Norton Introduces Three Bills to Modernize the Smithsonian (3/4/2010)

Norton Introduces Three Bills to Modernize the Smithsonian

March 4, 2010

WASHINGTON, DC - Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today introduced a set of three bills to modernize the Smithsonian Institution's governance and fundraising infrastructure and to ensure that all of the Smithsonian's permanent exhibits remain free to the public in this tourist-based town. The Smithsonian Modernization Act would change the composition of the Smithsonian Board of Regents, from a board that is dominated by elected officials into one consisting of private sector individuals, who can better raise the funds needed and provide necessary oversight, and increase its size from 17 to 21. The bill would, however, preserve and strengthen the traditional role of the Speaker of the House, the President of the Senate, and the president in selecting members of the Regents. "The most important step the Congress could take today for the Smithsonian is to rescue it from the 19th century governance structure that keeps it from accessing needed and available private resources and limits its close and critical internal oversight, which other public and private facilities receive today," Norton said.

Norton also introduced the Open and Transparent Smithsonian Act, a bill to subject the Smithsonian, which receives 70 percent of its funds from the federal government, to the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act to ensure accountability to taxpayers, a change made particularly necessary by an unprecedented series of abuses that were uncovered in recent years. The third bill introduced today was the Smithsonian Free Admission Act, which would make certain that the permanent exhibits at the Smithsonian's 17 museums and art galleries remain free to the public, following fees that were imposed on the Butterfly Pavilion exhibit. The bill requires the Smithsonian to submit a proposal for ensuring that the permanent exhibits remain free of charge. The Congresswoman said, "Admission fees are not the answer for taxpayers, who have already paid through the federal government's 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."

Norton concluded, "The Smithsonian Institution, with its vast array of world-class museums, art galleries, research facilities, educational showplaces, and the National Zoo, is unparalleled in the world. This unique gift to the American people must remain free to the public, as its founder required, and it also must fulfill its original mission of educating the public by being held to the same transparency as other federally-supported entities."