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- 4 - [[preprinted]] Congress of the United States House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations Washington, DC 20515 MAJORITY MEMBERS JAMIE L. WHITTEN, MISSISSIPPI, CHAIRMAN WILLIAM H. HATCHER, KENTUCKY NEAL SMITH, IOWA SIDNEY R. YATES, ILLINOIS DAVID R. OBEY, WISCONSIN EDWARD R. ROYBAL, CALIFORNIA LOUIS STOKES, OHIO TOM BEVILL, ALABAMA BILL ALEXANDER, ARKANSAS JOHN P. MURTHA, PENNSYLVANIA BOB TRAXLER, MICHIGAN JOSEPH D. EARLY, MASSACHUSETTS CHARLES WILSON, TEXAS NORMAN O. DICKS, WASHINGTON MATTHEW F. McHUGH, NEW YORK WILLIAM LEHMAN, FLORIDA MARTIN OLAV SABO, MINNESOTA JULIAN C. DIXON, CALIFORNIA VIC FAZIO, CALIFORNIA W.G. (BILL) HEFNER, NORTH CAROLINA LES AuCOIN, OREGON WILLIAM H. GRAY III, PENNSYLVANIA BERNARD J. DWYER, NEW JERSEY STENY H. HOYER, MARYLAND BOB CARR, MICHIGAN ROBERT J. MRAZEK, NEW YORK RICHARD J. DURBIN, ILLINOIS RONALD D. COLEMAN, TEXAS ALAN B. MOLLOHAN, WEST VIRGINIA LINDSAY THOMAS, GEORGIA CHESTER G. ATKINS, MASSACHUSETTS JIM CHAPMAN, TEXAS MARCY KAPTUR, OHIO LAWRENCE J. SMITH, FLORIDA DAVID E. SKAGGS, COLORADO DAVID E. PRICE, NORTH CAROLINA NANCY PELOSI, CALIFORNIA MINORITY MEMBERS SILVIO O. CONTE, MASSACHUSETTS JOSEPH M. McDADE, PENNSYLVANIA JOHN T. MYERS, INDIANA CLARENCE E. MILLER, OHIO LAWRENCE COUGHLIN, PENNSYLVANIA C.W. BILL YOUNG, FLORIDA RALPH REGULA, OHIO CARL D. PURSELL, MICHIGAN MICKEY EDWARDS, OKLAHOMA BOB LIVINGSTON, LOUISIANA BILL GREEN, NEW YORK JERRY LEWIS, CALIFORNIA JOHN EDWARD PORTER, ILLINOIS HAROLD ROGERS, KENTUCKY JOE SKEEN, NEW MEXICO FRANK R. WOLF, VIRGINIA BILL LOWERY, CALIFORNIA VIN WEBER, MINNESOTA TOM DeLAY, TEXAS JIM KOLBE, ARIZONA DEAN A. GALLO, NEW JERSEY BARBARA F. VUCANOVICH, NEVADA CLERK AND STAFF DIRECTOR FREDERICK G. MOHRMAN TELEPHONE: (202) 225-2771 [[/preprinted]] January 22, 1991 Honorable Robert McC. Adams Secretary Smithsonian Institution Washington, D. C. 20560 Dear Mr. Secretary: I have had a chance to review the proposed hearing scheduled for February 5, 1991, and have come to several conclusions which I thought should be shared with you before that time. The fundamental question to be reviewed is not whether the extension of the Air and Space Museum should be built at Dulles or at some other location, but whether at this time it should be built at all. This question arises currently because of the budgetary restrictions we face, and it leads into broader issues which we have discussed, in certain aspects, in the past. These include the total construction and operating expenses of the Smithsonian projected over the next decade; how these costs are proposed to be met; and how priorities among all the competing requirements and opportunities facing the Smithsonian are established. In this regard, the Smithsonian has a long list of new and old construction and rehabilitation projects that are currently estimated to require over $700,000,000 between now and the year 2000. You have testified that the new Indian museum and related facilities, which together are estimated to cost over $200,000,000, are your highest priorities. You have also testified at various times that not only the Air and Space Museum but almost every Smithsonian museum requires expansion. Therefore, I believe that it is appropriate to address these broader issues at the