Defund National Endowment for the Humanities Act of 2025

H.R. 82, the Defund National Endowment for the Humanities Act of 2025, proposes to eliminate federal funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), a federal agency that provides grants and support for humanities programs. If enacted, this bill would prohibit the use of any appropriated funds for the NEH's functions, programs, and activities, which would effectively shut down the agency's operations.

The NEH currently funds a wide range of humanities initiatives including grants to libraries, museums, universities, and cultural organizations for projects related to history, literature, philosophy, and other humanities disciplines. If this bill were to pass, these funding streams would end, potentially affecting thousands of cultural institutions and educational programs across the country that rely on NEH grants for projects, research, and public programming.

The bill was introduced in the House on January 3, 2025, and is currently in committee. As a standard piece of legislation, it would require a vote in the full House and Senate, as well as presidential signature, to become law.