Proposed Postal Rate Increase
The U.S. Postal Service announced plans to increase all postal rates starting in January 2011. The Alliance of Nonprofit Mailers, a group representing charities and other organizations came out strongly against the proposed increase, stating: "Consumers everywhere will pay more for the letters and packages they need to send; businesses - large and small - will suffer.” Dance/USA, as a founding member of the Performing Arts Alliance, will continue to track postal rate changes for nonprofit organizations. For the full news story, click here.

Creative Ways to Use Dance/USA’s Pocket Advocacy
As previously reported, Dance/USA introduced the Pocket Advocacy at our Annual Conference in Washington, DC. In addition to using the Pocket Advocacy as a way to strike up conversations on the power of dance, you can copy the advocacy facts into the signature of your email, post them on your organization’s website and share the facts using Twitter and Facebook! Tell us how you are using the Pocket Advocacy by emailing advocacy@danceusa.org!

Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (NY-28) Tells the Dance Community, “You Transcend Barriers”
On Thursday morning, June 17, Congresswoman Slaughter, co-chair of the Congressional Arts Caucus, travelled to the Ritz-Carlton in Pentagon City to speak to over 400 conference attendees at the Dance/USA Annual Conference.  “Dance, music and art transcend barriers of language, time, and generation, translating cultural differences, breathing life into history, and bridging experiences across cultures,” said Slaughter. “They accomplish the seemingly impossible task of both revealing our differences across the globe, while managing to illuminate all that connects us enriching our lives in ways nothing else can.”  Congresswoman Slaughter leads the annual fight to increase budgets for the arts and humanities. In 2007, she successfully led the fight to increase funding for the National Endowments for the Arts from $124 million in FY07 to $144.7 million in FY08, a $20 million increase.  http://www.louise.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1549:slaughter-tells-national-conference-of-dancers-you-transcend-barriers&catid=91:press-releases-2010&Itemid=141

Dance Advocacy on the Hill
During the Dance/USA Conference in Washington, D.C., dance advocates travelled to Capitol Hill to speak in support of dance and the nonprofit arts.  The advocates visited 38 legislative offices in both the House and Senate and discussed the importance of the National Endowment for the Arts, arts education, charitable giving incentives and cultural exchange programs, among other issues.  Congressman Todd Platts (R-PA), co-chair of the Congressional Arts Caucus, kicked-off the afternoon by greeting the dance advocates on the Hill and sharing his support for the arts.  The California constituency met with the Chief of Staff in Speaker Pelosi’s office; the Maryland and Maine constituencies had the honor of speaking directly with their member of Congress; and the New York constituency visited, among many other offices, the office of Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY).  From Massachusetts to Washington and from Alabama to Illinois, dance advocates reached out to legislators across the country.  Thank you to all of the dance advocates that volunteered their time during Dance/USA’s Annual Conference to conduct legislative visits.  Your advocacy makes a difference!

Let Dance/USA Schedule Legislative Meetings for You!
The next time you are headed to Washington, D.C., let Dance/USA’s Government Affairs Department know!  We will schedule hill meetings for you, prepare you with talking points and issue briefs, and accompany you on your meetings!  In addition, we encourage all members to conduct legislative visits in their local communities.  Too often, legislators are only slightly aware of the arts organizations in their districts.  It is important that individuals and dance organizations visit their legislative office to share information on their work, including community partnerships, education programs, numbers of audience served, etc.  We need to help our policy makers fully understand the public value of the dance field.

Pocket Advocacy
Thanks to our board chair, Paul King, Dance/USA has created wallet-sized advocacy cards on the power of dance.  All attendees to the Dance/USA Annual Conference received Pocket Advocacy cards with their registration materials.  We hope everyone will use the cards to engage in conversations about dance, the power of arts education, the economic impact of the arts and the health benefits of dancing.  For those that were unable to participate in this year’s conference, we have created a webpage with the advocacy facts and research sources!  http://www.danceusa.org/pocket

Dance Advocacy Network
Dance/USA is reinventing our Government Affairs Liaison email list!  Starting in July 2010, the Dance Advocacy Network will become a grassroots network of dance advocates across America. All Dance/USA members are encouraged to participate in the Dance Advocacy Network to increase the sharing of advocacy information, to develop tools and resources available for effective dance advocacy and to inspire other citizens to advocate for this wonderful art form.  To become an official Dance Advocate, join the Dance Advocacy Network when registering or renewing membership online with Dance/USA.

Ann Stock to become Assistance Secretary, Bureau of Educational And Cultural Affairs, State Department
The U.S. Senate has confirmed the nomination of Ann Stock for Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs.  Stock’s nomination, as well as more than 100 others, had been stalled for months as a result of “holds” placed on them.  Stock is currently the vice president for Institutional Affairs at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and served as an assistant to President Clinton and his social secretary from 1993 to 1997. Source:  Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Affairs; Washington Post; Foreign Policy Magazine

Congresswoman Betty McCollum Introduces Bill on the Nonprofit Community
On June 16, Congresswoman McCollum (D-MN) introduced the Nonprofit Sector and Community Solutions Act (H.R.5533) as a vehicle to study how the nonprofit community can work with government more effectively and on improved data collection on the work of nonprofit organizations. Independent Sector strongly endorses the legislation which proposes the creation of a U.S. Council on the Nonprofit Sector and Community Solutions to advise the President and Congress about how the federal government can work more effectively with nonprofits.  To view Independent Sector’s analysis on the legislation, visit http://independentsector.org/nonprofit_sector_and_community_solutions_act

Arts Community Submit Comments to Immigration Services
On May 11, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services opened a public comment period, inviting feedback regarding a specific area of artist visa processing - the amount of time allowable between multiple engagements in a single visa approval period. Click here to read the draft memo open for public comment.  Dance/USA, in partnership with the national Performing Arts Visa Working Group, submitted comments to USCIS on May 24.  To read the complete comments, click here.

IRS Update on the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (HIRE Act)
The Internal Revenue Service has issued the newly revised payroll tax form that most eligible employers can use to claim the special payroll tax exemption that applies to many new workers hired during 2010. Designed to encourage non-profit and for-profit employers to hire and retain new workers, the payroll tax exemption and the related new hire retention credit were created by the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act signed by President Obama on March 18. Employers who hire unemployed workers this year (after Feb. 3, 2010, and before Jan. 1, 2011) may qualify for a 6.2% payroll tax incentive, in effect exempting them from the employer’s share of Social Security tax on wages paid to these workers after March 18. This reduction will have no effect on the employee’s future Social Security benefits. The employee’s 6.2% share of Social Security tax and the employer and employee’s shares of Medicare tax still apply to all wages. In addition, for each qualified employee retained for at least a year whose wages did not significantly decrease in the second half of the year, businesses may claim a new hire retention credit of up to $1,000 per worker on their income tax return. Source: IRS
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=223606,00.html

Estate Tax
The federal Estate Tax serves as a strong incentive for individuals to donate from their estates to charitable organizations to reduce estate tax liability. The Estate Tax expired on December 31, 2009. Senator Baucus (D-MT), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, believes that the Estate Tax can be reinstated retroactively. And, President Obama has proposed reinstating the Estate Tax at 2009 levels ($3.5 million individual exemption, 45% rate). The Senate continues to debate ways to reinstate the estate tax and proposals are on the table to lower the tax rate and have a higher exemption level (above $3.5 million). For more information and talking points, visit Independent Sector at: http://www.independentsector.org/estate_tax

Future of Music Policy Summit
On Tuesday, May 25, the Future of Music Coalition hosted their annual Policy Day in Washington, DC. The program included discussions on health care reform for musicians, spectrum issues at the FCC, and music related issues in Congress. Remarks of particular interest were made by FCC General Counsel Austin Schlick on Net Neutrality and advocacy advice for artists by key hill staffers. To watch video excerpts from the panels, visit the Future of Music website at: http://futureofmusic.org/events/dc-policy-day-2010

Senate Holds Oversight Hearing on U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services
On Tuesday, May 11, the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration held an oversight hearing on USCIS. Senator Hatch (R-UT) questioned USCIS Director Mayorkas about O and P visas, the ARTS Act, the increase in Requests for More Evidence and denials of artist visas, and the inconsistent processing at the California Processing Center. Director Mayorkas responded that he is fully aware of the challenges that petitioners are experiencing and he is working to fix the problems. He stated that USCIS is beginning a broad review of the O and P visa processing system. Senator Hatch underscored that the problems surrounding artist visas are hurting the cultural affairs of our country and that his staff receives a lot of work from constituents on this issue. Other subcommittee members at the meeting included Sen. Feinstein (D-CA), Sen. Cornyn (R-TX), Sen. Sessions (R-AL), Sen. Franken (D-MN), and Sen. Leahy (D-VT).

Let’s Move Initiative & Dance
The Let’s Move Initiative, spearheaded by the First Lady Michelle Obama, has released a task force report on Child Obesity. The report discusses nutrition, lifestyle and physical activity. The Boston Ballet’s partnership with local public schools is mentioned as an example of Expanding Learning Time models in Massachusetts. The report also lists dance as a “lifetime activity” that can be offered by schools, programs and after-school activities. To read the report visit: http://www.letsmove.gov/tfco_fullreport_may2010.pdf

To learn more about the Let’s Move initiative, visit: http://letsmove.gov/blog/index_1.html

FY11 Senate Budget Resolution
On April 21, the Senate released their budget resolution summary which adopts a $3.7 trillion budget, and outlines spending priorities for the appropriations process. The budget resolution includes a one-year extension for both the Estate Tax and the IRA Charitable Rollover, which expired on December 31, 2009. It is still unclear if the House will move forward with a formal budget resolution for FY2011.
http://www.independentsector.org/uploads/Policy_PDFs/FY2011ChairmanSummary_042110.pdf

House Appropriations Chairman and Arts Advocate, David Obey (D-WI), Announces Retirement
After serving more than 40 years in Congress, Representative Obey has announced he will be retiring from Congress. In his role as the House Appropriations Chairman, Congressman Obey was a strong advocate for federal support of the arts. During the stimulus debate, he argued in support of the $50 million in NEA stimulus funding: “There are five million people who work in the arts industry. And right now they have 12.5% unemployment—or are you suggesting that somehow if you work in that field, it isn’t real when you lose your job, your mortgage or your health insurance? We’re trying to treat people who work in the arts the same way as anybody else.”

IRS Video on Health Care Reform and Small Business
In addition to the comprehensive IRS site on tax provisions in health care reform, you can now watch IRS videos on YouTube. To watch a web-chat between U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Small Business Administrator Karen Mills, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChZxszgS_1M

NEA’s Open Government Page
The National Endowment for the Arts continues to update its Open Government page in an effort to make the agency's work more transparent. The page includes links to such topics as the NEA webcasts and the Art Works blog. To explore the NEA’s Open Government Page visit: http://www.arts.gov/open/index.html.

Help Dance/USA Advocate for an Improved Visa Processing System
As many of you know, Dance/USA is working in coalition to address the inconsistent and unpredictable nature of visa processing for foreign guest artists. To assist us with our advocacy efforts, we need to hear from you! What RFEs or denials have you received in the last six months? Is this more than usual for your company? You can e-mail Dance/USA’s Government Affairs office at advocacy@danceusa.org and attach a scanned copy of your RFEs and denial notices. It is extremely important that we compile these notices as evidence of unjust or unusual requests for additional evidence.

Performing Arts Alliance Files Comments on Network Neutrality with the FCC
On Monday April 26, the Performing Arts Alliance, of which Dance/USA is a founding member, filed public comments with the FCC in support of net neutrality. Monday April 26 was the FCC deadline for filing Reply Comments in this proceeding. To read the PAA public comments, visit: http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7020436972. To learn more about net neutrality, visit the Future of Music at: http://futureofmusic.org/issues/telecommunications-policy/network-neutrality

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) offers Webchat on Health Care Reform
On Friday, April 30 at 2:30 PM EST, the Dept of HHS will be offering a webchat to discuss how the Affordable Care Act will hold insurance companies accountable. You can send your questions in advance to healthreform@hhs.gov and watch live at www.hhs.gov/live. HHS will also take questions live from Twitter using handle @HHSGOV. For more information health care reform from HHS, visit: http://www.healthreform.gov/

Tax-Free Employer-Provided Health Coverage Now Available for Children under Age 27
As a result of changes made by the recently enacted Affordable Care Act, health coverage provided for an employee's children under 27 years of age is now generally tax-free to the employee, effective March 30, 2010. The Internal Revenue Service announced today that these changes immediately allow employers with cafeteria plans –– plans that allow employees to choose from a menu of tax-free benefit options and cash or taxable benefits –– to permit employees to begin making pre-tax contributions to pay for this expanded benefit. IRS Notice 2010-38 explains these changes and provides further guidance to employers, employees, health insurers and other interested parties. Source: IRS

Dance/USA Members Participate in Arts Advocacy Day 2010
On April 12 and 13, Dance/USA members Jacqulyn Buglisi (Buglisi Dance Theatre), Rodney Trapp (Dance Theatre of Harlem), Conrhonda Baker (Alabama Dance Council), Olu Yemisi (Olu Yemisi & Company) and Dance/USA board member Wayne Hazzard (Dancers’ Group) traveled to Washington DC to participate in Arts Advocacy Day. In describing his experiences on the hill, Wayne Hazzard noted, "We had great conversations with the staff members of Feinstein, Boxer, Pelosi, Miller and Barbara Lee. The conversations were enthusiastic and yet tempered with caution about the deficit and the President not wanting any increases. No surprise there... I let them know I will be back in June!" Rodney Trapp from Dance Theatre of Harlem also shared his experiences, stating: "This type of grassroots advocacy is so important. I was able to visit with Reps Rangel and Lowey and Senators Gillibrand and Schumer." Thank you to all the Dance/USA members that participated in Arts Advocacy Day!

IRS Resources, Health Care Reform
The IRS has created a website dedicated to the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit included in the health care reform legislation.  Visit the site for frequent updates, a FAQ sheet, and scenarios of how the tax credit applies to different employers.  http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=220809,00.html?portlet=6