By statute, "the President, the Vice President, the Chief Justice, and the heads of executive departments are constituted an establishment by the name of the Smithsonian Institution for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men." Congress created the Smithsonian Institution (SI) in 1846, 10 years after it agreed to accept the bequest of James Smithson, an English scientist who lived much of his life in continental Europe. Smithson, who died in 1829, left the bulk of his estate to the United States of America to found at Washington the establishment that bears his name. Today, SI is a complex of museum, education, research, and revenue-generating entities primarily located in the Washington, DC, region, with additional facilities and activities across the United States and world that reportedly employs 6,500 staff, supplemented by 6,300 volunteers. In fiscal year (FY) 2015, SI's museums and zoo, which are open to the public largely without admission fee, were visited 29.3 million times, while its websites were accessed 134 million times. As a government "establishment" (as applied to SI, the term appears to originate from Smithson's will) or "trust instrumentality of the United States" (the term sometimes used by SI or government entities attempting to characterize its functions ), it occupies a unique position. Governmental, but organizationally separate and distinct from the legislative, executive, or judicial branches of the national government, SI is overseen by a board composed of representatives of each branch. SI oversees a number of entities created by Congress, as well as a number of entities SI established pursuant to its authorities to: accept and dispose of gifts, bequests, or money provided to SI or one of its components; seek grants; and raise funds. In addition to any explicit statutory authority that may exist, any of the current activities of SI arguably might support "the increase and diffusion of knowledge," as stated in law and the Smithson bequest. In some instances, it appears that with one exception, these entities are funded from trust resources, appropriated funds, or both. SI receives an annual appropriation—in FY2016, this was approximately $696 million —but executes no direct government program or policy beyond the regulation of its buildings and property of the United States that have been assigned to it. Appropriations typically comprise approximately 60% of SI's annual expenditures from year to year. Some of these expenditures include the employment of staff who are considered federal employees. At the same time, SI has separate funding streams from proceeds received through grants, gifts, bequests, commercial revenue-generating activities, and investments, which SI refers to as "trust funds." Those resources build and maintain its collections or fund its activities, including employment of nonfederal, "trust employees." In its most recent budget request for FY2017, SI reported that an estimated $484.7 million in trust funds was available for operational expenses in FY2016. In addition to annual budget submissions to Congress, SI files an accounting of resources as a tax-exempt educational organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. SI is overseen by a Board of Regents (Regents), who are authorized by Congress to carry out a number of activities and oversee certain entities authorized by Congress. In addition to carrying out those authorities, it appears that SI acts pursuant to its role as trustee of the Smithson and other bequests and gifts to create additional entities to further SI missions. Table 1 provides a summary of entities established pursuant to the authority of Congress and that of SI. The activities of SI are overseen by the Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Day-to-day operations of SI and some related entities are overseen by the secretary and staff. Some individual SI entities also have boards of overseers as well as independent professional leadership and staff. With some exceptions, the Regents have broad authority to oversee and amend their activities. The Regents are composed of the Vice President, Chief Justice of the United States, three Members of the Senate, three Members of the House of Representatives, and nine other citizen Regents, other than Members of Congress. Two citizen Regents must reside in the city of Washington, DC. The remaining seven must reside in a state, and no more than one citizen Regent may come from any state. Although under the law any Regent may be elected as chancellor, the group is traditionally led by the Chief Justice, who serves as chancellor, or presiding officer. The law also specifies the election of a three-Regent executive committee. In practice, two citizen Regents serve as chair and vice-chair of the board and, along with a third citizen Regent, comprise the executive committee. Regents who are Senators are appointed by the Vice President for the duration of their current term of office. Regents who are Members of the House of Representatives are appointed by the Speaker for a term of two years. Congressional appointments are renewable. Citizen Regents are appointed to six-year terms by joint resolution of Congress. The secretary of the Smithsonian Institution is appointed by the Regents and is responsible for SI buildings and property, and keeping a record of the proceedings of the Regents. The secretary is also the librarian and the keeper of museums, and is authorized to employ staff to assist with these duties. David J. Skorton began service as the 13 th secretary of the Smithsonian in July 2015. In modern practice, the secretary oversees a complex organization currently organized into eight broad areas including the following: Science History, Art, and Culture Finance and Administration Collections and Interdisciplinary Support Education and Access Communications and External Affairs Advancement Smithsonian Enterprises In 2014, Boris Johnson, then mayor of London, announced plans to establish a large cultural area in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, a part of East London that had been cleared and used to support the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. In January 2015, the Regents authorized SI to work with the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) to develop terms for an agreement for Smithsonian exhibit space in the cultural complex. The Regents' terms included a minimum of a $50 million funding commitment from the United Kingdom, the ability of SI to withdraw from the plan, and a commitment from the LLDC to assist in raising additional donations prior to exhibit openings in 2021, subject to the approval of the executive committee, the Regents, the SI secretary, and the SI general counsel. In a June 2015 hearing held by the Committee on House Administration, SI's outgoing acting secretary, Albert G. Horvath, was asked about the proposal. Mr. Horvath stated that SI was looking into it, and had established several criteria, including the fit with SI mission and the extent of support from London, which reportedly would include substantial private resources, since SI did not anticipate requesting appropriations from Congress to fund any facility. Having asserted that SI had determined the venture to fit with the SI mission, and that space issues were being determined, Mr. Horvath stated that a funding model that would sustain a permanent SI museum was under consideration. In June 2016, SI and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) announced an agreement to develop "a jointly organized permanent gallery space as a key part of V&A East" in the cultural complex. In public statements, Secretary Skorton was quoted as saying: This would not be a 'Smithsonian outpost in London….It would be a collaboration with the V&A, giving both of us opportunities to engage with diverse audiences in innovative ways. What we learn through this collaboration will enable us to better tell our stories not only in London, but in the United States and around the world. It appears that SI has in the past initiated programs and activities without congressional authorization. SI has its own money beyond appropriations, perceives a duty as trustee of the Smithson bequest and other legacies and gifts, and also perceives a general charge to work toward the increase and diffusion of knowledge. In some of those instances, SI later came to Congress asking for appropriations, perhaps when it assessed that the program was to become a permanent component of the institution. That strategy has been applied in establishing the Smithsonian Observatory and the Anacostia Museum, among other ventures. One potential issue in the case of an SI museum in London arguably may be that the same rationales and authorities SI appears to have relied on when establishing programs on its own authority as trustees of the Smithson bequest may not necessarily apply to the establishment of a museum or other display space beyond the United States. In the past, SI appears to have been able to explain to Congress's satisfaction why it needs public funding for domestic facilities beyond Washington, DC, despite Smithson's will and statute stating that the United States establish an institution in Washington, DC. Congress has authorized SI to oversee activities in at least one country, Panama, and it carries out activities in another, Belize, apparently with at least after-the-fact approval from Congress, as demonstrated by annual appropriations for work conducted in part in that country by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Both locations support researchers conducting activities that cannot be carried out in Washington, DC, and the need to go where research can be conducted would seem to provide a rationale that also applies to domestic research facilities beyond the Washington, DC, region. SI's current activities beyond the Washington, DC, region, with the exception of the New York-based Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum and National Museum of the American Indian–New York, the George Gustav Heye Center, arguably support the increase of knowledge, if not its immediate diffusion, since none of the research locations appear to have a museum or other substantial public display component.