[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 60 (Thursday, May 5, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E818]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       INTRODUCTION OF THE SMITHSONIAN FREE ADMISSION ACT OF 2011

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 5, 2011

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the Smithsonian Free 
Admission Act, to reinforce 170 years of consistent Smithsonian policy 
of admitting the public to all permanent exhibits without charge. This 
policy has served the nation well. Families come to Washington to learn 
about their country through its public monuments and sites. While the 
private amenities here can be costly for the average family, Americans 
have looked forward to the free museums and other official offerings 
for generations. The Smithsonian's free admission policy reflects the 
intent of its founder, John Smithson, whose gift to the Federal 
Government carried the condition that the Smithsonian be established to 
increase the knowledge of the public, free of charge. The bill 
establishing the Smithsonian, introduced by Senator William C. Preston 
on February 17, 1841, stated explicitly that the Smithsonian would 
``preserve and exhibit with no fee'' all works of art and science. This 
intent and tradition was interrupted without notice to Congress by the 
Smithsonian's Board of Regents with its casual comment that the 
Smithsonian would charge an admission fee for a permanent exhibit for 
the first time in its history, and on February 14, 2008, the 
Smithsonian opened the National Museum of Natural History's Butterfly 
Pavilion, a permanent exhibit, and instituted a fee for admission. 
Congress, of course, not the Board of Regents, should decide so basic a 
policy, especially when it departs from long-standing public policy. 
The admission fee for the Butterfly Pavilion sets a harmful precedent 
for future permanent exhibits, making it difficult to deny other 
Smithsonian entities from charging a fee and possibly encouraging other 
Smithsonian entities to structure their exhibits to fit the Butterfly 
Pavilion model.
  The Butterfly Pavilion opened on February 14, 2008. Although the 
Smithsonian had previously charged fees for films and shows, the 
National Air and Space Museum's Planetarium, and the National Zoo's 
Christmas Lights special, the $6 admission fee for the Butterfly 
Pavilion marked the first time an admission fee was charged for a 
permanent exhibit. My bill requires a report to Congress in advance of 
any proposed admission fees for permanent exhibits and requires the 
Secretary of the Smithsonian to submit a plan for funding the Butterfly 
Pavilion without an admission fee.
  The Smithsonian Modernization Act, which I am also introducing today, 
addresses the Smithsonian's fundraising capacity by restructuring and 
expanding the Smithsonian's Board, from a board almost half of whose 
members are public officials to a board consisting solely of private 
citizens, who will have greater experience and fundraising capacity 
than public officials.
  The Smithsonian Modernization Act and similar measures, not admission 
fees, provide the most realistic vehicles to raise funds for the 
Smithsonian without cost to the government or to the public. Admission 
fees can bring in only token amounts. According to CRS, the Smithsonian 
has long prided itself on ``free access.'' Admission fees are not the 
answer for taxpayers, who have already paid through the Federal 
Government's 70 percent contribution to this public institution's 
annual budget. Federal taxpayers do not expect to pay again through an 
admission fee to a federally-financed institution.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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