The administration bill and S. 316 were referred to the Subcommittee on Arts and Humanities, chaired by Pell, which held a joint hearing on February 23, 1965 with the Special Subcommittee on Labor of the House Committee on Education and Labor. As momentum grew for the creation of a foundation to support the humanities, on March 10, Johnson sent a letter to Congress endorsing the creation of a National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities. This March 12 letter from William Walton, chair of the Commission of Fine Arts, to Senator Lister Hill (D-AL), chairman of the Senate Labor and Public Welfare Committee, stated the administration’s position that these related fields should be “under a single foundation, with a separate fund program, and chairman and council for each.” On June 10, the Senate passed S. 1483 providing separate endowments for the arts and the humanities on a voice vote.

"Letter from William Walton to Lister Hill Regarding S. 316." Letter from William Walton to Lister Hill Regarding S. 316, March 12, 1965; “S 315-S 438” folder, Legislative Bill Files, Box 1; Committee on Labor and Public Works; 89th Congress; Records of the U.S. Senate, RG 46; National Archives.. Accessed 16 April 2024. https://acsc.lib.udel.edu/exhibits/show/legislation/item/288.