Henry Brown: “the earmark I'm here to discuss and defend is for the South Carolina Aquarium located in my district in Charleston…”

“the earmark I'm here to discuss and defend is for the South Carolina Aquarium located in my district in Charleston, South Carolina. The South Carolina Aquarium is a nonprofit education and conservation organization that is truly part of the Charleston community. The aquarium is funded by a combination of tickets, concessions and souvenir sales and corporate, government and private funding. The aquarium has more than 80 paid staff, with a complement of more than 300 volunteers. Funding from this earmark would go towards the development of user-friendly, interactive exhibits and displays, including touch tanks where children can interact with rays, horseshoe crabs, and many other native species from the waters of South Carolina. Funding would also go towards funding a live feed connection so the children would be able to see into the inaccessible realms of the Hollings Marine Lab, and further development of the South Carolina Sustainable Seafood Initiative, which educates children on fisheries conservation. Madam Chairman, funding for institutions such as the South Carolina Aquarium are worthwhile investments for the taxpayer. The reason is that with "seed money" organizations such as the South Carolina Aquarium are able to attract corporate donations which amount to much more than the original earmark and prove to be the foundations that our zoos and aquariums are built upon.”