Federal Advisory Committees: An Overview

Wendy R. Ginsberg
Analyst in American National Government

Federal advisory committees—which may also be designated as commissions, councils, or task forces—are created as provisional advisory bodies that can circumvent bureaucratic constraints to collect a variety of viewpoints on specific policy issues. Advisory bodies have been created to address a host of issues, ranging from policies on organ donation to the design and implementation of the Department of Homeland Security. These committees are often created to help the government manage and solve complex or divisive issues. Such committees may be mandated to render independent advice or make recommendations to various bodies within the federal government by congressional statute, created by presidential executive order, or required by fiat of an agency head. 

Congress formally acknowledged the merits of using advisory committees to acquire viewpoints from business, academic, governmental, and other interests when it passed the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) in 1972 (5 U.S.C. Appendix—Federal Advisory Committee Act; 86 Stat.770, as amended). Enactment of FACA was prompted by the belief of many citizens and Members of Congress that such committees were duplicative and inefficient, and lacked adequate control or oversight. Additionally, some citizens believed the committees failed to sufficiently represent the public interest—an opinion punctuated by the closed-door meeting policies of many committees. FACA mandated certain structural and operational requirements for many federal committees, including formal reporting and oversight procedures for the advisory bodies. FACA requires that committee membership be "fairly balanced in terms of the points of view represented," and advice provided by committees be objective and accessible to the public. Additionally, FACA requires nearly all committee meetings be open to the public. Pursuant to statute, the General Services Administration (GSA) maintains and administers management guidelines for federal advisory committees. During FY2009, 924 active committees had total operating costs of $361,493,408. As of July 30, 2010, 1,044 federal advisory committees were active during FY2010 with 66,389 total members. For that same period of time, total operating costs for committees in FY2010 were $364,358,825. 

Committees that fit certain FACA criteria and are created by the executive branch are governed by FACA guidelines. FACA was designed to eliminate duplication of committee expertise and make advisory bodies in the executive branch more transparent. Congress may decide, however, to place FACA requirements on a body that it statutorily created. Existing statutes are sometimes unclear as to whether a congressionally created committee would have to comply with FACA requirements—except in cases when the statute explicitly mandates FACA's applicability. 

In the 111th Congress, H.R. 1320, as passed by the House, would, among other actions, require members of advisory committees be selected without regard to their partisan affiliation. Also pursuant to the legislation, members of the committee would be given a summary of all ethics requirements associated with their appointments. The bill would also require each advisory committee to create a website, publish advance notice of meetings, and provide public access to proceedings on its website. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and reported by the committee on June 4, 2009. The bill passed the House on July 26, 2010. The next day, the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. No further action has been taken on the bill.


Date of Report: August 2, 2010
Number of Pages: 25
Order Number: R40520
Price: $29.95

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