http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/nation/16642023.htm

Posted on Wed, Feb. 07, 2007

House OKs study panel for a Latino museum

By MICHAEL DOYLE
McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON - The House on Tuesday laid the groundwork for an ambitious new museum honoring Latinos.

Supporters of the proposed National Museum of the American Latinos still face a long road, but they moved a crucial step forward when the House agreed to spend $3.1 million on a commission to study the proposal.

"Walk through the National Mall in Washington, D.C., visit our outstanding national museums and you can learn a lot about who Americans are and where we have been," said Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif. "Yet the official narrative still fails to recognize the significant contributions made by Latinos to the culture and history of the United States."

Congress has been contemplating the proposed Latino museum for several years, and the House approved a similar bill last year without Senate action. This year's bill again needs Senate approval.

The museum would be based somewhere in Washington. Beyond that, key questions involving cost, governance, fundraising and collections remain unresolved. The museum might be folded into the Smithsonian Institution, for instance, or it might remain separate.

The Smithsonian's latest facility, the National Museum of the American Indian, opened in September 2004.

The House bill sets up a 23-person commission to help answer those questions. Seven members would be appointed by the president and the rest by congressional leaders. The commission would have two years to report back.