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War on Terrorism Brings Plan to Cut Smithsonian Financing
December 6, 2001
By RICHARD W. STEVENSON with JAMES GLANZ
WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 - In a sign of its intention to pare
spending to pay for the war on terrorism, the Bush
administration has proposed substantial cuts in the
Smithsonian Institution's budget, enraging scientists who
said the reductions would effectively gut the institution's
research capabilities.
The White House Office of Management and Budget informed
the Smithsonian last week that it wanted to hold the
institution's budget next year to $470.2 million, a
reduction of $27 million, or 5.4 percent.
Scientists within the Smithsonian and members of Congress
said the budget plan would imperil three of the
institution's crown jewels: its astrophysical observatory,
its tropical research institute and its environmental
research center.
Under the plan, financing for all three research operations
would be transferred to the National Science Foundation,
which would decide how much, if any, money the institutes
would receive. The proposed financing for the three
agencies next year is $35.7 million.
The White House budget director, Mitchell E. Daniels Jr.,
said last week that the administration would concentrate
money on the war and domestic security in drawing up its
next budget and would "make all the necessary adjustments
in order to fund those new imperatives."
The spending proposal for the Smithsonian - and the
likelihood that the administration will seek cuts in many
other domestic programs - is already drawing protests from
Democrats.
They said important programs are being squeezed because
President Bush forced through a $1.35 trillion tax cut
earlier this year. Democrats warned at the time that the
tax cut passed that it would leave the government with no
financial buffer should the economy deteriorate or the
nation face an emergency.
"This would be pretty devastating for the Smithsonian,"
said Representative Robert T. Matsui, Democrat of
California, who is a regent of the Smithsonian.
The administration proposal would provide $38.3 million in
additional money to the Smithsonian for salaries and
general expenses. But that increase would be more than
offset by a $9.6 million cut in money for repairs and
restorations, a $20 million cut in the construction budget
and the plan to move financing for the three research
institutes to the National Science Foundation.
A senior administration official said that aside from
moving the scientific financing to another agency, the
Smithsonian would actually receive a budget increase. The
administration wanted to move financing for the scientific
research to the National Science Foundation, the official
said, because it has a strong reputation for allocating
money to the most worthy projects.
"The N.S.F. doesn't do museums," the official said, "and
possibly the Smithsonian ought not to be dabbling in random
research."
Supporters of the Smithsonian on Capitol Hill said the
cutbacks would force the Smithsonian to halt work on one of
its most prominent projects, renovation of the old Patent
Office Building in Washington, which is to be the new home
of the museum's American art collection.
David Umansky, the Smithsonian's director of
communications, said the institution had appealed the
administration's budget plan on Monday night. He declined
to comment further.
The shift of research funds to the National Science
Foundation would immediately affect about 250 scientists
working at three Smithsonian scientific institutes.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/06/politics/06SPEN.html?ex=1008674541&ei=1&en=8037ca493f3b5028
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