Statement on the Establishment of the Presidential Task Force on the Arts and Humanities

I am naming this Task Force because of my deep concern for the arts and humanities in America. Our cultural institutions are an essential national resource; they must be kept strong. While I believe firmly that the Federal Government must reduce its spending, I am nevertheless sympathetic to the very real needs of our cultural organizations and hope the Task Force will deliver to my desk by Labor Day a plan to make better use of existing Federal resources and to increase the support for the arts and humanities by the private sector.