Congress cuts the Smithsonian’s budget by $5.3 million to protest an exclusive deal the Smithsonian made with Showtime Networks about filming the institution’s collections. “The Smithsonian says the contract requires commercial filmmakers who want to make extensive use of the institution’s collections to reach an agreement with Showtime. Smithsonian officials have refused to make the contract public, and members of Congress said they were surprised to learn of the deal through the media.”