Posted May 12, 2006.

House Appropriations Committee Challenges Smithsonian-Showtime Deal

The House Appropriations Committee cut the Smithsonian Institution’s budget by an additional $15 million May 10 and demanded further information on the controversial deal between the museum and the Showtime Networks cable channels to create television programming, the New York Times reported May 11. The move came a week after the House Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies had cut the museum’s funding by $5 million and added language to its appropriation aimed at derailing the Showtime agreement.

In a May 9 letter to the House subcommittee, the Smithsonian Board of Regents maintained the Showtime deal did not restrict access to the museum’s collections. Although the letter promised that the museum would consult Congress regarding any future proposals involving access to the collections, it rejected the subcommittee’s suggestion that it hold public hearings on business ventures that affect access to its collections, the Times reported.

Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence M. Small said May 8 that while a confidentiality clause prevented the museum from making the contract public, the institution has already made revealed many details. “The Smithsonian was wrong to enter this contract,” responded Rep. Charles Taylor (R-N.C.), chairman of the subcommittee, who added that the secrecy is unacceptable from an agency that receives 70% percent of its funding from taxpayers. 

Posted May 12, 2006.