[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 85 (Thursday, June 29, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6108-S6109]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TESTIMONY BY THE SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, this week the Committee on Rules and
Administration held an oversight hearing on the Smithsonian Institution
and received testimony from the new Secretary, Lawrence M. Small.
Although he has only served in this capacity for a short 6 months, it
is already clear that Secretary Small's vision for the Smithsonian will
have a lasting impact on this uniquely American institution.
Secretary Small envisions the Smithsonian as ``. . . the most
extensive provider, anywhere in the world, of authoritative experiences
that connect the American people to their history and to their cultural
and scientific heritage.'' In other words, the Smithsonian documents
who and what we are as Americans. And not surprisingly, over 90 percent
of all visitors to the Smithsonian come from the United States.
Who are these visitors and what makes the Smithsonian such a draw?
They are families who come to see the relics of our history, such as
the Wright brothers' flyer or the Star Spangled Banner which moved
Francis Scott Key to pen our national anthem. They are school children
who are learning about the ancient inhabitants of this land, whether
dinosaurs or insects. They are young parents retracing the pilgrimage
to our nation's Capitol that they made as children. They are new
immigrants and Americans of all ages who come to see the treasures that
are housed in America's attic.
There are nearly 141 million objects in the Smithsonian's
collections, fewer than 2 million of which can be displayed at any
given time in the 16 museums that make up the Smithsonian. On average,
there are nearly 39 million visitors a year to the Smithsonian's
museums and the national zoo. The fact is, 3 of the most visited
museums in the world are right here on the mall.
They are the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum, the Natural History
Museum and the Museum of American History. And yet even with those
amazing numbers, Secretary Small advised the Rules Committee this week
that he believes the Smithsonian can do even better in making the
Smithsonian accessible to the public, both in terms of the quality and
quantity of the exhibits and the condition of the physical space.
But all of this popularity comes at a price, and that price is the
physical wear and tear on the Smithsonian's buildings and exhibits. The
buildings of the Smithsonian are in and of themselves historic
monuments and landmarks within our nation's capital. The Smithsonian
Castle, a fixture on the mall since the cornerstone was laid in 1847,
receives nearly 2 million visitors a year, even though it houses no
museum.
The oldest building, the Patent Office Building, houses the National
Portrait Gallery and the National Museum of American Art. Construction
of this Washington landmark was begun in 1836 and was the third great
public building constructed in Washington, following the Capitol and
The White House.
The National Museum of Natural History, home to the Hope Diamond and
the Smithsonian elephant, opened its doors in 1910. This year, nearly
1.3 million visitors toured this museum in the month of April alone.
The popularity of these grand and historic buildings is taking its
toll, and they are quite simply in need of significant renovation and
repair.
Secretary Small is committed to preserving not only the aging
buildings of the Smithsonian, but to upgrading the exhibits as well to
ensure that they provide a continuing educational experience. He is in
the process of developing a 10-year plan to facilitate the necessary
restorations and renovation.
These buildings are part of the historic fabric of this capital city,
and it would be very short-sighted of Congress not to provide for their
adequate maintenance and repair. I commend Secretary Small for his
vision in this regard and believe that Congress should act on his
recommendations when they are received. An op-ed piece by Secretary
Small appeared in Monday's Washington Post in which he described his
vision of the Smithsonian and the need to preserve these historic
landmarks.
I urge my colleagues to acquaint themselves with the needs of this
great American institution as it faces the opportunities and challenges
of the 21st century.
I ask unanimous consent that the article by Secretary Small be
included in the Record following my remarks.
There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[From the Washington Post, June 26, 2000]
America's Icons Deserve a Good Home
(By Lawrence M. Small)
A recent report from the General Accounting Office
identified 903 federal buildings around the country that are
in need of some $4 billion in repairs and renovations. The
buildings are feeling the effects of age. It's a feeling we
know all too well at the Smithsonian.
Construction on the Patent Office Building, the
Smithsonian's oldest, began in 1836. The cornerstone of the
original Smithsonian Castle on the National Mall was laid in
1847; the National Museum building adjacent to it was
completed in 1881, and the National Museum of Natural History
opened in 1910.
The age of these four buildings would be reason enough for
concern, but there's a significant additional stress on them.
The Smithsonian's museum buildings are open to the world.
They exist to be visited and to be used--and they've been
spectacularly successful at attracting the public.
Attendance in recent months at the Natural History Museum
has made it the most-visited museum in the world, a title
held previously by our National Air and Space Museum. In the
years ahead, the Smithsonian will be working to open its
doors wider still
[[Page S6109]]
and to attract even more visitors. So, what time doesn't do
to our buildings, popularity will--and thank goodness for
that.
More than 90 percent of Smithsonian visitors are Americans,
many traveling great distances on a pilgrimage to the
nation's secular shrines--the Capitol, the White House, the
Library of Congress, the many memorials to brave Americans.
The history of the nation is built into such structures.
They're the physical manifestation of our shared sense of
national identity.
Smithsonian Institution buildings belong in the company of
those other monuments, because the Smithsonian is the center
of our cultural heritage--the repository of the creativity,
the courage, the aspirations and the ingenuity of the
American people. Its collections hold a vast portion of the
material record of democratic America.
The most sophisticated virtual representation on a screen
cannot match the experience of standing just a few feet from
the star-spangled banner, or the lap-top desk on which Thomas
Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, or the hat
Lincoln wore the night he was shot, or the Wright brothers'
Flyer and the Spirit of St. Louis. All those icons of
America's history, and countless others of comparable
significance, are at the Smithsonian.
And yet the experience of viewing them is compromised by
the physical deterioration of the Smithsonian's buildings,
which are becoming unworthy of the treasures they contain.
The family on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Washington and the
Smithsonian should not have to make allowances--to overlook
peeling paint, leak-stained ceilings and ill-lit exhibition
spaces.
We can try to hide the problems behind curtains and plastic
sheeting. But the reality cannot be concealed: The buildings
are too shabby. In the nation's museum--to which Americans
have contributed more than 12 billion of their tax dollars
over the years--this embarrassment is not acceptable. It's no
way to represent America.
The Smithsonian has hesitated in the past to put before
Congress the full scale of its repair and renovation needs.
It has tried instead to make do. But it will be undone by
making do, and the American people will be the losers.
So we intend to face the problem and to transform the
physical environment of the Smithsonian during the coming
decade. The United States is in a period of immense public
and private prosperity, and we should take every opportunity
to turn that wealth to the long-term well-being and
enhancement of the nation. Restoring the museums of the
Smithsonian to a condition that befits the high place of our
nation in the world will be a splendid legacy from this
generation to future generations of Americans.
In January the nation will swear in the new century's first
Congress and inaugurate its first president. They must be
committed to preserving the nation's heritage. At the same
time, we as private citizens must do our part to meet this
critical need.
Americans should not have to wonder why their treasures are
housed in buildings that seem to be falling apart. Instead
they should marvel at the grandeur of the spaces and at the
objects that are the icons of our history.
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