Smithsonian Fiscal Year 2014 Federal Appropriation Totals $805 Million

The Smithsonian’s fiscal year 2014 federal appropriation totals $805 million. It is $30 million above the sequestered FY 2013 budget of $775 million. The current budget includes $647 million for Salaries and Expenses and $158 million for Facilities Capital, which includes $55 million for construction of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Salaries and Expenses

The Salaries and Expenses account includes $12.7 million for increases in fixed costs such as rents, federal salaries, utilities and workers’ compensation. A priority for funding from the S&E budget is the National Museum of African American History and Culture with $34.3 million allotted for staffing, inaugural exhibitions, programming and collections care. The S&E account also includes a mandatory 1 percent pay increase for federal employees.

Support for the Smithsonian’s strategic plan established by Secretary Wayne Clough continues with $46.2 million for “Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe” (research, National Air and Space Museum and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory); $91.4 million for “Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet” (National Museum of Natural History, the National Zoo and many research projects); $22 million for “Valuing World Cultures” (a number of museums and the Folklife Center); and $107.6 million for “Understanding the American Experience” (six museums, Archives of American Art and research).

One of the key components of the strategic plan is broadening access to Smithsonian collections, exhibitions and outreach programs. This is accomplished through new media, digitizing the collections and using social networking tools. A total of $2.5 million will be in this year’s appropriation for broadening access—$1.7 million for digitizing the collections and $800,000 to fund exhibition maintenance.  

Collections are the heart of the Smithsonian and are funded as follows in the FY 2014 budget: $2.4 million to support collections care and preservation and $1.5 million to care for the living collection of animals at the National Zoo.

The Smithsonian has a huge physical plant—12.5 million square feet—with museums in Washington and New York City and research facilities around the world. Maintenance and ongoing repairs and renovations are a big part of the budget. In FY 2014, the omnibus budget provides $69 million for facilities maintenance and $185 million for support (includes fire protection, grounds care, custodial work and health services), operations and security for visitors, staff, collections and the buildings themselves.

Facilities Capital

All Facilities Capital funds provided in FY 2014 for construction ($55 million) are earmarked for the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The rest of the Facilities Capital allotment of $158 million will go toward a number of projects, including $24 million for the renovation of the west wing exhibition areas of the National Museum of American History, $18 million for electrical and mechanical systems at the National Museum of Natural History and $15 million for continued work at the National Zoo.

A budget summary for the FY 2013 and FY 2014 appropriations follows:

*Includes $2 million in supplemental funding for Hurricane Sandy repairs.

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SI-24-2014