    [House Hearing, 115 Congress]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                    THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION'S PRIORITIES

    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   before the

                               COMMITTEE ON HOUSE
                                 ADMINISTRATION
                            HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                         ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                                   __________

                                 MARCH 28, 2017

                                   __________

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                       Committee on House Administration

                      GREGG HARPER, Mississippi, Chairman
    RODNEY DAVIS, Illinois, Vice         ROBERT A. BRADY, Pennsylvania,
        Chairman                           Ranking Member
    BARBARA COMSTOCK, Virginia           ZOE LOFGREN, California
    MARK WALKER, North Carolina          JAMIE RASKIN, Maryland
    ADRIAN SMITH, Nebraska
    BARRY LOUDERMILK, Georgia

                    THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION'S PRIORITIES

                                  ----------

                            TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2017

                              House of Representatives,
                             Committee on House Administration,
                                                        Washington, DC.
        The Committee met, pursuant to call, at 11:38 a.m., in Room
    1310, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Gregg Harper
    [Chairman of the Committee] presiding.
        Present: Representatives Harper, Davis, Comstock, Smith,
    Brady, and Raskin.
        Staff Present: Sean Moran, Staff Director; Kim Betz, Senior
    Advisor; Mary Sue Englund, Director of Administration &
    Operations; Cole Felder, Deputy General Counsel; Erin
    McCracken, Communications Director; C. Maggie Moore,
    Legislative Clerk; Rob Taggart, Deputy Legislative Clerk/
    Oversight; Mary Sue Englund, Director of Administration &
    Operations; Jamie Fleet, Minority Staff Director; Matt Pinkus,
    Minority Senior Policy Advisor; Khalil Abboud, Minority Chief
    Counsel; and Eddie Flaherty, Minority Chief Clerk.
        The Chairman. I now call to order the Committee on House
    Administration for today's hearing examining the Smithsonian
    Institution and its priorities. The hearing record will remain
    open for 5 legislative days so members may submit any materials
    they wish to be included. A quorum is present, so we may
    proceed.
        In 1846, Congress created the Smithsonian Institution at
    the behest of Englishman James Smithson. A scientist by trade,
    Mr. Smithson willed his estate to the United States to found at
    Washington under the names of the Smithsonian Institution an
    establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.
        Today, the Smithsonian Institution encompasses 19 museums,
    9 research centers, and the National Zoo. The Smithsonian
    Institution plays a critical role in collecting and preserving
    our Nation's history and culture. The Smithsonian Institution
    also works with entities around the world to advance critical
    scientific discovery and research.
        For the past 20 months, Secretary David Skorton has led the
    Institution. The Committee looks forward to discussing the new
    strategic plan, which is currently being drafted with Secretary
    Skorton, that will guide the Smithsonian Institution over the
    next decade. We expect to hear from Secretary Skorton on the
    challenges the Smithsonian Institution faces, particularly in
    an environment in which Federal funding is uncertain, at best.
        These challenges include such things as balancing new
    strategic initiatives with available funding; broadening public
    access to its collections both in person and digitally;
    operating a new museum, the National Museum of African American
    History and Culture, and revitalizing one of the most visited
    museums in the world, the National Air and Space Museum;
    preserving priceless collections for scientific research to
    tell the American story; and--not glamorous but very
    important--prioritizing facility maintenance and revitalization
    needs.
        I particularly want to focus on this last challenge. It is
    our hope to address the realities faced by the Smithsonian
    Institution today. By realities, I am talking about the growing
    list of deferred maintenance projects, the rising costs
    associated with maintaining and operating museums and
    facilities, and protecting collections for their future use.
    These realities must be a pillar of the upcoming strategic
    plan, and this Committee looks forward to seeing the strategic
    plan upon its completion.
        So I thank Secretary Skorton for his appearance before the
    Committee today. And I would like to now recognize the Ranking
    Member of the Committee, Mr. Brady, for the purpose of
    providing an opening statement.
        Mr. Brady.
        Mr. Brady. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for calling
    this hearing.
        Everyone loves the Smithsonian, so I appreciate the
    opportunity to hear from our witness about what is happening
    there and how we can be helpful.
        Of course, I emphasize my number one concern about the
    Smithsonian: that access to our museums and many of our
    exhibits remain free. That has always been my priority.
        I want to acknowledge the Smithsonian presence in my
    district. The African American Museum in Philadelphia and the
    National Museum of American Jewish History are Smithsonian
    affiliates, and they are proud of that, and I am honored to
    represent those great institutions. Also, since 2012, the
    Smithsonian has had 40 fellows, 59 interns, and 31 research
    associates from my district. So I am well represented there. I
    am proud of the work my constituents are doing to advance the
    cause of the Smithsonian.
        I look forward to hearing from you, Mr. Secretary.
        And I yield back the balance of my time.
        The Chairman. The gentleman yields back.
        Does any other Member wish to be recognized for the purpose
    of an opening statement?
        Seeing none, I would like to now introduce our witness. Dr.
    David Skorton is the 13th Secretary of the Smithsonian. He
    assumed his position in July, on July 1, 2015. As Secretary,
    Dr. Skorton oversees the entire Institution and its entities.
    Dr. Skorton is the first physician to lead the Smithsonian. He
    is a board certified cardiologist and previously was the
    president of Cornell University.
        Again, we thank the Secretary for joining us today. And the
    Committee has received your written testimony. And the chair
    now recognizes Secretary Skorton for 5 minutes.
        Dr. Skorton.

       STATEMENT OF DR. DAVID J. SKORTON, SECRETARY, SMITHSONIAN
                              INSTITUTION

        Dr. Skorton. Thank you, Chairman Harper and Ranking Member
    Brady and all the Members of the Committee, for the opportunity
    and the honor of testifying today.
        My colleagues and I greatly appreciate the continuing
    support of the Congress and your confidence in our work to
    understand, preserve, and tell the story of America, and to
    inspire new generations to dream the American Dream.
        Your investment in the Smithsonian is an investment in the
    civic, educational, scientific, and artistic life of our
    Nation. The Smithsonian is the world's largest museum,
    education, and research complex, and through our museums, the
    National Zoo, the research centers, and education initiatives,
    we seek every day to help all of us, as Americans, understand
    each other, ourselves, and our role in the world, in part
    through the arts and humanities.
        We use increasingly cutting-edge technology to create
    unprecedented access to our treasures, and we seek to inspire
    educators, students, and learners of all ages.
        Last year was exceptional for the Institution, culminating
    with the opening of the National Museum of African American
    History and Culture. This beautiful and thought-provoking
    museum has been a huge success with the public. We have hosted
    more than a million visitors since the end of September.
        The year 2017 will be a time of transition for our
    Institution as we implement, as the Chairman mentioned, a new
    strategic plan. Building on the tremendous momentum of the
    previous strategic plan, we are working closely with the
    Strategic Planning Committee to incorporate input from across
    the Smithsonian before presenting the plan to our Board of
    Regents, to the Office of Management and Budget, and to the
    Congress.
        A strong strategic plan will allow the Institution to focus
    even more effectively on our key priorities: improving how we
    pursue our core mission; better leveraging partnerships with
    American and international organizations; communicating more
    effectively; cultivating our generous donors and supporters;
    and identifying and advancing special specific initiatives.
        In the months and years ahead, we seek to increase our
    positive impact as we convene important conversations, continue
    our important work in science and history, while sharpening our
    focus on the arts, promoting diversity leadership, enhancing
    our global reach, establishing a culture of national thought
    leadership, greatly increasing digital access, and refocusing
    expenditures on maintaining and revitalizing existing
    facilities.
        Many important issues have a national and global impact,
    and the Smithsonian is bringing people together to discuss
    solutions. Our research centers do important work to understand
    the correlation between healthy ecosystems and our own well-
    being, a concept termed by the Center for Disease Control as
    One Health, helping us to address emerging threats from
    pandemic disease to species decline.
        Research and scholarship at the Smithsonian are anchored by
    our national collections. Today, I brought some personal
    favorites, especially Sandy Koufax's baseball mitt, which would
    have been a favorite of my late dad, who was a big fan of his.
    It is our obligation in the public interest to hold these
    national treasures and preserve them for future generations.
        One way that we preserve and expand access to our
    collections is by digitizing them. To date, we have digitized
    more than 29 million items from the 154 million items in the
    collection, with many available to download in people's homes,
    in labs, and in classrooms, and in this way we seek to serve
    the many, many Americans who cannot visit our museums on The
    Mall or in New York City.
        Our Collections Space Framework Plan guides our long-term
    decisions about the collections from our facilities to the way
    we care for the collections. Facilities maintenance will be a
    major focus in the coming years as we continue to address our
    large deferred maintenance and repair needs. Reducing this
    backlog, I believe, gives the best value to the American
    taxpayer, since inadequately funded maintenance can lead to
    costlier capital improvements down the road.
        One such project that the Chairman mentioned is the
    National Air and Space Museum revitalization. As you know, the
    building systems have greatly exceeded their useful lives. They
    are overtaxed by the over 7 million annual visitors to the
    museum, which is nearly four times more than they were designed
    for. The building's exterior stone cladding is failing and
    needs to be replaced.
        The Air and Space Museum project 35 percent design
    estimates are $676 million, but as it evolves, every effort is
    being made to contain these project costs. Although this is an
    enormous expense, we believe the project is absolutely
    essential and hope to begin construction in fiscal year 2018.
        We will leverage this Federal investment by raising an
    additional quarter of a billion dollars in private support to
    totally revamp the 23 galleries throughout the facility. The
    result will be an exciting new experience, in essence, a new
    National Air and Space Museum.
        While the Smithsonian is nationally important, our reach is
    also global. We work around the world to protect and preserve
    cultural heritage and to do groundbreaking scientific research.
        In 2017, we aim to finalize an agreement with the renowned
    Victoria & Albert Museum to create a first international museum
    exhibition presence in London, which does not involve a capital
    project.
        Though our creative staff continues to have impressive
    success, we do face significant challenges. We need to provide
    adequate staffing, including security, at the new National
    Museum of African American History and Culture. We need to fill
    more curatorial positions throughout the Institution and
    enhance security across our most visited sites.
        As we look ahead to fiscal 2018, the Institution is
    prepared for any budget contingencies. We have recently
    appointed a group of 10 unit directors to serve as a budget
    review panel to look at potential scenarios and to make
    recommendations to ensure the most efficient use of precious
    Federal resources.
        Given our budgetary constraints and a growing maintenance
    backlog and facility renovation, we must use capital resources
    wisely and efficiently. We are fully committed to better
    telling the story of all Americans. However, despite the worthy
    recommendations for new museums to be added to the Smithsonian,
    we currently lack the capacity and resources to bring new
    museums to fruition.
        Again, I am honored to be a part of this great Institution.
    The Smithsonian is a valuable resource that I believe has
    proven its worth for 171 years as a steward of our past and
    investment in our future. I am confident that with the
    continued support of Congress and the administration, we can be
    even more relevant and a unifying presence in an increasingly
    diverse and vibrant America.
        Thank you for the chance of interacting with you today, and
    I look forward to any and all questions. Thank you.
        [The statement of Dr. Skorton follows:]

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        The Chairman. Thank you, Secretary Skorton, for your
    testimony.
        We will now move to our questions portion, and I will begin
    by recognizing myself for 5 minutes.
        There are so many treasures, and of course you have brought
    just a small collection here but of pretty priceless baseball
    objects. But these treasures are throughout the system.
        And one of my favorites is in the Air and Space Museum,
    which is our plane from Mississippi, the Key Brothers airplane,
    the old Curtiss Robin monoplane, where in 1935 the Key Brothers
    set the flight endurance record at 27 days without landing, and
    that is still the record for that. And so your plane hangs in
    the Smithsonian when that happens. So it is something that is a
    real treasure to us to see that.
        But I wanted to talk to you about some of these issues,
    particularly where we are on how we are going to move forward
    and do the things that are necessary. What do you see as the
    biggest risk facing the Smithsonian today or in the future, and
    how do you intend at the Smithsonian to manage that risk?
        Dr. Skorton. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        We really have two categories of risks to the Smithsonian.
    One is the risk of our inability to keep up with the
    maintenance and revitalization backlog. We maintain
    approximately 12 million square feet of space. Last year, we
    had over 20 million individual visitors to our museums. And in
    some cases, like the National Air and Space Museum, we continue
    to have multiples of the number of visitors that my
    predecessors thought might actually come, almost four times the
    number right now that were initially suggested.
        So that is just one of many examples. And as I mentioned in
    the testimony, it is very important to realize that inadequate
    funding and attention to maintenance and backlog and
    revitalization needs will eventually lead to costlier capital
    projects. So that is one whole category.
        The other category, besides the physical capital, is the
    human capital, and it is very important that we pay attention
    to our curatorial ranks, to the science ranks. Like all
    organizations in our country, we are graying, and the aging
    workforce at the Smithsonian means that we have to be ready to
    hire a renewed workforce as people get to retirement.
        And so we are planning very carefully our use of resources
    so that we can increase the curatorial ranks, some hopefully by
    Federal funding, some through philanthropy, and in the meantime
    work on these capital issues.
        The Chairman. Okay. How will the national campaign, how
    will the funds raised from the national campaign support the
    operations and maintenance of facilities?
        Dr. Skorton. So the national campaign, which has been very,
    very successful because of the huge generosity of the American
    public, corporations, and individuals, we have raised over $1.6
    billion in the campaign so far. The campaign continues through
    the end of this calendar year.
        The funds are used for a wide variety of uses, but to
    specifically answer your question about facilities, they are
    used for upgrades and renovations largely to interior spaces.
        And so one example that those of us in Washington know
    about is the renovation of the Renwick Gallery, and this
    allowed us to do things in that space that we were unable to do
    and led to a tremendous, tremendous increase in visitorship to
    that. And there are other examples, but that is one that I
    think shows the possibility of philanthropy helping us.
        It is difficult to raise philanthropy for the sort of
    changes that need to be done to the National Air and Space
    Museum, I want to hasten to add however, because, for example,
    replacing now defective stone cladding on the outside, in my
    experience fundraising of approximately 25 years, I have found
    it hard to get philanthropists interested in that sort of
    project, whereas interior things we can.
        And to restate it, our goal is to raise a quarter of a
    billion dollars to redo every single one of the 23 galleries
    within the museum.
        The Chairman. It is obviously a goal of, I think, all of
    us, and I know you, to make sure that admission to the
    Smithsonian remains free of charge so that groups, school
    groups and others, can come up and not have an expense to come
    in. So what populations of visitors, who can we get to come in?
    How can we expand what is there to open this up even further?
        Dr. Skorton. First of all, I want to thank you for bringing
    the point up and thank the Ranking Member, too, for bringing up
    the point about free entry. I am absolutely committed, as is
    the entire Smithsonian family, to maintaining free access to
    these museums. It is critical, the museums were set up in the
    public interest, and we want to be there for all Americans.
        Having said that, our best efforts to get people to come to
    The Mall and to our facilities in New York City are always
    going to fall short of the number of Americans who could
    attend. So we are trying in other ways to reach out to America
    where it lives.
        One approach is through digitization of the collections to
    the extent that we can do that, and that allows us to allow
    people in their own living room, so to speak, to look at
    individual parts of the collection and learn more about all the
    things that we are studying.
        The second, as you have mentioned very kindly, is our 216
    affiliate museums around the country, and we have affiliate
    museums in all the States represented on this Committee.
        A third is our Traveling Exhibition Service, which allows
    us to bring parts of our collection to Main Street USA. And
    then we have other ideas through the use of social media and
    other new technologies to reach out to America.
        So we want to make sure that people feel welcome at The
    Mall and welcome in other parts of the city where we have
    facilities here and in New York City, but we also want to reach
    out beyond. And to summarize again at the end, we are
    absolutely committed to maintaining free admission.
        The Chairman. Thank you so much, Secretary Skorton.
        I will now recognize the Ranking Member, Mr. Brady, for 5
    minutes for questions.
        Mr. Brady. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        I think I heard your last statement, you are going to keep
    it free, right?
        Dr. Skorton. Yes.
        Mr. Brady. Free admission. Thank you. I appreciate that.
        What more can we do to expand the Smithsonian Affiliates
    Program? I have two, as I mentioned in my earlier statement, in
    my district, and I think it is a good way to bring the power of
    the Smithsonian to other parts, other districts throughout the
    United States. It is good to feel and hand touch and see, and
    that instead of coming to Washington, I think you can get a
    glimpse and maybe hopefully come to Washington and visit the
    main campus, so to speak.
        Dr. Skorton. I am hungry to continue to grow our Affiliates
    Program. It has grown very substantially under the leadership
    of my predecessor, Wayne Clough, and through the leadership of
    our acting provost, who is right here, Richard Kurin, and it
    has grown substantially even in the 2 years or so that I have
    been here.
        So if you have any ideas, Congressman, please send them
    directly to me, and we will continue to look into it. In the
    meantime, we are also making sure that we have this robust
    Traveling Exhibition Service so that we can go out to areas
    around the country. And I am committed to both of those being
    very robust.
        Mr. Brady. Good. Thank you. And also, I want to commend you
    for your wisdom in maintaining and keeping Mr. Greg Abbott
    behind you there. Greg is formerly from my staff, and I know he
    is a great addition and does a great job. And we talked all the
    time when we had our hearings for 2 or 3 days that it is hard
    to keep good staff. It is hard to keep them when you have got
    to pay them. And so I am sure he wouldn't mind a raise, sir.
        I got to give you a plug, Greg, got to give you a plug.
        Dr. Skorton. You know, I have been told by our HR office to
    just not answer questions about Mr. Abbott's salary.
        Mr. Brady. Well, I will make a private conversation
    someday.
        Dr. Skorton. I am at your service, sir.
        Mr. Brady. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back my time.
        The Chairman. The gentleman yields back.
        I now recognize Mrs. Comstock for 5 minutes.
        Mrs. Comstock. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        And I thank the witness today. It is delightful to be with
    you.
        I think I was in third grade when I first came to the
    Smithsonian. My mom is a teacher, and so we dutifully went
    through all of the highlights of the museum at that age. And
    she did the same with my three children. And now she is a
    docent at the Smithsonian, and so she is very good at now
    bringing the great-grandchildren around.
        And I am fortunate to have the Udvar-Hazy Center museum in
    my district, and so my 2-year-old granddaughter and I and my
    husband were out there a few weeks ago. And I loved the little
    picture set-up you have where you can have a little space suit
    photo shopped on to you, and she was very excited. She got her
    ride in the spaceship, on the space shuttle, and then she got
    that picture.
        So that is in her room, and she is thrilled. So when she is
    an astronaut somewhere down the road heading to Mars, we can
    thank you for all the good efforts that you make there.
        So I did want to ask about the Udvar-Hazy, as some of the
    renovations are going on, and the planes and all, and the
    storage facilities. How is that progressing at this time?
        Dr. Skorton. Thank you for your kindness. And I just want
    to mention, we want to invite you and your granddaughter to
    come to the National Museum of American History where the
    Wegmans Corporation has developed something we call
    Wonderplace, and it is aimed at children ages zero to 6, zero
    to 6. So we are very interested in early child----
        Mrs. Comstock. Wonderplace?
        Dr. Skorton. It is called Wonderplace in the National
    Museum of American History. And we are glad to work with your
    staff. If you want to come, we are actually more interested in
    having your grandchild, but you could also come along.
        Mrs. Comstock. I will get good grandma, nana points.
        Dr. Skorton. But thank you very much for bringing up the
    issue of storage space relevant to the National Air and Space
    Museum.
        If I may take just a moment, Chairman, I would like to just
    remind people the strategy that we want to use in revitalizing
    the National Air and Space Museum. We have two basic axioms
    that we want to follow in doing the revitalization. One is that
    we want to end up giving the United States of America a new
    National Air and Space Museum at the least possible cost, even
    though obviously it is a tremendous cost. And secondly, we want
    to keep the museum open to the American public. So our plan is
    to do it in phases and always to keep at least half of the
    museum open.
        In order to do that, we have to put some of the precious
    artifacts in there somewhere else. And so we have asked for--it
    is going to be one of our top requests coming up--for an
    additional storage facility, as Representative Comstock
    mentioned, in your district, in the Udvar-Hazy area.
        That will serve two purposes. The first purpose is that it
    will allow us to efficiently move along with the plans for the
    revitalization. And then when that revitalization is complete,
    we will use that new storage facility to give us a big jump-
    start on replacing some inadequate and nonoptimal storage that
    we have throughout our system because the growth in our
    collection has been done at such a breakneck pace.
        So that is the reason that that is a very high priority for
    us, and we hope for Congress' support in that request.
        Mrs. Comstock. Thank you. And I did have one--first of all,
    I also want to thank you for digitizing the collection because
    I do see, as schools are--particularly in my area, since I am
    here locally--they are cutting back on field trips. They are
    not getting down and using the museums as much as they might.
    And I am always surprised at even on weekends people not
    getting down and using this, you know, coming. I guess maybe
    parking is always a challenge, and if Metro is not working
    right and all of that. We have Metro in my region, so as it
    expands, hopefully we will get folks back in here. But I really
    appreciate the digitizing of it because I think that can bring
    it to life and hopefully spur that interest.
        But on another, very different front, because I noticed
    that some of the people who are leaving in some of the senior
    positions at the museum, how do you plan for that transition
    and finding those key people? Because obviously these are very
    unique and important jobs to have the understanding of how to
    run a museum and to really have that skill set with these
    unique jobs. Where do you find the folks, what is the
    transition process, and how can we help with making that as
    smooth as possible?
        Dr. Skorton. Thank you very much for recognizing our other
    big challenge besides facilities, and that is the human
    capital, as we put it. And thank you also for being sensitive
    to realize that the skill set needed to work at this kind of
    creative organization, if not unique, is at least very unusual.
        I have found two things since being at the Smithsonian that
    have been hugely, hugely gratifying on this front. First is an
    immense feeling of pride and I would even say joy in the
    workforce of the Smithsonian. We tend year after year after
    year to rank high in agencies of our size in terms of employee
    satisfaction; always trying to do better. And I think part of
    that is that they are very proud of the positive things that we
    can do for America through education, through research, and
    through the, as our founder called it, the diffusion that is
    the museums themselves.
        The second thing I have found is that when openings come up
    we are inundated with people who want to come, people from the
    inside of the Institution that want to move up the ladder,
    people from outside the Institution that want to become part of
    something that is attempting to do a positive.
        And if I might just say, in a time where museums and
    libraries are still respected and considered honest purveyors
    of information, I think people more and more would like to be a
    part of contributing to such a thing.
        So it is true, as you very insightfully noticed, that we
    have a lot of turnover happening in the Institution right now.
    A lot of it is because of people having served there a very
    long time.
        And just last night, in fact, Dr. Kurin and I were at a
    recognition party for our wonderful director of the National
    Museum of African Art, Dr. Johnnetta Cole, who likes to say
    that she just celebrated her 40th birthday times two.
        And we are just in the process of beginning to look into
    that situation. So it is a challenge. The good news is that
    people seem to be very, very interested in being part of the
    Smithsonian, and I believe that will continue in the future.
    Thank you for asking about that.
        Mrs. Comstock. I can tell you, my mom, being a docent, the
    joy that she sees in the place and being able to continue to
    work with children. Actually my daughter, the mom of the
    aforementioned little granddaughter who is 2 years old, I was
    telling my daughter where she should buy her house based on the
    lovely children who came down. She kept saying there in the
    area where they bought their house what a nice group of
    children there were that she was taking through.
        But the employees really do bring joy to those children,
    and it is a delightful place to volunteer and work. So thank
    you for creating that spirit.
        Dr. Skorton. Mr. Chairman, if I just might insert very
    quickly.
        The Chairman. Yes, sir.
        Dr. Skorton. Thank you also for reminding me to recognize
    our volunteers. We have about 6,500 paid employees. We have
    about the same number of in-person volunteers, as you mention,
    and we have about the same number of digital volunteers who
    help us with things from a distance. Without the volunteers, we
    would not be able to open the doors in the morning. So thank
    you very much, Representative Comstock, for reminding me.
        The Chairman. The gentlelady yields back.
        The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from Nebraska, Mr.
    Smith, for 5 minutes for questioning.
        Mr. Smith. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Thank you, Dr. Skorton. I appreciate your service.
        Deferred maintenance and backlogs and so forth, what would
    you say is the long-term plan to address this? And I see where
    there was a requested increase in facilities capital
    appropriations for fiscal year 2017. Can you speak to that?
        Dr. Skorton. Yes. Thank you very much, and thank you for
    your attention today.
        Deferred maintenance is a big issue and has been a big
    issue in every nonprofit I have worked for over the years, so
    it is definitely not unique to the Smithsonian.
        What is different about the Smithsonian is our public-
    facing nature, that we have millions of Americans walking in.
    So we are concerned not only about the beauty of the buildings,
    but about their functionality, but especially about security
    and safety for the people who come in.
        Industry standards suggest that we should be spending
    something on the order of 2, maybe 3 percent of the base in
    maintenance each year, and I am very, very grateful to the huge
    steady support that Congress has given us. Nonetheless, I must
    say that the money that has been appropriated has been about
    half of what projections would be for the future.
        So more funding for maintenance, even though it is always
    hard to come by, is the bedrock of going forward. Once the
    funding is available, at whatever level, the other bedrock is
    having a carefully designed plan for prioritizing a dizzying
    number of things that need to be dealt with.
        And our facilities professionals have done, in my
    experience of 30 years of leading institutions, have done an
    absolutely world-beating job of prioritizing, based on really
    two criteria. One criterion, the chief one, is the public's
    safety and health. And the second one is what future costs
    could be reduced or prevented even if judicious things were
    done along the way to do maintenance and revitalization.
        And so because it is an interest of mine, Congressman, I
    have look very carefully in the weeds at how this is done. I am
    very impressed with what our facilities professionals are
    doing. And I hope to have more chance to speak to Members of
    Congress about the importance of saving future costs by doing
    some preventive maintenance and deferred maintenance in the
    Institution, and I very much appreciate your question.
        Mr. Smith. Sure. And you utilize a lot of partnerships with
    the private sector for promotion and exhibits and so forth. Can
    private sources of funds be used for maintenance? Do they get
    used for maintenance?
        Dr. Skorton. Private sources can definitely be used for
    interior changes. An example that I like to give is the Renwick
    Gallery in town here near the White House where many of the
    things inside were done through philanthropy, and there are
    other examples.
        In my fundraising experience, and it is a long experience,
    I have found it hard to interest philanthropists, either
    corporations or individuals, in helping with things that are
    falling apart, to just be plain about it. And we try that. I
    have tried in earlier philanthropic campaigns in other settings
    to interest donors in that, and I found it a very, very heavy
    lift to do that.
        Mr. Smith. Hard to put a family name on a new roof?
        Dr. Skorton. It is hard. It is hard. But I would tell you
    what is a beautiful partnership and a very exciting
    partnership, and I don't think there is a better exemplar in
    our country than the Smithsonian, is a partnership between
    solid Federal funding that makes philanthropists say: You know,
    if the U.S. Government is interested in keeping this thing at
    the top, I want to put my part in.
        And I like to think that it goes in the opposite direction
    as well. If I do my job and I bring in very robust
    philanthropic funding, and that is, trying to lift ourselves up
    by our own bootstraps, perhaps you will see us as not just
    showing up with our hand out. So I think both those things go
    together.
        Mr. Smith. Thank you.
        Dr. Skorton. Thank you very much.
        Mr. Smith. I yield back.
        The Chairman. The gentleman yields back.
        The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from Illinois, the
    Vice Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Davis, for 5 minutes.
        Mr. Davis. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        And thank you, Mr. Skorton, for being here today. My kids
    are always advocates of the Smithsonian when they are out here
    on regular occasions, and it is great to be able to let them
    roam The Mall and go see some of the great collections that you
    have.
        I have got a question about the Collections Space Framework
    Plan that identified 47 percent of collection storage space as
    unacceptable. What is the plan, and how does it address the
    collections remaining in unacceptable spaces until facilities
    can be revitalized or constructed to meet acceptable standards?
        Dr. Skorton. Thank you very much, Mr. Davis, for your
    attention to that matter and for focusing us on one of the
    things that genuinely keeps me up at night.
        So we have this national collection of 154 million objects
    and specimens and things, and that is just the physical. We
    also have millions and millions and millions of other things in
    archives and so on. And that will all be for naught if we can't
    take better care of them, so I appreciate your attention to
    that.
        We really have, again, a multiphased approach through our
    facilities professionals. One is, in every situation where
    maintenance is required, we have a careful prioritization. And
    in answer to Mr. Smith's question, I mentioned that we have
    this very careful process or prioritization based first on
    public safety and then based on the cost of eventual problems
    if we don't do it.
        In the case of the collections, the prioritization is based
    on how hard it would be to replace something. Many of these
    things are absolutely irreplaceable. And then secondly, what
    the actual risks are in that particular building, in that
    particular space within the building, in that particular part
    of the space.
        In some cases, the facilities professionals have been able
    to do relatively modest, inexpensive things, changing the way a
    cabinet is used or putting new cabinetry in or things of that
    sort. And in other areas, we have just done our best to move
    things around and try to put things that are in the most danger
    in the best space.
        But I appreciate your question. And I must say, make no
    mistake about it, that we need to pay more attention to this.
    We hope for your support of things like the Udvar-Hazy place,
    because we have as much to do in high priority projects as we
    have already done. So we are at about the halfway point on
    that.
        So again, it is prioritization, it is fixes that we can
    afford right now, and it is planning and working with the
    Office of Management and Budget and with Congress in general to
    put only our highest priority needs forward, which we have.
        Mr. Davis. So you are going to prioritize some of the needs
    that we need to address in a time when you know our Federal
    funds are very, very limited. I mean, these are concerns,
    because what you do and what the Smithsonian staff does on a
    regular daily basis is amazing. And to be able to have these
    properties, to be able to have these collections sitting in
    displays that are acceptable, great. To just the regular
    visitor, they may not know that some of these exhibits are in
    unacceptable standards.
        But at some point we will gladly ask you to come back, I am
    sure, at the Chairman's discretion, to talk about how you are
    working toward making these unacceptable conditions much more
    acceptable and how that prioritization is working on behalf of
    the Smithsonian, but in the end, working on behalf of the
    taxpayers who are the visitors to your Institution.
        So one last question. I do have a question about the Garber
    facility.
        Dr. Skorton. Garber, yes.
        Mr. Davis. Yeah. At what expense, both time and funds, does
    relocating collections from the Garber facility have on your
    operations?
        Dr. Skorton. Can you ask it one more time, sir? I didn't
    hear it right.
        Mr. Davis. At what expense, both time and funds, does
    relocating collections from the Garber facility have on your
    everyday operations?
        Dr. Skorton. I see. There is no question that relocating
    items from that facility has a direct effect on the efficiency
    of our operations. And I apologize, I don't have an exact
    number to tell you right now linked to that.
        But I wonder if this would be acceptable to the Vice
    Chairman and to the Chairman, if we came back to you very
    quickly with a more detailed set of information about the
    general question you asked, as well as the Garber, as well as
    the relationship between the request at Udvar-Hazy and what is
    happening at Garber and that day-to-day operation.
        If that would be acceptable, rather than give you an
    imprecise answer now, I would like to give you a more precise
    answer, which we can get to you in short order, if that is
    acceptable.
        Mr. Davis. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you for your time.
        I yield back.
        The Chairman. The gentleman yields back.
        I want to tell you again how much we appreciate you being
    here today, Secretary Skorton. We take our oversight of the
    Smithsonian as a serious matter, just as you do your job. None
    of us like surprises, so we will certainly try to keep very
    open lines of communication. And likewise, we are available. If
    there is something that we need to know, I know you will reach
    out to us as you have been doing. And we appreciate the great
    work that your team is doing.
        With that, without objection, all Members will have 5
    legislative days to submit to the Chair additional written
    questions for the witness, which we will forward and ask the
    witness to respond as promptly as he can so his answers may be
    made a part of the record.
        Without objection, this hearing is adjourned.
        [Whereupon, at 12:16 p.m., the committee was adjourned.]

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