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Heard on the Hill: Shades of Sheen

What do Congress and Charlie Sheen have in common? They’re both dysfunctional — at least that’s what actor Alec Baldwin implied in a National Arts Advocacy Day speech after the House Appropriations Committee canceled his testimony Tuesday.

The panel nixed the event since its members were too busy averting a government shutdown.

“I didn’t know Charlie Sheen was serving in the government these days,” said the star of NBC’s “30 Rock” and movies such as “It’s Complicated” and “The Aviator.”

Baldwin, a three-time Golden Globe and two-time Emmy Award winner, was scheduled to plead for more funding for the National Endowment for the Arts with Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey.

Despite his gig’s cancellation, Baldwin — a frequent Capitol Hill visitor who has long hinted he’s interested in running for public office — flew to D.C. and rallied 400 arts-funding proponents who
visited Members’ offices Tuesday.

And arts funding isn’t his only cause: Today, he’ll advocate alongside Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) in support of the Fair Elections Now Act, a bill that rewards Congressional campaigns that rely
on private donations as opposed to special-interest money.

Let’s hope this one doesn’t also get canceled.

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