The NEA budget has been losing its share of federal discretionary spending and failing to keep pace with inflation. When adjusted for inflation, the NEA’s 1992 budget is more than twice the 2019 budget.  

If the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) had simply maintained its 1984 percentage of non-defense discretionary spending of 0.107 percent (11 cents per $100 of spending), the 2018 NEA budget would have been $771.5 million instead of $152.8 million.

If the NEA's 1992 budget had simply remained constant and was only adjusted for inflation, it would be $320.7 million in 2019, instead of $155 million, a $165.7 million difference.