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widespread economic conditions, the Secretary has initiated a series of senior staff meetings to plan steps for reducing the budget.

Mr. Adams noted that it has recently been decided to raise the annual fee for membership in the Smithsonian Associates, the first increase in six years. The increase has been kept to a minimum to help retain membership levels.

Mr. Adams reported that the General Accounting Office has completed a review of the degree to which collecting by the Smithsonian, the Library of Congress, the National Archives, and the National Park Service may have engendered inter-agency competition. The secretary noted that the results of the review are generally reassuring for the Smithsonian and the agencies with like interests.

FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES ARISING FROM THE INSTITUTION'S CHARTER AS A TRUST INSTRUMENTALITY OF THE UNITED STATES

The staff reported that, for the last twenty-five years, the Institution has consistently followed a policy of using the principles of the Freedom of Information Act as a guide in responding to public requests for documents. In the Cotton case recently filed in the U.S. District Court, it was asserted that the Institution is "an authority of the Government of the United States" covered by the Act. The Regents discussed the reasoning behind that assertion in the context of the court proceedings and the weight of legal opinion to the contrary. They concluded that the matter of the Freedom of Information Act's applicability to the Smithsonian is not appropriate for decision by the Board.

The Regents also discussed the complex question of the applicability of legislation and Federal regulations to Smithsonian activities. A primary objective here is consistency in the light of the Institution's charter as a nongovernmental trust instrumentality, but with due regard for the responsibility of a public institution to be responsive to public policies even if not legally required to do so. In an era of greatly increased numbers of regulatory and remedial measures -- some of which, such as environmental laws, are intended to cover the entire Federal establishment and the private sector while others are limited to the executive branch or only a portion thereof -- the definitions which determine the coverage are rarely drafted with the unique status of the Institution in mind. In each instance, the specific language of the definition is reviewed in the light of the legislative history (if any) and the purposes of an enactment to determine whether the Institution was intended to be included or excluded. Consideration is always given to whether the Institution should adopt as its policy a remedial procedure (e.g., financial disclosures by employees) even though a statute may not require it.

One problem that arises in defining the Smithsonian's place in the Federal establishment is the commonly held view that the Constitution provides for only three branches of government, and therefore the Smithsonian must be part of one of the branches, probably the executive branch. There is a long line of Supreme Court cases which recognize that Congress can create "branchless agencies" without violating the separation of powers principle, or