Obama Budget Calls For $59M Smithsonian Increase
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Smithsonian Institution is requesting an increase of $59 million in President Barack Obama's budget proposal for new education programs and to continue building a new black history museum on the National Mall.
The 2014 budget request announced Wednesday totals $869 million for the Smithsonian.
The president's budget includes $55 million to build the National Museum of African American History and Culture and $21 million to design and build the new museum's exhibits and programs. It's scheduled to open in 2015.
Obama's largest proposed funding increase for the Smithsonian is the addition of $25 million for education programs in science, technology, engineering and math. The Obama administration is consolidating the government's so-called STEM funds into three agencies -- the Education Department, the National Science Foundation and the Smithsonian.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
