August 02,2004

Grassley on Reported Problems at the Statue of Liberty Foundation

M E M O R A N D U M

To: Reporters and Editors
Re: Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation
Da: Monday, Aug. 2, 2004

Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, is conducting a wide-rangingreview of charitable governance problems and best practices. He made the following comment onthe latest media reports on the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation.

“Every day brings more questions about the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation. We'vealready learned that the CEO was receiving more than $100,000 per year for consulting as recentlyas 2001. Now, recent reports raise new issues about the propriety of the CEO receiving consultingcontracts from companies that do business with the foundation. The foundation has a specialrelationship with the Park Service. The Interior Department and the foundation need to take actionnow to restore public confidence and ensure individuals that their donations are used for the intendedcharitable purpose.”