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Air and Space Museum at Washington Dulles International Airport; the measure would authorize fiscal year 1988 and 1989 appropriations totaling $1 million for master planning activities but would not authorize the use of Federal funds for construction.  H.R. 4198, introduced on March 17 by Rep. Bill Grant, would authorize planning for an extension of the Air and Space Museum but does not specify a site; the measure has been jointly referred to the House Committee on Public Works and Transportation and the Committee on House Administration.

No action has been taken on H.R. 2395, to repeal Public Law 87-186, relating to the National Armed Forces Museum Advisory Board of the Smithsonian Institution.  The Secretary has been advised that P.L. 87-186 provides the Institution with certain authorities for the acquisition of military artifacts of potential interest to its museums, and these authorities ought to be retained.  Accordingly, no further action will be sought.

No action has been taken on H.R. 2815 or S. 1749, authorization for the construction, expansion, and renovation of facilities for the Cooper-Hewitt Museum.  The Regents' continued support for this legislation ought to await the anticipated re-appraisal of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum's needs by an as-yet unnamed new director.

[[underlined]] SMITHSONIAN AFRO-AMERICAN PROGRAMMING [[/underlined]]

Mr. Adams discussed a report on Afro-American programming at the Institution, which report, he said, represented the very considerable efforts of the Smithsonian's bureaus and offices to comprehensively take into account Afro-American interests with regard to programming.  He added that a copy of this report had been forwarded to Chairman Yates who had focused on such questions of programming at the Institution's recent appropriations hearings; urging that the Smithsonian move more quickly in this area, Mr. Yates indicated he would be monitoring the Institution's progress.  Mr. Adams added that the Chairman had also directed the Institution to conduct a systematic study within the next six months on whether there should be an entirely separate Afro-American museum, a separate museum complemented by additional Afro-American programming in other bureaus, or the creation of a specialized unit within an existing bureau of the Institution.

[[underlined]] MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN [[/underlined]]

Mr. Adams reported on developments with respect to the Museum of the American Indian since the last meeting of the Board of Regents.  Focusing on most recent developments, Mr. Adams discussed efforts made toward an affiliation agreement between the Smithsonian and the Heye Foundation, as contemplated in S. 1722 (as ordered reported by the Senate Rules Committee), pointing out that this first draft of an affiliation agreement raises a number of difficulties which will need to be addressed.  The fundamental question before the Regents, Mr. Adams added, is a matter of the priorities that they may wish to set for a museum on the Mall paralleling the Museum of the American Indian in New York; Smithsonian management would prefer first to resolve initially the issue of transferring the Custom House to the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation,