Thursday, September 23, 1999
$16 million asked for museum
Freedom Center promoted by Portman, others
BY PAUL BARTON
Enquirer Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — The planned National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati would receive its first federal funding under legislation unveiled Wednesday by Rep. Rob Portman and other Cincinnati-area members.
The bill calls for giving the museum project $16 million over four years, with the funding beginning in 2000.
“It is a museum with national scope and significance, so this funding is an appropriate way for the federal government to help,” Mr. Portman said.
The federal funds, if approved by House and Senate appropriators, would bring the public funding portion of the $90 million project to just under 50 percent.
Mr. Portman and other Cincinnati-area lawmakers are hoping to get the funds approved before Congress finishes its work for the year this fall.
Cincinnati and Hamilton County already have pledged $6 million apiece for the museum, and the project is seeking $15 million from the state government.
Susan Redman-Rengstorf, national campaign coordinator for the museum, said the federal dollars also would make it easier to raise money from the private sector.
Many corporations contacted nationwide were looking for signs that the project would receive strong public backing before donating, she said.
“It shows the private sector we have significant support from the public sector, which we have learned (will) give us enormous credibility,” she said. “It is very significant for our project.”
The 155,000-square-foot Cincinnati facility, with construction scheduled to start in 2001, is intended to serve as the focal point for a nationwide network of sites commemorating the Underground Railroad.
The term refers to the system of back roads and hiding places used to transport slaves to freedom in the North before the Civil War.
Mr. Portman said the request is fiscally responsible when compared with the federal funding requests of other national museums.
Some of the co-sponsors on Mr. Portman's bill are Reps. Steve Chabot, R-Cincinnati; John Boehner, R-West Chester; Ken Lucas, D-Richwood; and Baron Hill, D-Seymour.
Sens. Mike DeWine and George Voinovich, both R-Ohio, will offer companion legislation in the Senate.
The museum also is designed to help anchor the riverfront redevelopment effort.
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