Is the Smithsonian Falling Apart?

This is a sad state of affairs:

On Friday, the U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report highlighting some reproachable conditions at the museums that are part of the Smithsonian Institute. The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden's building isn't properly insulated, and its façade is leaking. A skylight in the Museum of African Art has been leaking since 2005. Last year, a major leak sprung in a holding area at the Sackler Gallery just a few weeks before $500 million worth of art was scheduled to arrive there. The number of security officers at the American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery has been cut by 41 percent since 2003. It's not clear whether or not that has had direct negative repercussions for the gallery, but taken as a whole, the Smithsonian has fewer officers to cover more space, resulting in vandalism and theft, according to the report.

The GAO says the Smithsonian should think about using private funds to address these $2.5 billion worth of repairs and updates. But the institute says that money should come from the federal government. In 2005, the Smithsonian decided to request an additional $100 million from the government annually for 10 years, but President Bush's budget for fiscal year 2008 proposed an increase of only $44 million — and Congress could cut that even more.

It's clear that there are loads of arts patrons with plenty of money out there. If the government won't give the Smithsonian all the money it needs to protect the nation's cultural heritage, why would it not appeal to them?