Cultural agency administrators plead with House panel to pass their budgets

The congressmen were hearing what they wanted to hear.

"We want to run a tight ship and maximize every federal dollar," promised G. Wayne Clough, the secretary of the Smithsonian, asking a congressional panel to approve $797 million for the museum's 2011 budget, an increase of more than $30 million over the previous year.

Clough was one of a parade of cultural agency administrators who appeared this week before the House Appropriations subcommittee that controls the purse strings of the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Gallery of Art, the Kennedy Center and others. This year saw Rep. James Moran (D-Va.) take over the chairmanship of the panel even as his fellow members pressed arts administrators on how the tight dollars were being spent.

The sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday were serious yet chummy, with Moran telling Rocco Landesman, the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, "This is one of the most exciting aspects of the appropriations bill." The temperature level in the hearing room Tuesday did appear to rise a bit in the presence of Hollywood types such as Kyle MacLachlan and Jeff Daniels, who testified about the value of arts in education and as economic engines. Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) even claimed to be jealous of Earl A. Powell III, who directs the National Gallery. "You have one of the greatest jobs in Washington," noted Simpson.

Though the congressmen were supportive overall, they did make it clear that spending accountability was their main concern. The National Gallery, for instance, is asking for $163 million for fiscal 2011, owing to a major problem with the East Building facade. Panels -- each measuring two by five feet -- are separating from the main structure, and the gallery has been forced to install a fence to prevent pieces from falling on the public. In last year's budget the gallery received $40 million to begin replacing all 260 panels, and for next year it has requested $45 million.

Yet the congressmen were concerned that a small piece fell off last week, a two-by-two-inch chunk of marble that was passed around the table. Moran said it was troubling that the museum didn't have a tough enough agreement with the original contractors to pay for the repairs. "Now the taxpayers have to pay," he said, stating that the money would be better spent on building the art collections and other projects. Powell said the problem was discovered in 2005, caused largely by temperature changes, "not architectural deficiency, not design deficiency." Work has started, and he added what Moran wanted to hear: "The support system will be a different one, and we will get the warranty."

Another construction issue raised by Moran concerned the money given to the Kennedy Center by the committee two years ago, earmarked for replacing its original windows. The windows are due to be replaced by the end of the year. Michael M. Kaiser, the center's president, said the delay was due to the funds being part of a federal budgetary holdup, as well as the length of time it takes to fabricate windows of such size -- some are as large as 63 by 15 feet. The center requested $37.42 million for repairs and maintenance.

Underscoring their endorsement of the organizations' programs, several congressmen asked about the impact of reductions in funds. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette (R-Ohio) asked Landesman about the fate of the Big Read program, whose funding peaked a few years back. In 2010, Congress approved $1.5 million, the same level as the request. "We are maintaining it as the largest funded initiative," Landesman said. The overall NEA request is $161.3 million.

Whether the congressmen were asking about the NEA, Smithsonian or Kennedy Center programs, they wanted to know about outreach -- particularly to rural areas.

And that produced a bit more levity. Kaiser described the vigorous travel pace of the center's "Arts in Crisis" program, in which he offers free consultations to organizations coping with the recession. "It concludes in Boise, Idaho," he said, matter-of-factly. "What a coincidence," Moran said, with a Seinfeld snide tone. "That's brilliant planning," responded Simpson, a native of Burley, Idaho.