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to the approval of the Board. He said the Regents have had discussions for a substantial period of time, and it is his impression that we are at the point now with the Museum of African Art where further discussions of interest would not be helpful; we must get specific in terms of structure. He also pointed out that, if this Museum is as valuable as everyone seems to suggest, and if it is a bad time to seek Congressional approval, he is not convinced that we have no other alternative, although Congressional support is preferred. He said that our unrestricted trust funds have gone up in the past three years from $100,000 to $4,500,000, not an insignificant figure. It appears to Mr. Higginbotham that we should try to get Congressional appropriations but if we do not, we may want to see if there are any other options under which we can have a relationship. He said we are talking about a $500,000 to $800,000 annual cost of this operation in a $100 million budget.

Mr. Ripley commented that one of the vital provisions necessary in further consideration of this project is the need for some kind of authorizing legislation. The present temper of Congress seems to be against our taking on an obligation irrespective of whether it is financed with trust funds or otherwise. The Congress would like to see us come before a committee and state our intentions, and we would like to do this.