.