M E M O R A N D U M
To: Reporters and editors
Re: Smithsonian employee travel
Da: Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today made the following comment on a report from the Smithsonian Institution inspector general on employee travel. Grassley has conducted oversight of the Smithsonian’s spending on travel and compensation since 2007, when then-Secretary Lawrence M. Small “resigned under pressure following revelations regarding his housing allowance and office and travel expenditures,” according to The Washington Post, which reported extensively on the situation.
“The Smithsonian needs to continue to step up its travel oversight, as the inspector general recommends. The common-sense recommendations include not having subordinates approve their superiors’ travel and reining in excessive compensation days for time spent traveling. According to the report, the secretary accrued 376 hours of comp time off for travel from 2009 to 2011. That amounts to 47 days off if he were to take them. It’s important to note that the report does not speak to how much the Smithsonian benefits from employee travel and whether the travel is completely justified. The findings of no travel abuse and no material violations of policies for trips reviewed should not be cause to ease scrutiny of travel. Saying that all the travel was approved isn’t saying much, given some lax procedures pointed out by the inspector general. Smithsonian executive travel is either on the donors’ dime or the taxpayers’ dime. Either way, the people paying the bills deserve the most bang for their buck. Travel is supposed to benefit the Smithsonian’s mission, and it should be fully explained and justified. We’re not that many years away from scandal, and it would hurt the Smithsonian’s many patrons for the institution to backslide.”
The inspector general report is available here.