Mayors from around the United States are sending a letter to Congress in which they ask that the governmental body provide funding and support for the arts and culture sector.

The effort was spearheaded by the San Francisco Arts Alliance with support from San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed. Other mayors who have signed on to support include Steve Adler (Austin, TX); Jim Brainard (Carmel, IN); London N. Breed (San Francisco, CA); LaToya Cantrell (New Orleans, LA); John Cooper (Nashville, TN); Bill de Blasio (New York, NY); Mike Duggan (Detroit, MI); Jenny A. Durkan (Seattle, WA); Kate Gallego (Phoenix, AZ); Eric Garcetti (Los Angeles, CA); Michael B. Hancock (Denver, CO); Jim Kenney (Philadelphia, PA); Sam Liccardo (San Jose, CA); Lori Lightfoot (Chicago, IL); Erin Mendenhall (Salt Lake City, UT); Satya Rhodes-Conway (Madison, WI); Regina Romero (Tucson, AZ); Libby Schaaf (Oakland, CA); Darrell Steinberg (Sacramento, CA); Sylvester Turner (Houston, TX); Martin J. Walsh (Boston, MA); Ted Wheeler (Portland, OR); and Victoria Woodards (Tacoma, WA).

The letter asks for specific relief efforts, including the extension of unemployment insurance for artists, arts professionals, and self-employed workers. It also asks for the extension of the SBA and Paycheck Protection Program, as well as forgivable SBA loans to nonprofit arts and culture organizations. It also asks for adjustments to the Economic Stabilization Fund. The letter also calls for additional funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, Humanities, and the Insitute of Museum and Library Services.

“Individuals and organizations in the arts and cultural fields are innately creative, and it’s imperative that we now use that creativity to shape our future,” adds Matthew Shilvock, co‐chair of the San Francisco Arts Alliance and General Director of the San Francisco Opera in a press release. “We deeply appreciate the support of the mayors who are playing a pivotal role championing the vital role of arts organizations. Bringing people back together through shared cultural experiences will be essential to rebuilding communities and strengthening social cohesion.”

The arts and culture sector contributed over $877.8 billion to the U.S. economy in 2017 and features more than five million workers. The sector has lost $4.8 billion in just the first two months of the COVID-19 crisis.

Congress has already passed a few stimulus packages including the CARES Act which provided almost all Americans with a $1,200 stimulus check. However, per reports, provisions of that stimulus package benefit over 43,000 Americans who make more than $1 million a year. Additionally, the stimulus bill that was to benefit small business, also saw irregularities in which larger organizations were obtaining the funding for their own purposes.