D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton has introduced legislation aimed at addressing governance problems at the Smithsonian Institution.
The Smithsonian Modernization Act of 2007, which does not yet have a bill number, restructures how the Institution is overseen.
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Under the bill, the Smithsonian Institution Board of Regents would have to be made up entirely of private citizens. Currently, citizens, members of Congress, and the chief justice of the Supreme Court all sit on the board.
The bill also increases the size of the board from 17 regents to 21.
The speaker of the House and the Senate majority leader would each nominate 12 appointees to the board. The president of the United States would then choose 21 board members from the 24 nominees, the bill said.
“The root of the problem is governance by public officials who must give their first obligation to thepublic, not to the Smithsonian,” Norton told The Examiner Tuesday.
The Smithsonian has been plagued by controversy since it was discovered that its chief, Secretary Lawrence Small, had filed $90,000 in unauthorized expenses and charged the institution more than $1 million to use his mansion for official functions. Small left in March, and other individuals in leadership positions later resigned from their positions.
The Board of Regents has since adopted a series of reforms recommended by an internal review of its policies.
Having all private citizens on the board will also help the Smithsonian raise money, said Norton, noting that the Institution is continually troubled by funding shortages.
Smithsonian spokeswoman Linda St. Thomas said Tuesday the Institution does not comment on pending legislation.
