Statement on Signing the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Amendments of 1973.

I AM pleased to sign today S. 795, a measure extending for 3 years the authorization for the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities.

Government has a vital role to play in encouraging the arts and humanities in our national life, and this Administration has continually reaffirmed its commitment to the fulfillment of that role through the National Foundation.

The-purpose of the Foundation is not to alter the role of private patronage in the arts and humanities, but rather to supplement, stimulate, and extend that role. The Federal Government should do its part in supporting cultural activities-and appropriations for the Foundation have increased almost sixfold since I took office--but this increased emphasis on Federal assistance should be joined by private as well as State and local efforts. The highest expression of the quality of a nation is found in the development of its arts and refinement of its humanistic concerns. For this development to reach its full potential, it must be the expression of a whole people, and it must be available for the enjoyment of the whole people. That was the lesson of Athens. That was the rationale for the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities.

As a result of the increased breadth of artistic and humanistic endeavors made possible through Federal assistance, the benefit of these endeavors has been made available to larger and larger numbers of people throughout the country.

As we approach the Bicentennial anniversary, the National Foundation will have an increasingly important role to play in helping to represent to the Nation and the world the richness and diversity of our artistic and cultural heritage. The passage of this bill, with the bipartisan cooperation of the Congress and the executive branch, reemphasizes the faith of our Nation's leadership in the ability of the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities to inspire and enhance the fullest expression of that heritage.