During a recent interview with Fortune, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney stated the following regarding federal funding for the arts, humanities, and public television:

"'Some of these things, like those endowment efforts and PBS, I very much appreciate and like what they do in many cases,' Romney told the mag. 'But I just think they have to stand on their own rather than receiving money borrowed from other countries, as our government does on their behalf.'"

Yesterday, Americans for the Arts President & CEO Bob Lynch was asked by Variety to comment on Romney's statements and the following was published:

"Likewise, Americans for the Arts, which advocates for federal arts funding, is planning forums at the Republican and Democratic conventions, with former Arkansas Mike Huckabee hosting their event in Tampa and former Secretary of Education Richard Riley hosting in Charlotte. Robert Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts, said Romney has a 'misunderstanding' of how NEA funding works, in that the funding helps stimulate state and local arts councils as well as seed the growth of small businesses. 'We know from 45 years of history that the great benefit of the American system, which is a very conservative system of support, is not the subsidy but the leverage power,' he said."