Smithsonian Fiscal Year 2018 Federal Budget Request Totals $947 Million

The administration’s fiscal year 2018 budget request to Congress for the Smithsonian is $947 million, an increase of $108.4 million from the FY 2017 continuing resolution (CR) level.* Much of the increase will be directed to the National Air and Space Museum’s multiyear revitalization project: $90 million for the museum itself and $10 million to complete the storage facility in Chantilly, Va., that will be used to house artifacts during the project.

Salaries and Expenses

The S&E account request for FY 2018 is $719 million, an increase from the FY 2017 CR level. This year’s S&E includes $7.4 million for fixed-cost increases (utilities, rent, software licenses and other operating expenses) and $11.3 million for salaries, which this year included a 1.9 percent pay raise for federal employees. Among the proposed budget items are:

• $6.5 million for security, which includes more security positions around the Institution and full-time magnetometer screening and bag searches at the most visited museums
• $1.5 million for facilities operations and support
• $1.6 million for maintenance, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture

Facilities Capital

The Facilities Capital budget for renovations and repairs of some of the oldest and most visited museums is $228 million. Nearly half of this amount will go toward the renovation of the National Air and Space Museum ($100 million), which is scheduled to begin in spring 2018. Funds will also be allocated for the National Museum of Natural History ($22 million); the National Zoo ($26 million); the National Museum of the American Indian ($7 million); the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum ($5 million); and renovation work at multiple locations ($41 million). An additional $27 million will be used for planning and design of future projects.

A budget summary for the FY 2017 CR level and FY 2018 request follows:

*  Per guidance from the Office of Management and Budget, the FY 2018 Smithsonian budget was built on the FY 2017 CR level and not the recently passed FY 2017 enacted level.

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SI-304-2017