[Senate Hearing 117-229]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]





                                                        S. Hrg. 117-229
 
                OVERSIGHT OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

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

                                HEARING

                               before the

                 COMMITTEE ON RULES AND ADMINISTRATION
                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             SECOND SESSION

                               __________

                             MARCH 30, 2022

                               __________

    Printed for the use of the Committee on Rules and Administration
    
    
    
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             U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 
47-242                WASHINGTON : 2022 
                   
                  
                  
                 COMMITTEE ON RULES AND ADMINISTRATION

                             SECOND SESSION

                  AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota, Chairwoman

DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California         ROY BLUNT, Missouri
CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York         MITCH McCONNELL, Kentucky
MARK R. WARNER, Virginia             RICHARD SHELBY, Alabama
PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont            TED CRUZ, Texas
ANGUS S. KING, JR., Maine            SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West 
JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon                     Virginia
ALEX PADILLA, California             ROGER WICKER, Mississippi
JON OSSOFF, Georgia                  DEB FISCHER, Nebraska
                                     CINDY HYDE-SMITH, Mississippi
                                     BILL HAGERTY, Tennessee

                    Elizabeth Peluso, Staff Director
             Rachelle Schroeder, Republican Staff Director
             
                         C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S

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                                                                  Pages

                         Opening Statement of:

Hon. Amy Klobuchar, Chairwoman, a United States Senator from the 
  State of Minnesota.............................................     1
Hon. Roy Blunt, a United States Senator from the State of 
  Missouri.......................................................     3
Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary, Smithsonian Institution, 
  Washington DC..................................................     4

                         Prepared Statement of:

Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary, Smithsonian Institution, 
  Washington DC..................................................    20

                  Questions Submitted for the Record:

Hon. Amy Klobuchar, Chairwoman, a United States Senator from the 
  State of Minnesota to Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary, 
  Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.........................    23
Hon. Roy Blunt, a United States Senator from the State of 
  Missouri to Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary, Smithsonian 
  Institution, Washington DC.....................................    25


                OVERSIGHT OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

                              ----------                              


                       WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2022

                               United States Senate
                      Committee on Rules and Administration
                                                     Washington, DC
    The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 11:03 a.m., in 
Room 301, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Amy Klobuchar, 
Chairwoman of the Committee, presiding.
    Present: Senators Klobuchar, Blunt, Warner, Padilla, 
Ossoff, Capito, and Fischer.

  OPENING STATEMENT OF HONORABLE AMY KLOBUCHAR, CHAIRWOMAN, A 
       UNITED STATES SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF MINNESOTA

    Chairwoman Klobuchar. Good afternoon. I call to order this 
hearing of the Rules Committee on Oversight of the Smithsonian 
Institution. I would like to thank my friend, Ranking Member 
Blunt, and our colleagues for being here to hear from 
Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch.

    We are really excited to have you here, Secretary. We know 
how difficult, as it has been for everyone, getting through 
this pandemic when you have museums that people like to walk 
into and crowd hallways and watch films and the like, how hard 
this has been, and we really appreciate the Smithsonian 
sticking through.

    We have given the support that I hope has been helpful 
because we want the Smithsonian to keep strong. As we all know, 
the Smithsonian was founded over 175 years ago thanks to a 
donation from James Smithson, talk about your name living on 
forever, who wanted to create an establishment for the 
``increase and diffusion of knowledge''. This ideal has guided 
the Smithsonian as it has grown to become the global leader 
that is today, the world's largest museum, education, and 
research complex.

    With a presence in nearly every state and 145 countries--I 
am not sure every American understands the global nature of our 
outreach here. The Smithsonian encompasses 21 museums, 21 
libraries, 9 research centers, the National Zoo--which my 
husband and daughter and I had an incredible visit to. I felt 
like she was five again, but in fact, she is 26, and got to 
hear about how the zoo was faring during the pandemic, 
including the lion contracting coronavirus, who seems to be 
okay. More than 200 affiliate institutions. These institutes 
have enhanced our understanding of the artistic, cultural, 
scientific, and civic contributions that have shaped our 
country.

    My State of Minnesota is home to one Smithsonian affiliate, 
the Bell Museum in St. Paul, which features exhibits and STEM 
education programs. I was also proud to learn about all the 
Minnesota Chippewa artifacts that are now on display at the 
National Museum of the American Indian, which is, by the way, 
my husband's favorite place for lunch in all of Washington, DC. 
Every year, millions of people visit the Smithsonian and 
millions more engage through your online resources.

    Even as we faced the pandemic, the Smithsonian had a 
whopping 5.2 million visitors in 2021, while also expanding 
your digital reach to 205 million online visitors in 2021. That 
is up from 178 million the year before. I am sure we are 
looking forward to hearing how you are building on that. While 
COVID resulted in temporary closures of facilities, the 
Smithsonian worked to open your doors as quickly and safely as 
possible. With the exception of the ever popular Air and Space 
Museum, which we understand is under construction, all the 
museums are now open to the public.

    While some museums are still working to get more staff on 
board, we will want to hear about that, all but two museums are 
on track to welcome visitors seven days a week by Memorial Day. 
Notably, this is the Committee's first hearing with the 
Secretary since we passed legislation to establish two new 
museums, the American Women's History Museum and the National 
Museum of the American Latino.

    I was proud to support the legislation which passed in this 
Committee unanimously, that is right, before being signed into 
law in December 2020. Site selection, we know, for both museums 
are now underway, and this Committee will have a role in 
reviewing the options later this year. It is important for this 
process to stay on track so these museums can open as quickly 
as possible. I know other progress is being made in terms of 
hiring Jorge Zamanillo, who will become the first Director of 
the National Museum of the American Latino in May.

    We are, of course, fortunate to have you, Mr. Secretary, in 
your current position to help us here given that you were the 
first Director of the National Museum of African American 
History and Culture. I know you are committed to building the 
new museums while of course keeping strong all of our museums, 
our existing museums and work. We also have to remain committed 
to the backlog of maintenance projects at the institution. We 
know how much that costs, over $1 billion.

    Importantly, the omnibus legislation led by our colleagues, 
Senator Leahy and Shelby, included resources for the 
Smithsonian to support these projects. While this funding will 
help, we understand it is not everything you need. Finally, we 
are nearing the end of the Smithsonian's 5-year strategic plan 
that was launched in 2017.

    I look forward to hearing from you, Secretary Bunch, about 
that. I will now recognize my good friend, and I mean that, it 
is not just like a Senate line, Senator Blunt.

   OPENING STATEMENT OF HONORABLE ROY BLUNT, A UNITED STATES 
               SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF MISSOURI

    Senator Blunt. That is right. Good friends and really good 
friends, so you have to clarify that in the Senate, and 
Chairwoman Klobuchar and I are glad to make that clear. Every 
chance we get, we do lots of work together on this Committee 
and in a lot of other areas that we have worked together for a 
long time.

    Chairwoman, thank you for calling this hearing on the 
Smithsonian Institution. Certainly lucky to have Secretary 
Bunch leading the institution, but here with us today. When you 
were here the last time, Secretary, we were considering the 
legislation that the Chairwoman mentioned to establish the 
National Museum of the American Latino and the Smithsonian 
American Women's History Museum.

    Certainly, as she has already pointed out, your great 
experience of being the Founding Director of the National 
Museum of African American History creates a real opportunity 
for you to give the kind of advice and guidance this project 
needs. As the Chairman of the Committee, when we authorized the 
two museums in 2020, I am particularly looking forward to 
hearing more about how they are progressing now almost a year 
and a half after that unanimous recommendation by this 
Committee that we move forward.

    We are excited about those two new museums, but we 
certainly do not want to lose sight of the challenges in 
dealing with the deferred maintenance backlog, the aging 
buildings and infrastructure really have a backlog that I think 
you have estimated to be about $1 billion, and a shortage of 
space to really house the collections. Which between the 
collections and the unique museums that those collections are 
housed in, they really are America's treasures, and we are 
grateful to you for taking responsibility for those treasures.

    We are going to be excited to watch the two new museums be 
first located and then built, but also we are committed on this 
Committee, and I know you are committed to see that the 
investment that Americans have made in the old facilities is 
honored by how well we maintain them. Nearly three years ago, 
when you became Secretary, that was the middle, or the 
beginning really, of implementing the 5-year strategic plan.

    I think we are now in the last year of that plan and look 
forward to your comments about that. But again, great to have 
you with us today. Great to have you leading the Smithsonian 
Institution. Chairwoman, thank you for having this hearing.

    Chairwoman Klobuchar. Thank you very much. Secretary, if 
you could raise your right hand. Do you swear that the 
testimony you will give before the Committee shall be the 
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you, 
God?

    Secretary Bunch. Yes.

    Chairwoman Klobuchar. Thank you very much. You can be 
seated, and we will now proceed to your testimony. Thank you 
very much.

     OPENING STATEMENT OF LONNIE G. BUNCH III, SECRETARY, 
             SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION WASHINGTON, DC


    Secretary Bunch. Chairwoman Klobuchar, Ranking Member 
Blunt, and Members of the Committee, thank you for the 
opportunity to testify before you today. As you have said, the 
past two years have been challenging for the Smithsonian, as 
they have been for everybody in this country. But I am proud of 
the way that we have been able to continue to serve Americans 
in this time of need, while also following the guidance of 
medical experts to ensure the health and safety of our 
visitors.
    The Smithsonian community has been remarkable in its 
ability to pivot to a more digital institution, which has been 
borne out by the more than 50 million online visits that we 
have got in the past year compared to the past two years. The 
diligence of our employees have allowed us to reopen all of our 
museums, which will soon be open seven days a week. Events 
called for becoming nimbler, more dynamic, and more creative in 
ways we serve the public, and our staff rose to that challenge.
    As you know, Congress passed the legislation for two new 
museums, the National Museum of the American Latino and the 
Smithsonian American Women's Museum. I have to be honest, I am 
very excited to see what they will become in the months and 
years ahead, because in many ways they present a unique 
opportunity to blend tradition and innovation, to use digital 
technologies in new ways to tell the full American story, and 
to help serve the greater good by having a profound impact on 
people's lives.
    When I last addressed this Committee about the legislation, 
I underscored the need to understand and plan for the 
obligations they will incur over time. This is a lifetime 
commitment, increasing the needs for collection space, 
maintenance, and staffing in perpetuity. But I am confident, 
with the full support of Congress, we will be able to make 
these museums exemplars. I can report that things are 
proceeding quite well with them. We have selected advisory 
councils for each.
    The Founding Director of the Latino Museum, Jorge 
Zamanillo, arrives in May, and the search is well underway for 
the director of the Women's History Museum. As somebody who 
went through the site selection process with the National 
Museum of African American History and Culture, I can testify 
how consequential a museum's location is, both as a symbol and 
as a driver of success. In choosing the locations for our 
newest museums, we approached the consulting firm to help us 
develop a more strategic approach.
    We are applying due diligence to all the possible sites, 
making significant progress toward determining the finalists. 
But being a positive influence on our Committees and on our 
Nation means setting a higher standard for ourselves. This 
requires not just doing good work, but also fostering 
environment where everyone is fully respected and welcomed.
    A series of incidents at the Smithsonian Tropical Research 
Institute have recently come to light that fall far short of 
the standard and that appalls me. I am personally offended, and 
I want to assure you that I will not tolerate such behavior. 
You know, I have dedicated my career to fighting for equality 
and fairness. I am grateful for the strong and courageous women 
who came forward to show us where we need to do better.
    As a result of that, even before, we implemented many 
policy and procedural changes to make the Smithsonian a model 
place to work and visit. This includes making significant 
enhancements to the Smithsonian's anti-harassment resources, 
reporting processes, and preventive initiatives like the SI 
Civil Program.
    We are expanding its staff and increasing its capacity to 
allow all employees to report harassment, violence, or 
retaliatory behaviors in the workplace. To access and improve 
our workplace culture, we need to begin to more accurately 
measure harassment complaints and other issues. The SI Civil 
Program is putting tools in place, and the institution will be 
more effective and more transparent as a result of that.
    The institution and I are determined to create a more 
inclusive, respectful, and welcoming Smithsonian that lives up 
to our ideals and embodies our values. In many ways, museums 
have also undergone a healthy reexamination of objects in the 
collection, how they were obtained. The National Museum of 
Natural History, the National Museum of the American Indian, 
have long had robust efforts to repatriate cultural patrimony, 
but we recognize we must do more.
    We put together an ethical returns working group to 
identify the provenance of collections and increase our 
repatriation efforts. Because when the Smithsonian works with 
other countries to retrieve and protect their cultural 
heritage, it is not only the right thing to do, but it is also 
in our best interest as a Nation. The international efforts of 
the Smithsonian Cultural Resource Initiative are culture 
diplomacy in action.
    When global conflicts like Ukraine endangers lives and 
threatens to erase the culture and history of a people, it is 
vitally important to keep open all channels of dialog. To be 
clear, even though we have continued to serve the public 
effectively during this time, this has been a difficult time, 
and there are some long term budgetary concerns.
    Obviously among those are the impact of the new museums, 
declining revenue during the pandemic, and the need to 
modernize and secure our systems as our digital capacities 
improve. The President's fiscal year 2023 budget aims to 
address some of those challenges, and your support and guidance 
gives me great confidence in our future success. You know, the 
Smithsonian's mission of the increase and diffusion of 
knowledge is not just a slogan.
    For 175 years, it has been a covenant with the Nation. We 
are obligated to lead responsibly, guided by ethics and morals, 
serving in a way that enriches the lives of our neighbors, the 
American people, and the citizens of the world. With your help, 
we will able to do that effectively for another 175 years.
    Thank you for holding this hearing, for your ongoing 
support, and your commitment to working with us to improve our 
shared future as a Nation. I am happy to answer any questions 
you may have.
    [The prepared statement of Secretary Bunch was submitted 
for the record.]
    Chairwoman Klobuchar. Excellent. Thank you. I think we will 
have Senator Blunt go first. Thanks.
    Senator Blunt. Well, thank you, Chairwoman. That is thank 
you for letting me go first. Secretary Bunch, like you, I was 
deeply troubled by the allegations of sexual harassment at the 
Smithsonian Tropical Research Center in Panama. I am certainly 
grateful for the women who came forward to point this out.
    You mentioned that you changed policies there and that 
those policies extend throughout the system. How do you think 
those policies have made the system or will make the system a 
more safe and respectful place to work?
    Secretary Bunch. Well, Senator, for me, this is really job 
one, to create that safe workplace. What we wanted to do was, 
first of all, create a system that would allow us to give 
people the freedom to report concerns. Basically craft a system 
that would allow people to use online devices to have 24-7 
call-ins, to be able to make sure we can record, and so people 
feel safe.
    To create then the kind of extra training to let people 
know at all levels of the Smithsonian, not only is this not 
acceptable, but everybody in the Smithsonian is responsible for 
helping to make sure that we create that safe workplace. We 
wanted to be able to create a system to allow us to document, 
to actually track it, to be able to know based on the metrics 
how we are doing with it, and then I think the most important 
thing is to recognize this is about changing a culture.
    This is about creating an opportunity for people to 
recognize that they all have a responsibility. What we have 
done is made major changes in Panama and then taken those 
changes, those reporting changes, that extra training, bringing 
that to the Smithsonian to make sure that the entire 
institution is the place that lives up to our values.
    Senator Blunt. Are you seeing a difference in the responses 
you have had?
    Secretary Bunch. We are. What has been very powerful is 
that the Smithsonian has embraced this very strongly. That 
whether it is museum directors or supervisors, people have 
recognized that this is an opportunity for us to be better. I 
have directed my Under Secretary for Administration to take 
this on as one of his primary goals.
    In essence, we have made sure that everything from training 
to expanding the opportunity for people to understand why this 
is important, how to report these issues--in essence, this is 
something that we have shown a light on and will continue to 
improve as we move forward.
    Senator Blunt. Well, I am sure we will continue to be 
interested in that and we will be watching that. The last two 
years, the management through the COVID, what a challenge. 
Has--what are the current operating--what is the current 
operating status? What should people visiting the museums 
expect to see when they get there over the next few weeks and 
months?
    Secretary Bunch. We are in the process so that by the end 
of May, almost the entire Smithsonian, all the museums will be 
open, with the exception of Air and Space, will be open seven 
days a week. We expect to be able to return to serving the 
public the way we did before the pandemic. What we had to do, 
though, is recognize that the pandemic has asked us and forced 
us to be more nimble, to be more flexible.
    We spent a lot of time getting to know what the new 
visitors will want, what our staff needs, and that has allowed 
us to create a glide path to opening. What we have done now is 
because of the challenge of the virus, of not being able to 
have all the staff we need, especially the contractors, is that 
we are moving slowly to open by the end of May, because what I 
want to make sure is that when the public returns in large 
numbers, we are ready and able to serve them.
    I want to make sure that not only do we have the adequate 
security, but that we also have the people who are running the 
shops and the restaurants. I want them to have the full 
Smithsonian experience.
    Right now, the museums are open, not seven days, but every 
museum is open to give the public an opportunity to engage the 
Smithsonian. By the end of May, we will be back to our pre-
pandemic levels of opening with a few exceptions.
    Senator Blunt. With one of those exceptions, I was 
surprised that the Air and Space Museum, the closure there that 
I do not think was anticipated when you started that renovation 
project. But part of that or all of that will be closed over 
part of the summer, am I right on that?
    Secretary Bunch. Part of what was key to me is we wanted to 
open the Air and Space Museum as quickly as we can. It turned 
out that by closing it for a series of months, it allows us to 
reopen the museum to do the work that needs to be done. Partly, 
that was a response of the pandemic, the challenges the 
pandemic raised. But the reality is that I was committed to 
saying, how do we, as quickly as we can, open one of the 
flagship museums, and the best way to do it was to close it for 
a short period of time.
    Senator Blunt. It will be open for a while in late May and 
then close or no?
    Secretary Bunch. It will be closed--it is going to close 
very soon. It will be closed until the fall.
    Senator Blunt. But everything but that will be open on the 
Smithsonian, on the mall?
    Secretary Bunch. Yes.
    Senator Blunt. Thank you. Thank you, Chairwoman.
    Chairwoman Klobuchar. Okay, now I am going to turn to 
Senator Warner, who is with us online. Then I am going to ask 
my question, and then you, Senator Capito. Is that okay with 
you? I think we are all staying within our five minutes, but I 
am turning to Senator Warner because he has one of the largest 
Air and Space Museums, right? Just a little bigger than the St. 
Paul, Minnesota Bell Museum. With that, Senator Warner.
    Senator Warner. Thank you for that gracious comment, Madam 
Chairperson. Secretary Bunch, it is great to see you at least 
remotely. Let me thank you for the courtesy of having me up to 
your office a few months back. I want to talk for a moment 
about the fact that back in December 2020, I joined with so 
many of my colleagues in the creation of two museums for the 
Smithsonian, a American Latino Museum and a Smithsonian 
American Women's History Museum.
    It brought back a memory as we were going forward on that, 
that when I was Governor, I remember walking around with my 
wife and my then seven year old daughter around Capital Square 
in Richmond. Basically, every statue was of a dead white guy, 
most of them actually former confederates, and my daughter 
asked, you know, where is the statue of Rosa Parks?
    My wife being smarter than me said, well Rosa Parks was not 
from Virginia. But it let us on a journey to the story of 
Barbara Johns, who led the walkout at Moten High School in 
Prince Edward County that would end up being one of that law 
cases that were part of the Brown vs. Board of Education, and 
we ultimately got a statue representing people of color and 
women and children on Capital Square in Richmond.
    I have worked since then with my great friends, Tim Kaine, 
to make sure we actually take out of Statutory Hall the statue 
of Robert E. Lee and replace it with hopefully Barbara Johns. I 
guess that as a lead in is Secretary Bunch, you know, tell me 
what the status on a macro level is around the Women's Museum, 
and how are you going to leverage all of the other collections 
that you have got to make sure that those component parts that 
may be, you know, in the African American Museum or in the 
History Museum actually can be part of this Women's Museum.
    Secretary Bunch. Well, we are moving very well with the 
Women's Museum. Obviously, one of the big issues is site 
selection, where we will place this museum, and that is 
something we are working on now. We know that there are many 
people who feel that the museum has to be on the mall. I am one 
of them. There are other people who believe that the mall does 
not have room for the new museums, so we are going to be able 
to work with many people to come back to you to say, here is 
where we think these museums are best suited and we will need 
your help.
    I think the great strength of the Smithsonian is that we 
give different portals into what it means to be an American, 
whether you go through the African American Museum or you go 
through the American History Museum. I think the Women's Museum 
will really contribute mightily to that. It will be a two-sided 
coin. That on the one side, this museum will let us tell the 
story of women in a deep, personal way that will really allow 
people to discover stories that have been not told.
    But it will also allow us to use the story of women as a 
lens to say all of us are shaped in profound ways by this, and 
this is a story for us all. I think that what we want to make 
sure happens in the Smithsonian is we want to make sure that 
the story of women is in every part of the Smithsonian.
    While the Women's Museum will help focus and catalyze our 
actions, the reality is that we want people to be able to come 
to the story of women when they go to the African American 
Museum, when they go to the Museum of American History. This 
will be part of a way we build on the strengths of the 
Smithsonian, we illuminate certain stories, but we make sure 
that everyone has an opportunity to understand how central the 
story of women are to all of us.
    Senator Warner. Well, I appreciate that, and I am not going 
to--I am going to--you know, the Chairwoman is letting Senator 
Blunt and I go ahead of her question, so I am not going to dive 
into those site location questions. I am sure she will take the 
lead on that. But I do want to, you know, following on what 
Senator Blunt talked about, I appreciate how difficult it has 
been to manage the institutions through COVID. I just, my 
question to you is, you know, as the local guy, as Senator 
Klobuchar pointed out, you know, we are always aware and using 
the Smithsonian.
    I do think, you know, having a couple of years of COVID and 
the fact that there may be Members of Congress that are not as 
familiar with the Smithsonian, but as you reopen, in my last 40 
seconds adhering to my five minutes, if you could go ahead and 
give us a little comment about, you got any ideas on how you 
might reopen the Smithsonian, get more Members of Congress to 
engage, and how are you going to actually get the public back 
as well?
    But particularly, since we are down to 24 seconds, any 
ideas on how we can get more Members of Congress reengaged with 
the Smithsonian?
    Chairwoman Klobuchar. There is no proof that I will cut you 
off Senator Warner----
    Senator Warner. I know but I know you control that gavel--
--
    Chairwoman Klobuchar. Yes, well Senator Blunt and I just 
agreed as you referred to yourself as just the local guy, you 
are certainly the humble, lovable local guy to us.
    [Laughter.]
    Senator Warner. Madam Chair, do not take away my last few--
oh my god, I am coming to----
    [Laughter.]
    Chairwoman Klobuchar. Finish your question.
    Senator Warner. Please, take moment to say, let's get 
Members of Congress reengaged as we talked about in your 
office.
    Chairwoman Klobuchar. Excellent. Secretary Bunch, please 
answer that question.
    Secretary Bunch. It is crucially important that we remember 
that the public has real thirst for return to the Smithsonian. 
One of the things that was really clear is that even when we 
closed our doors, we kept the Smithsonian open digitally, and 
the public really has always said, we cannot wait to get back 
to the Smithsonian.
    We expect our numbers to continue to grow. My hope is that 
everyone in Congress knows that the Smithsonian is a jewel, and 
it is a jewel for you and for your constituents. My hope is 
that we will find even greater ways to engage Members of 
Congress. We always serve your constituents.
    For me, the bottom line is the Smithsonian is a wonderful 
opportunity for all of us to understand and learn and be made 
better. We want to make sure that our friends in Congress do 
that as well.
    Senator Warner. Well, I would just say Chair Klobuchar and 
Ranking Member Blunt have been great at bringing Members of 
Congress. I know we went to the Art Museum at one point, but I 
would love to work with the Chair and others on how we might do 
some kind of event in conjunction for Congress and 
Congressional Members to kind of get a first glimpse at the 
reopening.
    Chairwoman Klobuchar. Yes, exactly. I was thinking that. We 
may not travel to Virginia, but I was just talking to the 
Secretary about this, Senator Warner, because we did, Senator 
Blunt and I hosted the Rules Committee in the National Gallery, 
and so many of the Members came. But I think we should now 
extend an invitation from the Rules Committee to all Members of 
the Senate and pick a good location, so that----
    Senator Warner. Once again--by the Chairperson----
    [Laughter.]
    Chairwoman Klobuchar. Okay, excellent. I am going to 
followup, first of all, on something that we mentioned earlier 
and that was Secretary Bunch, the 5-year strategic plan for the 
Smithsonian developed, of course, in 2017 with key goals such 
as ensuring the institution works together across facilities, 
expands reach through digital first, little did we know we were 
going to then encounter the pandemic which drove that even 
more, drives interdisciplinary research, and preserves our 
natural and cultural heritage.
    As we reach the conclusion of the five years, can you 
reflect on progress as well as what you see as the top 
priorities going forward?
    Secretary Bunch. When I became Secretary, I looked at the 
strategic plan and I said, okay, how do I make it my own. How 
do I make sure that their priorities are in line, and most of 
them are. What I did is I said we have five major priorities. 
One is getting the Smithsonian in every classroom and every 
home. In other words, really expanding our digital capacities. 
Obviously, the pandemic has both challenged us, but candidly, 
it gave us the opportunity.
    I am so proud of the way the staff pivoted, how we created 
portals that allow people to come to the Smithsonian to be able 
to find natural history or American history. In a way, that 
notion of building on what is the virtual Smithsonian is still 
one of the number one priorities, and we have hired people to 
work in that direction.
    The number two priority is really doing something that 
often you do not say about the Smithsonian, making it more 
nimble. That we wanted to basically make sure that we improved 
things like the hiring processes, the contracting processes. I 
felt you could not have new wine in an old bottle.
    We have really made major steps. Now for the first time in 
my career, I have seen the Smithsonian hiring actually working 
effectively. The third piece for me was really saying, how do 
we use the science of the Smithsonian, which is so amazing, 
whether it is in climate change or life on other planets, how 
do we use that to really make sure that we are helping the 
American public. Really focusing on science, science education, 
science outreach.
    The fourth is really saying that at a time when Americans 
are debating what does it mean to be an American, the 
Smithsonian will help answer that question. It ought to be a 
place as a trusted source that helps you understand the history 
of this country, helps you understand how that history 
contextualizes who we are today, and really points us toward a 
shared future.
    Then finally for me, the most important part of this in my 
mind was how is the Smithsonian helping American education at a 
time when so many people are struggling to find ways to 
educate. How does the Smithsonian help. How do we use the 
resources, how do we use the creativity to help students 
achieve their goals. Those are the five areas that I have been 
focused on and we have really made great progress in all of 
those.
    I feel very good that we are fulfilling the hopes of the 
original strategic plan, and we are moving now in a direction 
to take those five goals that I have.
    Chairwoman Klobuchar. Thank you very much. Do you have a 
minute? Do you want--Senator Capito, if you want to go and I 
will come back to me. Go ahead.
    Senator Capito. I think they just asked me if Senator 
Padilla could go in front of me, so.
    Chairwoman Klobuchar. Okay, you guys figure that out 
between you. I will continue on. The second question is really 
followup to what Senator Warner--and thank you for going 
through all of those priorities. It was very helpful. Second 
question is a followup on the two new museums. Obviously, we 
are very excited about the American Women's History Museum, as 
well as the National Museum of the American Latino.
    The legislation outlined two years for site selection. You 
talked very well, explaining where that is on the Women's 
Museum. That work is underway, scheduled to be completed by the 
end of the year. Do you expect the site selection process will 
be concluded on time for both of them? What is the status of 
the Latino Museum site selection?
    Secretary Bunch. Site selection for both is underway and 
doing very well. What we have done is because of the different 
views, we decided to examine an array of sites off the mall and 
on the mall and near the mall. What we are down to is a limited 
number of sites that we are reviewing, and that the challenge 
will be candidly the fact that the Smithsonian only controls 
one site, the Arts and Industries Building.
    As we come to some decisions about the best sites for the 
museums, we may need Congress's help to be able to make sure 
that the ownership gets transferred to the Smithsonian. But my 
sense is that we will be able to make a recommendation to the 
Board of Reagents in the fall, and to be able to sort of 
fulfill our end of year deadline for both of these museums.
    Chairwoman Klobuchar. Excellent. That is really good news, 
and we look forward to hearing from you then. Last, $1 billion 
in backlog is the estimate. How are you prioritizing the 
backlog of the maintenance projects?
    Secretary Bunch. You know, I have always said that one of 
the great challenges of the Smithsonian is maintenance and 
backlog. That in essence what I have said is that we can do 
both. We can build new museums. We can address these issues as 
long as we get the support from Congress. But what I have also 
said is, let us be very strategic. Let us recognize that just 
using the maintenance line is not enough.
    What we have done is strategically look at our capital 
projects to say, how do we use those projects as well to deal 
with the backlog. For example, one of the great parts where we 
had the largest backlog was the National Air and Space Museum. 
As we have made it one of our priorities for the capital 
project, we are not only be able to rejuvenate that building, 
but to really address so much of the backlog. That is what we 
are looking at.
    We are trying to be very strategic in making sure that we 
are marrying the maintenance money that we have with our 
capital vision to begin to address the backlog. But clearly, it 
is going to be a long term effort.
    Chairwoman Klobuchar. Okay, very good. Senator Capito has 
once again showed her goodwill and deferred here to our great 
Senator from the State of California, staunch advocate for the 
National Museum of the American Latino, Senator Padilla.
    Senator Padilla. Thank you, Madam Chair. Appreciate the 
flexibility, Senator Capito. One of those days you are all 
familiar with, smacked between Homeland Security and Budget. 
With my limited time, appreciate the opportunity to raise a 
couple of issues and priorities and ask some questions.
    I will begin by sharing with you, Mr. Secretary, my 
background and the reason for my interest on your digitization 
comments. You know, in my home State of California, we have 
long believed in the importance and necessity of recording and 
remembering our shared history. For students of California 
history and for those and maybe for those who are not aware, in 
1850, the very first law signed by the very first Governor of 
California established the requirement of the maintenance of 
the public archives, very first law by the very first 
Legislature and Governor.
    That tells you what a priority it is. Today, the California 
State Archives is a division of the California Secretary of 
State's Office, the position I had the honor of holding for six 
years prior to joining the Senate. One of my priorities at the 
time was to make sure that yes, the historical treasures of 
California as required were not just preserved, not just 
protected, but as available as possible for the general public 
to view and to enjoy.
    Part of my strategy was to increase digitization efforts of 
the state's archives, collections, curating exhibits, etcetera, 
so that they could be accessed by any person with an internet 
connection, not just anywhere in the state, but frankly, 
anywhere around the world. We did this through strategic 
utilization of state resources as well as engaging in public, 
private partnerships.
    I know the mission of public access of our shared history 
is something that the Smithsonian shares, but the incredible 
knowledge and history held within the museums, for the most 
part, is still limited to only those who are able to come and 
visit in person. You have spoken to digitization through your 
opening remarks, and I would like to just expand for a minute 
on what other short term and long term goals there might be or 
plans there might be to share our content with a broader 
audience.
    Secretary Bunch. Well, thank you, thank you very much. You 
know, when I actually did honest work as a historian, now I 
shake hands, I was a California scholar, so I know a lot about 
what California has done in its archives. For me, what is 
important is to realize that the treasures of the Smithsonian 
are too important just to be in the hands of those who can come 
visit. We have really made a major concerted effort, first 
through the educational work that we have done, to make sure 
that people have access to the collections through the 
Smithsonian Learning Lab.
    You can go into that, and you can go type oh, California, 
or type women's suffrage, or butterflies and get everything the 
Smithsonian has. We have also made sure that by the work that 
we have done with both the Latino Museum and with the 
Smithsonian Women's History Initiative, what we have done is 
made sure that those stories are being told so these museums 
are being birth digitally.
    Therefore, we are making sure that story is being told. It 
is important that every museum, from the Air and Space Museum 
to the African American Museum to the Museum of American 
History, has major projects of making their collections 
accessible digitally.
    But what we want to make sure, is we also want to make sure 
that we give people the right portals into that, not just 
simply putting out material, but really making it of use for 
teachers, for educators, for parents. This is really a priority 
of ours.
    Senator Padilla. If I can also just add, not just static 
representations of what is in the collection, but with an eye 
toward that user experience, even if it is digitally, someday a 
VR experience, and maybe someday soon. Second, I just want to 
echo the prior comments made by the Chair, by you, Mr. 
Secretary, on our commitment to the two new museums that were 
recently approved.
    Sharing the stories of American women and Latinos across 
the country is part of telling a more inclusive story of the 
United States of America. I appreciate the update on the site 
selection process. Will add my voice to those others that are 
urging it on the mall location, and I know there is multiple 
options there. But in my final seconds here, just want to raise 
the topic of a sort of maintenance, in some cases deferred 
maintenance, and the increased risk of climate change.
    I know you read as I read recently in the New York Times, 
an article about flooding issues in a number of the 
institutions. Climate change is only going to continue to 
become--or to grow in terms of the threat that it represents. 
What help do you need from Congress to help address this issue 
before we begin to lose treasures? Thankfully, we have not lost 
anything yet from my understanding. But what you need from 
Congress?
    Secretary Bunch. Well, obviously climate change, especially 
in Washington, is a Federal issue, right. It is the National 
Park Service, it is not just the Smithsonian. What we have done 
is really two things. One is we created a climate action plan, 
which allows us to make sure that when it is an institution, we 
are thinking creatively about sustainability. What are the 
things we need to do?
    For example, when we built a National Museum of African 
American History and Culture, it was the first green museum on 
the mall, so sustainability was at the heart of that. When we 
make changes like we are doing at the National Air and Space 
Museum, it is also about sustainability and providing materials 
that would protect through pumps and walls to protect the 
collections.
    What we have also done is recognize that we had to make 
changes. We have moved most of the vulnerable collections up so 
that that is not an issue. But we have also had a special 
response group of staff whose job it is in an emergency to 
rescue collections. We have we have taken all of those steps. I 
think the reality is the challenge is going to be how do we, 
how does Congress help the mall, the entire mall deal with the 
issue of flooding?
    Part of that is, what we are building in terms of being 
able to make sure that we can handle flooding, but also is to 
have a plan that includes the Smithsonian, the National Park 
Service, that allows us to come up with the right strategies.
    Senator Padilla. Thank you. I will just warn you that next 
week there is going to be two young Americans, one aged nine, 
one age seven, who are going to be visiting some of the 
Smithsonian. They have visited a few National Parks. Already 
have their junior ranger badge collection going. I don not know 
if it is a passport book they are going to be stamp it or 
something, but I am sure you will be hearing them, no doubt.
    [Laughter.]
    Chairwoman Klobuchar. They are very well behaved. With 
that, another local Senator from the area who cherishes your 
work and that would be Senator Capito. Thank you.
    Senator Capito. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, 
Secretary for being with us here today. I am going to ask just 
a quick--couple of quick questions I think I will get some 
quick answers on. You said the site selection is at the end of 
December?
    Secretary Bunch. Yes.
    Senator Capito. That has not been done as yet. How many 
total employees does your in total--in all the 21 Smithsonians?
    Secretary Bunch. About 7,000 people work for the 
Smithsonian.
    Senator Capito. Okay. Let me ask you this, and Senator 
Blunt kind of alluded to this, but for visitors coming in, do 
you follow the guidelines from the CDC in terms of mask wearing 
in and out of the facility? Where are you on that right now?
    Secretary Bunch. Well, where we are is that we have decided 
that we do not need the visitors to wear masks. We follow the 
science, the CDC science, we listen to what the District of 
Columbia says. But also candidly, because so many of our 
visitors come from all over the country, so it is not just sort 
of what is happening in the District, we really look at what is 
going on around the Nation. We are--we have eliminated the mask 
mandate so that visitors can come in at full capacity.
    Senator Capito. Great. Great. Do you have to limit numbers 
of people? I know certain museums have to have tickets and 
certain don not. Could you tell us which ones have to have 
tickets?
    Secretary Bunch. During the pandemic, we moved to a 
ticketing system so that I can control the crowds.
    Senator Capito. Right. I was----
    Secretary Bunch. We just eliminated that. Right now you 
still need tickets to the National Museum of African American 
History and Culture. It is still one of the popular places, so 
you need tickets for that. But other than that, we are stepping 
away from tickets.
    Senator Capito. Okay. Is that in May or is that now?
    Secretary Bunch. The museum needs tickets--African American 
needs tickets all the time.
    Senator Capito. All the time. But the other museums for--
spring breakers coming in--?
    Secretary Bunch. Come on in.
    Senator Capito. Okay. You do not have to hold the crowd on 
that, unless you--?
    Secretary Bunch. Not unless something happens with the 
pandemic.
    Senator Capito. Right. Good news. Good news. Let me ask you 
this then on the virtual--on the African American Museum. 
Obviously, you know this very well. For the ticketing process, 
I mean we have had constituents that have not been able to get 
tickets. It has been frustrating for them and for us. Are there 
suggestions there? Is it starting to tail off a little bit, 
maybe now that the people that want to see it first got there? 
How do you navigate that?
    Secretary Bunch. You know, that was my expectation, to be 
perfectly honest, but that has not happened.
    Senator Capito. Has not happened----
    Secretary Bunch. Part of the challenge is to make sure you 
have the right visitor experience. That is why we are 
maintaining the crowds, because for me, I remember before we 
had tickets, the lines into that museum were out to the 
Washington Monument, and there were too many people, especially 
many seniors, who were suffering in the summer sun.
    Senator Capito. Yes. Is it pretty seamless getting--I mean, 
I am going to admit I have never tried to do it but--?
    Secretary Bunch. We have we have finalized and fine-tuned 
the process that we allow people--and the other thing we do is 
the security knows that if people come and do not have tickets, 
if the museum is not crowded or if there is opportunities, 
people are let in. We try to be that flexible.
    Senator Capito. Yes, I appreciate that. Thank you. I was 
really interested in your statements when you talked about 
repatriating cultural patrimony, which is three big words 
there. But, and then further on in your statements talking 
about ethical returns working group. Tell me about what that 
is. Is that--I know your collection. What we all see in your 
museums is probably one-one-hundredth of your entire 
collection. How do you work that? I am interested in that.
    Secretary Bunch. Sure. The Smithsonian has over 155 million 
objects. Part of what we wanted to do is that as we have 
followed the rules of NAGPRA and have begun to return materials 
to native tribes, what I realized is that we needed an overall 
group that would look at this whole question of, are the 
collections ethically ours and maintained?
    If not, what should we do? What is the processes? Where we 
have focused recently has been on statues from Benin, these 
Benin bronzes that are there. They are beautiful. But these 
Benin bronzes that the Smithsonian has, we did a lot of 
research, and it turns out they were stolen from the Kingdom of 
Benin by the British Army in 1897.
    Senator Capito. Then somebody was collecting them at some 
point, and they donated them----
    Secretary Bunch. Once the army got them, they were given 
away, sold, etc. Some came--they are all over the world. The 
largest number is at the British Museum. We looked at this and 
we said talking to the government of Nigeria, we said, here is 
what we would like to do, we would like to, if the Board of 
Reagents approve, and so we are still in the middle of a 
process, we would like to give legal ownership back to the 
country of Nigeria, but that we would keep some of these so 
that we can interpret them, explore them, etcetera.
    That way, we want to make sure that something that was 
stolen really gets back to the legitimate owners.
    Senator Capito. Oh, that is very interesting. I guess I can 
expect the original statue of the West Virginia Mountaineer to 
be returned too. I am kidding, I am kidding.
    Secretary Bunch. There is a process.
    [Laughter.]
    Senator Capito. Thank you very much.
    Chairwoman Klobuchar. Very good. Thank you very much. 
Senator Capito. Last up, I believe, is Senator Ossoff. Thank 
you, newest Senator on our Committee and doing a great job. 
Thanks.
    Senator Ossoff. Thank you, Madam Chair and welcome 
Secretary Bunch. When I heard that Chair Klobuchar, Ranking 
Member Blunt were putting on this hearing, I was really 
enthused and excited because the Smithsonian is such a jewel 
for our country, a globally renowned institution.
    The service that you and your team provide to the American 
public and to the world in the arts and sciences, historic 
preservation, the recording of history, all of these are 
essential and deeply appreciated. On behalf of my constituents 
in Georgia, I just want to thank you and please ask you to 
convey to your whole team our appreciation.
    Secretary Bunch. Thank you. I will. Thank you so much.
    Senator Ossoff. I want to just ask you now since I am 
closing out the hearing, what else do you need, or do you want 
from Congress in order to expand and augment the extraordinary 
work that you are doing? What is the 20 year vision? What 
should we be investing in now so that this institution is 
moving on to higher and higher heights in decades to come?
    Secretary Bunch. I think, you know, Senator Blunt and 
others have made it really clear, there are several priorities 
that we have got to look for the long term. One is to make sure 
that we can handle and preserve and protect the collections. 
The collections or the DNA of the Smithsonian. That even though 
we are going to do more and more virtually, we still have this 
sort of amazing cultural patrimony to protect.
    To help us determine how we build the right spaces that 
allow us to protect the material in the best way we can, such 
as the support you have given us for Pod 6 at the Suitland 
site, which is allowing us to share a space with the National 
Gallery of Art that allows us to protect more of our 
collections.
    I think making sure we can protect the collections are key. 
Second, to be honest, is the support to build the new museums. 
This is going to be a major endeavor that is going to take a 
public, private partnership. The one thing I know from National 
Museum of African American History and Culture is that it is 
the public money from Congress that we are able to leverage 
with the private donors. We need to make sure that we have that 
kind of commitment.
    Then I think the third is really helping us issue, do 
through oversight--think about what are the possibilities that 
the Smithsonian is now anticipating? How do we make sure that 
we serve the educational community better? How do we make sure 
that we are providing the kind of cultural diplomacy that helps 
America develop its relationships overseas? I think those are 
some of the things that would be very helpful.
    Senator Ossoff. Could you please walk me through some of 
your ongoing or past or contemplated activities, partnerships 
beyond the District of Columbia, in states and localities 
across the country, and then also what you are doing 
internationally?
    Secretary Bunch. Sure. I have created something called Our 
Shared Future, and under that, one of the most important 
initiatives is what I am calling a rural initiative, to say 
that the Smithsonian needs to think creatively about how does 
it work with rural communities throughout this country.
    What we are doing is looking at what are the educational 
partnerships with rural communities, how do we work with groups 
like let's say the 4-H clubs and how that allows us to bring 
the resource of the Smithsonian into communities in Georgia, 
North Carolina, and North Dakota.
    I think that notion of exploring our rural heritage and our 
rural communities is really important. That is something we 
really want to do. Internationally, the Smithsonian has always 
been a global place. Many of our scholars have relationships 
overseas. My own work in South Africa. We have amazing 
scientists that do work in Kenya. We do a lot of work 
throughout Europe.
    Part of the goal here is to bring a sense of order to that. 
Traditionally, our international work is often ad hoc. It is 
based on your own personal relationship. We always want to do 
that. But now we want to think about how do we--how to be much 
more strategic.
    With this cultural research initiative that we have, how do 
we help nations as they are grappling with the challenge of 
climate change, war, natural disaster? Really trying to make 
sure that the Smithsonian that has so many people who can help 
preserve, collect, and protect, that we are doing that globally 
as well.
    Senator Ossoff. Thank you for that overview, Secretary 
Bunch. Will you commit to working with me and my office and 
educational leaders in Georgia to identify every opportunity 
that we share to collaborate and invest in enriching the 
classroom experience of Georgia children in rural communities 
and our major metros alike?
    Secretary Bunch. I am the son of two teachers. Education is 
crucial to what I believe, and so we are committed at the 
Smithsonian to define the partnerships that allow us to do 
that. Because the one thing I have learned is that the 
Smithsonian does not have broad enough shoulders to do 
everything. But if we work collaboratively, we can really have 
the kind of impact we want.
    Senator Ossoff. I am going to take that as a yes.
    Secretary Bunch. Yes.
    Senator Ossoff. Okay, thank you. I yield.
    Chairwoman Klobuchar. Thank you very much, Senator Ossoff. 
This is now coming to a close. I believe we are going to have 
some votes. I want to, first of all, thank Ranking Member Blunt 
and Members of the Committee for this really productive 
hearing. This really gives us an opportunity, and our great 
staff that together worked to put this on, to figure out what 
is happening, to get that timeline so we can start planning.
    A lot of our colleagues are excited about these additional 
museums. Also excited about the reopening. You have made it 
clear, seven days a week coming right up here, and we are very 
pleased with that. We are going to be able to go back and tell 
our colleagues, and hopefully I will see you in person at one 
of your museums very soon. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, for your 
great work.
    Thank you, Senator Blunt. Do you want to add anything? I 
know you are going to have some questions on the record.
    Senator Blunt. I do have some questions for the record, and 
part of those will relate to your backlog. It is something we 
are interested in. Did not have the time we might have had 
today, but I have two questions and we will get those for the 
record. Thank you, Secretary.
    Chairwoman Klobuchar. Exactly. Maybe what those priorities 
are and the like. I think we would both like to know that. The 
hearing record will remain open for one week and we are 
adjourned. Thank you.
    [Whereupon, at 11:56 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.]

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