|
|
| |
| Mon, Dec. 1, 2008 |  |
 |
|
||
| |
Marshals museum gets no federal funds this year Sunday, Dec 16, 2007 By Aaron Sadler Stephens Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - The proposed U.S. Marshals Service Museum in Fort Smith was shut out of federal money this year, a victim of timing as it relates to the congressional spending process. Museum planners are poised to ask Arkansas lawmakers for help again in 2008, said project director Sandi Sanders. "We were too late in starting," to secure federal funding this year, Sanders said. "We have to begin right now (for 2008) and have it all ready to go by January what we would like for the appropriation." The Marshals Service in January 2007 chose Fort Smith over Staunton, Va., as the site of a museum that chronicles the history of the federal law enforcement agency. At that time, Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, both D-Ark., and Rep. John Boozman, R-Rogers, pledged to secure federal money for the project. Boozman said he would support an appropriation for the museum once planners are further along with designs. "The federal government doesn't really fund ideas, it funds plans," Boozman said. "So the steering committee with the marshals museum has been working really hard to come up with just that, a set of plans." Sanders said she met last month with in-state aides to members of the congressional delegation to brainstorm proposals for funding. One possible option was to seek federal money for a specific museum exhibit. The process is cumbersome in that, while working on public financing, museum officials have embarked on a national private fundraising campaign. Donations collected would pay for construction and an endowment fund for ongoing operations. "It's not just about a a congressional appropriation," Sanders said. The museum steering committee recently chose a site for the building, but do not yet have architectural drawings or plans for exhibit space. Sanders said total cost of the project is still unknown, though earlier estimates put the price tag at more than $26 million. The state Legislature earlier this year authorized up to $25 million for the project, though Gov. Mike Beebe has acknowledged Arkansas cannot fully fund that much. Pryor said he expects Congress to supplement funding already offered by the state. "We all want to do our part to make sure that's a first-rate museum," he said. Congressional earmarks have been under intense scrutiny the last two years in response to lobbying and ethics scandals and criticism of wasteful spending. Arkansas lawmakers said they did not think funding for the marshals museum will cause controversy. "This will be an easier sell," Boozman said. "We're all so very proud of the Marshals Service and all they've done for us in the past and all they're doing for us now. It's a good story to tell." |
