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It is our desire and intention to work with your committee, the Board of Regents, and the staffs of the appropriate committees of the Congress respecting the Comptroller General's recommendations. The Appropriations Committees have been provided annually with detailed information covering past expenditures of private funds. We are now preparing estimates of future private spending for review and approval by the Board of Regents. Trust fund expenditures which might entail the need for future significant commitments of public funds will be highlighted for the Appropriations Subcommittees. We are undertaking to make all desired information available to the relevant committees of the House and Senate, and have been in touch with the Appropriations Committees concerning the preparation of approved guidelines for the reprogramming of funds. We will cooperate with the committees in every way.

In view of the concerns expressed during our budget hearing, I think a broader review of the Smithsonian and its operations might well be helpful to the Congress, the Institution itself, and to the public understanding of the Smithsonian. I suggest that the Audit Review Committee may want to seek approval of the Board of Regents for an independent study and evaluation of the Institution's organization, management and procedures, including an assessment of its accountability to the Congress and the effectiveness of its operations and management. The goal should be to identify opportunities for improvement while, at the same time, preserving the qualities that have made the Smithsonian a source of national pride and an effective instrument of public service. At the same time we might also review the statutory authorities under which we operate and recommend changes to update and strengthen the Smithsonian's present charter. We are now compiling these authorities for the Audit Review Committee and the interested Committees of the Congress.

Any meaningful exploration of the questions raised will require considerable time. In the meantime, of course, the important work of the Institution must go forward. We are at a critical juncture in the appropriations process. The subcommittees will soon complete their work on the Institution's pending budget requests. It is our hope that arrangements can be made for the continued funding of our programs without interruption in the period ahead while we work together to resolve present concerns.

Please be assured of my personal commitment and that of my entire staff to work closely with your committee and the Board of Regents on these matters.

With appreciation, I am,

Faithfully yours,

[[signed]]S. Dillon Ripley[[/signed]]
S. Dillon Ripley
Secretary