Senate Urges Investigation of Pay at Smithsonian Institution

A key lawmaker has asked the Smithsonian Institution's internal watchdog unit to look into executive pay and perquisites throughout the museum.

Sen. Charles E. Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, last week asked the Inspector General's office at the museum to expand an investigation of compensation at one division to the entire institution.

His request comes after the House Appropriations Committee approved legislation last month to limit salaries for Smithsonian employees to a maximum of $400,000, the amount paid to the president of the United States. Six Smithsonian employees, including the institution's chief executive, Lawrence M. Small, currently make more than that, according to the committee.

Mr. Grassley has been leading a wide-ranging examination of the management of nonprofit groups over the past three years, and has urged the Internal Revenue Service to be aggressive in making sure that charity and foundation leaders are not receiving excessive pay and other perks.

At the Smithsonian, Mr. Grassley asked the Inspector General to expand an investigation that had focused on executive pay and accounting practices at Smithsonian Business Ventures, which promotes joint ventures between businesses and the museum.

In his letter to the Smithsonian inspector general, Mr. Grassley said that broadening the investigation not only would help Congress understand how the business agreements relate to the museum's charitable mission, but also would show precisely how much Smithsonian senior managers and other top employees make.

"Because your audit will enhance understanding of executive-compensation practices and provide an accounting of how funds raised by Smithsonian Business Ventures have been spent for the charitable purposes of the Institution, I urge you to make your audit a high priority," in addition to expanding it to all senior managers and other officials at the Smithsonian, Mr. Grassley wrote.

Mr. Grassley asked the inspector general at the Smithsonian to look not just at salaries paid to Smithsonian leaders, but to also examine perquisites such as housing and automobile allowances, loans, cash advances, and performance incentives

Linda St. Thomas, a spokeswoman for the Smithsonian, said that the executive committee of the Smithsonian's Board of Regents makes sure that salaries for the institution's officials are fair compared with the pay of executives in similar jobs at other charities. That includes Mr. Small's $573,832 salary, which they say is comparable to that of leaders of other top museums, she said.

"The Secretary told me he was looking forward to the Inspector General review, because he believes the executive committee is very conscientious," about making sure salaries are fair, Ms. St. Thomas said.

Mr. Grassley also said in a separate letter to the federal government's Office of Management and Budget that the Smithsonian's next inspector general should be chosen by someone other than Mr. Small. Debra S. Ritt resigned the inspector general's post last week, saying she had been given insufficient resources to do her job. Ms. Ritt said before departing that she had expanded the audit as requested by the senator.

Smithsonian officials have said they disagree with Ms. Ritt's contention and that they consider the inspector general job to be an important one.

The Smithsonian, which has legal status as a tax-exempt charity, receives nearly 80 percent of its funds from federal sources. It has requested more than $600-million in federal appropriations this year. In 2004, the most recent year for which figures are available, it raised $122-million from private sources, placing it among the top 400 charities in fund raising, according to The Chronicle's annual survey of the charities that raise the most money.