16 CONTENTS Blitzer, Mr. Charles, Assistant Secretary (History and Art), Smith- Gates, Peter, of Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co., CPA, Auditor of Goff, Allan, Chief, Accounting Division, Smithsonian Institution Goldman, Stephen, attorney for Joseph H. Hirshhorn. Goldwater, Hon. Barry, a U.S. Senator from the State of Arizona___ Jameson, Mr. John F., Director, Office of Programing and Budget, Kane, Owen A., Legislative Attorney, Office of Legislative Liaison, Kautz, Mr. Lynford E., Director, Office of Development, Smith- Morgan, Mrs. Betty J., Assistant Treasurer, Smithsonian Institution_. 321 Natelli, Mr. Anthony, of Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co., CPA, Pahl, Mr. Eugene L., Assistant Director, Civil Division, General Powers, Mr. Peter G., General Counsel, Smithsonian Institution___. Scantlebury, Donald, Washington Regional Office Manager, General Simmons, Mr. Robert H., a private citizen of Washington, D.C., and Stevens, Mr. Roger L., Chairman, Board of Trustees, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.. Taylor, Mr. Frank A., Director General of Museums, and Acting 193, 211 Voss, Mr. Allen, Associate Director, Civil Division, General Account- Warner, Mr. William W., Assistant Secretary (Public Service), Wheeler, Mr. T. Ames, Treasurer, Smithsonian Institution.... SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 1846 to Present THURSDAY, JULY 16, 1970 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON LIBRARY AND MEMORIALS OF THE COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:10 a.m., in room 2257, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Frank Thompson, Jr., chairman of the subcommittee, presiding. Present: Representatives Thompson, Brademas, and Bingham. Today is the first day of hearings on the Smithsonian Institution. Our first witness will be Dr. S. Dillon Ripley, who has been chief administrative officer of the Smithsonian since 1964. Before his testimony, I would like to reply to the question that has been most often asked with reference to these hearings; namely, why are they being held? The fundamental reason is the responsibility of Congress to oversee ****** all Federal activity and spending. The Smithsonian, although relatively independent compared to other Federal organizations, is essentially a Federal responsibility. It was established by act of Congress in 1846, and over the years the bulk of its growth and its annual operating budget has come from Congress. What we want to begin today is a comprehensive look at the Smithsonian. I might add that this has not been done by Congress for well ..... over 100 years. We hope to obtain a better understanding of how the Smithsonian operates, of its structure, of how it develops and carries out its policies, of how its activity benefits the public and, of course, we want to find out what its goals are for the future. Only when we have this knowledge can the subcommittee and the Congress pass confidently on legislation requested by the Smithsonian. For instance, the subcommittee now has a bill before it to authorize $2 million to plan and acquire a site for a gigantic radio-radar telescope which would be the largest in the world and which would aid the Nation's overall scientific effort immensely. We have another bill which would amend the Smithsonian's existing appropriations authorization to permit them to build sophisticated storage and retrieval systems. (1) |