Federal advisory committees have been in place since the presidencies of Washington and Jefferson. They provide “objective independent advice on matters ranging from research funding priorities and awards to strategic planning for entire segments of federal investment in research” (NAS 2004). A number of federal advisory committees give agencies guidance on aspects of the implementation of statutes related to health and environmental protection, such as drinking water and air quality standards.

The “Federal Advisory Committee Act" (FACA) took effect in January 1973. It established uniform standards for committees, boards and other groups of nongovernment professionals that provide advice to the Executive branch.  At the time there were as many as 5000 committees, and concerns were raised that many of them were acting without sufficient review, supervision or accountability. Sheila Jasanoff has called these committees “the fifth arm of the government” (Jasanoff 1990).

FACA set up basic rules, including:

• Each committee must have a charter. The charter must describe, among other things, the frequency of meetings, its funding requirements, its termination date and provisions to renew the charter. (Section 9)
• Each committee must meet in public. Meetings and documents related to the committee’s work are to be open to the public, unless they present a risk to national security. (Section 10)
• The committee must be balanced in terms of membership. (Section 2)

In addition, FACA committees' recommendations must “not be inappropriately influenced by the appointing authority…” (Section 2)

In 2005, there are 924 active FACA committees of which 628 are required or authorized by statute (see: General Services Administration Committee Management Secretariat). Of the active FACA committees, 216 are described as “scientific/technical” and 154 are considered “national policy/issue” related. The agency with most FACA committees is the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), with 242; among DHHS agencies, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have the most advisory committees. The General Services Administration supports a database of information about present and past federal advisory committees and their activities.

More than 50,000 individuals serve on federal advisory committees in any given year. The office responsible for overseeing FACA is staffed by 1500 full time employee equivalents, at a cost of almost $300 million.

Appointments to advisory committees are in one of three categories: unpaid "special government employees," who provide advice on behalf of the government on the basis of their best judgment, "representatives," who represent private special interests, or "consultants," who serve on one-time reviews of research proposals or on another adhoc basis (e.g., to provide additional expertise to a standing committee).

Advisory committees do not make decisions; they provide advice to the President and heads of departments and agencies. Committee recommendations are often implemented by federal agencies.

Nominations for advisory committee membership do not follow a standard process or use a specific, consistent policy across agencies and committees. Committee membership may be appointed "by the President; by the Secretary, Administrator, or Director of a federal agency; or by other senior executive staff" (NAS 2004). Appointment mechanisms differ, for example, in terms of the requirements for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. Some committee appointment processes are transparent (e.g., the EPA Science Advisory Board publishes information on its website regarding advisory committee selection methods and criteria), while other processes are much less explicit. Last, staff involved with advisory committee nominations and operations do not have guidelines for ensuring that questions asked of candidates are appropriate.

Read more:

Scientists' experience and perspectives on stacking of federal advisory committees.

Administration response.

Recommendations for reform.

Additional Resources