Smithsonian admission fees on the horizon?

from the NY Times Art Beat blog (Nov 12, 2010)

Proposal Recommends Charging Admission at the Smithsonian
By KATE TAYLOR

"In New York, a visit to the Museum of Modern Art will set you back $20, but down in Washington, the Smithsonian Institution, which is 70 percent federally funded, has long been free. That would change under a proposal by the national commission charged with reducing the deficit. In a draft report Wednesday, it recommended that the Smithsonian’s federal appropriation be cut by $225 million, or roughly 30 percent, and that the institution make up the loss by charging a $7.50 admission fee." ...

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