The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requested a decision as to whether: (1) it could use employees of Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories as advisory committee members and compensate the laboratories for these services directly; and (2) statutory compensation limits apply to direct labor costs or indirect and overhead costs. GAO noted that: (1) NRC may not compensate DOE for national laboratory employees' advisory services through direct payments to the laboratory, since the services are considered contracts and are inconsistent with applicable compensation laws; and (2) the compensation arrangements adopted by NRC in 1993 are consistent with statutory requirements.