Say Anything Blog

It would appear as though those in charge of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island aren't doing their jobs very well.

NEW YORK - The charity that runs the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island is being asked by Congress to explain some of its expenses, including high salaries for its executives and $45,000 a year for a dog that chases away geese.

The Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation was sent a letter Friday from the Senate Finance Committee, which has been probing the nonprofit's spending since earlier this year. The letter asked the foundation to answer questions about its finances and management, The New York Times reported Saturday.

"The Statue of Liberty Foundation board was too often AWOL or uninformed in managing the foundation and ensuring that charitable donations were being used appropriately," committee Chairman Charles Grassley said in a statement, according to the newspaper.

Grassley, R-Iowa, said he was concerned "the foundation's board may not have been in compliance with tax laws, or even its own bylaws, when it approved high salaries for foundation executives." The charity's president was paid more than $300,000 last year.

The congressional investigation began after news organizations reported that the statue's reopening was delayed because the foundation launched a new fund-raising campaign instead of using millions of dollars already in its endowment to pay for upgrades.

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are two of our nations most important historical landmarks. The Statue because its one of the most recognizable symbols of our culture and Ellis Island because a good portion of the population in this country either came through there or had ancestors who did. The thought of those who are running them now mismanaging and pilfering should be an affront to all Americans.

I wonder why these places aren't being run by the U.S. Parks Service? This summer I had the privilege of visiting several national landmarks run by the Park Service and found them all to be managed excellently and maintained well.

Perhaps its time for a regime change in New York Harbor.