Last week, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) submitted a bill that would bring the Smithsonian Institution under the Freedom of Information Act and Sunshine Act, a position the Institution has eluded for decades. Anyone who's followed the scandals over the past couple of years, starting with former Secretary Lawrence M. Small's excessive expenses and eventual ouster in March of last year, knows that transparency is crucial to win back public trust in the Institution and hopefully end the corruption and misuse of funds. more ›