[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 96 (Monday, July 8, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1014]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 SMITHSONIAN FREE ADMISSION ACT OF 2013

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, July 8, 2013

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today I introduce the Smithsonian Free 
Admission Act of 2013 to reinforce 170 years of consistent Smithsonian 
Institution policy of admitting the public to all permanent exhibits 
without charge. This policy has served the nation well. Families come 
to Washington, D.C. 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 by the 
Smithsonian's Board of Regents, which, without notice to Congress, said 
casually that it would charge an admission fee for a permanent exhibit 
for the first time in its history, and on January 29, 2007, the 
Smithsonian instituted a fee for admission to the National Museum of 
Natural History's Butterfly Pavilion. Congress, of course, not the 
Board of Regents, should decide so basic a policy, especially when it 
departs from long-standing public policy. This admission fee sets a 
harmful precedent for future permanent exhibits, making it difficult to 
deny the other Smithsonian entities that right and may encourage 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, such as 
IMAX films, 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 fees 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 of Regents, from a board almost half 
of whose members are public officials to a board consisting solely of 
private citizens, who have greater experience and fundraising capacity 
than public officials. The fundraising ability of the Smithsonian was 
clear in the opening of the National Portrait Gallery, for example, 
where, according to a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report (RL 
33560), donors contributed funds for the new auditorium and roof over 
the courtyard of the National Portrait Gallery. This private 
fundraising capability would be enhanced by my bill.
  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.

                          ____________________