The Smithsonian Institution can start the process of building two new museums in Washington honoring the history of women and American Latinos after Congress cleared a massive year-end omnibus bill.
Separate bills authorizing both museums passed the House this year as stand-alone measures but were unable to get through the Senate, so they were added to the omnibus to provide for easier passage.
The omnibus measure, passed by Congress on Monday, is a 5,593-page collection of bills, including fiscal 2021 appropriations, coronavirus relief and extraneous measures. The latter included the two bills authorizing the Smithsonian to build a Women’s History Museum and a National Museum of the American Latino.