NEW YORK (CNN) -- For actress Jane Alexander, the criticism of a $50 million boost in funding for the National Endowment for the Arts is a sequel.



Tony-award winning actress Jane Alexander says giving money to the arts will save and create jobs.



She was chairman of the agency from 1993 through 1997 when arts funding was cut sharply by the Republican-led Congress, which questioned whether it was an appropriate way to use government money.



Now the issue is whether giving money to the arts should have been part of the economic stimulus program. Among those who have criticized the new spending this year is Lousiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who delivered the Republican response to President Barack Obama's message to Congress Tuesday.



On Monday's "Larry King Live," Jindal said, "Fundamentally, I don't think $30 million for the federal government to buy new cars, $1 billion for the Census, $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts is going to get the economy moving again as quickly as allowing the private sector to create jobs."



It's no surprise that Alexander disagrees and argues that arts spending can give a vital boost to the economy. The actress, who will appear later this month in a new comedy at the New York theater company Primary Stages called "Chasing Manet," won a Tony Award for her role in the "The Great White Hope." She has been nominated eight times for an Emmy and four times for an Oscar for films including, "All the President's Men" and "Kramer vs. Kramer."



Alexander spoke to CNN.com last week.



CNN: What do you think of the controversy over the $50 million in increased government spending for the arts?



Alexander: I think it's long overdue and I was very, very happy to see it. Since 1995-96 we had an incredibly decreased budget for the NEA. Finally we're getting back to where it was when I came in [as chairman]. It's all vitally needed. In fact, the endowment has not kept pace with inflation as other agencies have. ... This $50 million will certainly help a great deal.



What people forget is that there are over 2 million people in the United States of America who are professional artists. Those are jobs like any other jobs. The artists have families, they have people for whom they're responsible and they give to their communities.



We all have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The life part would be health and housing. The liberty part would be our civil rights. And the pursuit of happiness, the arts would come under that. And it's as vital a part of well-being in the United States as anything else.



CNN: When you say 2 million artists, could you define artist?



Alexander: Well they include everything from writers, painters, all the visual arts spectrum and that's pretty large, including graphic arts. Theater and so on, music, ceramicists, costume designers, makeup artists, filmmakers, it's a huge panoply.



CNN: How far can $50 million go?



Alexander: Well for the endowment which has had a budget of around $144 million currently, it can go quite a way. When I came in it was about $175 million and then it was cut under my aegis by Congress down to $99 million.



CNN: Some people will say that while the NEA may consider this a victory, it's really a pittance, a drop in the bucket, so little money given the challenges many arts organizations are facing today.



Alexander. It will help, it will help enormously, because every single NEA grant that goes out is a challenge to the community to come up with the same amount of money, or a 3 to 1. ... By the way, the public should know that within this coming year, we're going to see an awful lot of arts organizations closing. I just came from working at a theater in Pittsburgh, [Pennsylvania] and the International Poetry Forum,
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question: What did Alexander say would quickly support jobs?, answer: giving money to the arts | question: What are 2 million Americans employed as?, answer: professional artists. | question: Approximately how many Americans are employed as artists?, answer: 2 million | question: What will increasing funds for arts be?, answer: save and create jobs. | question: What did Congress cut?, answer: arts funding | question: What did Jane Alexander say about increasing funds for the arts?, answer: will save and create jobs. | question: When did she chair the NEA?, answer: 1993 through 1997