WASHINGTON , D.C.—Responding to Senate Republicans' request for information about a controversial conference call, National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman said the “isolated incident” shouldn’t tarnish the NEA’s achievements or its worth to the American public. 

Landesman’s remarks came in a letter to Sen. Mike Enzi, who with nine other Republican senators had asked him to respond to their concerns about whether NEA funds were being used to advance the Obama administration's legislative agenda. The controversy arose from an NEA conference call in August, during which artists were asked to participate in the president’s United We Serve volunteer program and led to the demotion and then resignation of the agency’s communications director, Yosi Sergant.

Landesman wrote that he was unaware of the use of taxpayer dollars for the conference call, which he notes was undertaken without agency approval and before he became chairman, or for any other related activity. He said staff training efforts are being stepped up to avoid the appearance of impropriety when government programs are discussed publicly. Also, the NEA is reviewing whether to reinforce directives to staff members on complying with the laws and conduct standards governing federal agency employees, and whether to stiffen the consequences for violating them, Landesman wrote.

In addition, the chairman’s remarks reiterated his belief, made in a previous statement, that Sergant had used "inappropriate" language during the call but did not violate legal prohibitions against on-the-job political activity by federal employees.

Read more at the Los Angeles Times.