WASHINGTON, D.C., (September 29, 2023) – An amendment submitted by U.S. Congressman Tim Burchett (TN-02) was included in the State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill that passed the House of Representatives.
This amendment prohibits funds from being used in the State Department’s Art in Embassies program.
“This program is a huge waste of our taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars. Our country’s credit rating was recently downgraded because of the government’s out-of-control spending, and this is a prime example of what that looks like," said Rep. Burchett. "We’re spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on art for embassies when our country is $33 trillion in debt, and that needs to end today.”
The State Department has previously spent:
- $420,000 for a statue in Montenegro
- $350,000 for a wall mosaic in Brazil
- $290,000 for a statue in Kenya
- $250,000 for a painting in Guatemala City
- $250,000 for a piece in Mexico City
The full text of the amendment can be read here.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://burchett.house.gov/media/press-releases/burchett-amendment-prohibit-funding-art-embassies-included-house-spending