Norton Bill Prohibits Admission Fees and Includes Butterfly Exhibits (2/15/08)

Washington, DC - The Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today issued a statement on the Smithsonian Free Admissions Act clarifying the impression that the Smithsonian Butterfly Pavilion, which opened yesterday, is an exception to H.R. 5424 introduced on February 13, 2008, a bill prohibiting an admission fee for any permanent exhibit. H.R. 5424 mistakenly omitted the section creating a temporary exception for the Butterfly Pavilion. Norton intends to work with appropriators to require the Smithsonian to raise funds specifically for the Butterfly Pavilion, instead of creating a permanent exception to the 160 year old Smithsonian policy of free access without charge to permanent exhibits.

Norton did not seek to close down the exhibit that was well on its way when she learned of the admission fees -- $6 for adults and $5 for children. The Congresswoman believes that any exception to the long standing policy of free admission to federally funded sites in the Nation's Capital would invite other Smithsonian museums and galleries to seek the same treatment. Norton stated in her statement introducing the bill, that this "admission fee sets a precedent for future permanent exhibits and makes it impossible to deny the other Smithsonian entities the same privilege and may encourage other Smithsonian entities to structure their exhibits to fit the Butterfly Pavilion model."