I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1787 
To revise the composition of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion so that all members are individuals appointed by the President 
from a list of nominees submitted by the leadership of the Congress, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 5, 2011 
Ms. NORTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on House Administration 
A BILL 
To revise the composition of the Board of Regents of the 
Smithsonian Institution so that all members are individ-
uals appointed by the President from a list of nominees 
submitted by the leadership of the Congress, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Smithsonian Mod-
ernization Act of 2011’’. 
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SEC. 2. APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS OF SMITHSONIAN 
BOARD OF REGENTS. 
(a) NUMBER OF MEMBERS; APPOINTMENT OF ALL 
MEMBERS FROM LIST OF NOMINEES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 5580(a) of the Re-
vised Statutes of the United States (20 U.S.C. 
42(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘to be composed of’’ 
and all that follows and inserting the following: ‘‘to 
be composed of 21 members appointed by the Presi-
dent from among the list of nominees submitted 
under subsection (b), of whom 2 shall be residents 
of the District of Columbia.’’. 
(2) LIST OF NOMINEES.—Section 5580 of the 
Revised Statutes of the United States (20 U.S.C. 
42(a)) is amended— 
(A) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub-
section (c); and 
(B) by inserting after subsection (a) the 
following new subsection: 
‘‘(b) The Speaker of the House of Representatives 
and the Majority Leader of the Senate shall each submit 
to the President a list of 12 nominees for appointment 
as members of the Board of Regents.’’. 
(3) REVISION OF QUORUM.—Section 5582 of 
the Revised Statutes of the United States (20 
U.S.C. 44) is amended by striking ‘‘eight shall con-
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stitute a quorum’’ and inserting ‘‘17 shall constitute 
a quorum’’. 
(4) NO
EFFECT
ON
CURRENT
CITIZEN
RE-
GENTS.—Nothing in the amendments made by this 
subsection may be construed to affect the authority 
of any individual who serves as a Regent of the 
Smithsonian Institution as of the date of the enact-
ment of this Act pursuant to a joint resolution of 
the Congress to continue to serve as a Regent after 
that date. 
(b) UNIFORM TERM OF SERVICE.—Section 5581 of 
the Revised Statutes of the United States (20 U.S.C. 43) 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 5581. (a) Except as provided in subsections 
(b) and (c), each Regent of the Smithsonian Institution 
shall be appointed for a term of 6 years, and may be re-
appointed for additional terms. 
‘‘(b) Of the Regents who are appointed after the date 
of the enactment of the Smithsonian Modernization Act 
of 2011 who were not serving as Regents prior to that 
date— 
‘‘(1) 4 shall be appointed for a term of 2 years 
(as designated in the joint resolution under which 
they are appointed) and may be reappointed for ad-
ditional terms of 6 years; and 
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‘‘(2) 4 shall be appointed for a term of 4 years 
(as designated in the joint resolution under which 
they are appointed) and may be reappointed for ad-
ditional terms of 6 years. 
‘‘(c) Any Regent appointed to fill a vacancy occurring 
before the expiration of the term for which the Regent’s 
predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only for the 
remainder of that term. A Regent may serve after the ex-
piration of that Regent’s term until a successor has taken 
office.’’. 
Æ 
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