Skip to main content

Federal Advisory Committees: Actions Needed to Enhance Decision-Making Transparency and Cost Data Accuracy

GAO-20-575 Published: Sep 10, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 10, 2020.
Jump To:

Fast Facts

Advisory committees established via the Federal Advisory Committee Act shape public policy and government regulations, enhancing the quality and credibility of federal decision-making. The federal government spent about $373 million in FY 2019 to operate nearly 960 FACA committees.

Several of the 11 committees we reviewed did not meet transparency requirements, such as making key decisions during open meetings or posting documents online as required. Some committees also reported cost data that were inconsistent with source records and systems.

Our recommendations addressed improvements to transparency and cost reporting.

A Joint Meeting of the National Cancer Institute Board of Scientific Advisors and National Cancer Advisory Board

People seated around a large conference table

Skip to Highlights

Highlights

What GAO Found

GAO reviewed 11 selected committees covered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) that serve the Departments of Commerce, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury. GAO found that these committees met many, but not all, selected transparency requirements established by FACA, General Services Administration (GSA) FACA regulations, and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). FACA committees GAO reviewed published timely notices for 70 of 76 meetings and solicited public comments for all open meetings held by the committees. However, four of the 11 committees did not follow one or more selected requirements to renew charters, decide on proposed recommendations during open meetings, or compile minutes.

Five FACA committees GAO reviewed did not always follow requirements in OMB Circular A-130 for federal agencies to make public documents accessible online. GSA encourages agencies to post committee documents online consistent with OMB requirements. However, according to GSA's Office of the General Counsel, GSA's authority under FACA is not broad enough to require agencies to fulfill the OMB requirements. Eight of the nine selected FACA committees in our original sample that make recommendations to agencies attempt to track the agencies' responses to and implementation status of recommendations. However, many committees do not make this information fully available to the public online. Improved public reporting could enhance congressional and public visibility into the status of agencies' responses to committee recommendations.

Selected Requirements for Advisory Committees Covered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA)

Selected Requirements for Advisory Committees Covered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA)

The selected agencies and FACA committees reported that they implemented a range of practices to help ensure agency officials do not exert inappropriate influence on committees' decisions. These practices include limiting committee members' interactions with agency officials outside committee meetings.

GAO also found that about 29 percent of the 11 selected committees' cost data elements in GSA's FACA database for fiscal years 2017 and 2018 were inconsistent with corresponding cost data from selected agency and committee records and systems. In the absence of reliable cost data, Congress is unable to fully rely on these data to inform decisions about funding FACA committees.

Why GAO Did This Study

FACA requires federal agencies to ensure that federal advisory committees make decisions that are independent and transparent. In fiscal year 2019, nearly 960 committees under FACA played a key role in informing public policy and government regulations.

GAO was asked to review the transparency and independence of FACA committees and data collected in GSA's FACA database. This report examines (1) selected agencies' and committees' adherence to transparency requirements; (2) their practices to help ensure that agency officials do not exert inappropriate influence on committee decision-making; and (3) the extent to which GSA's FACA database contained accurate, complete, and useful cost information for these committees.

GAO selected a non-generalizable sample of 11 FACA committees serving three agencies, based in part on costs incurred and numbers of recommendations made. GAO analyzed documents and interviewed agency officials and committee members. GAO also reviewed FACA database cost data for the 11 committees.

Recommendations

Congress should consider requiring online posting of FACA committees' documents. GAO is also making nine recommendations to agencies to improve FACA committee transparency and data accuracy. Agencies agreed with six recommendations, and GSA described steps to address recommendations to it.

Matter for Congressional Consideration

Matter Status Comments
Congress should consider amending FACA to require agencies and advisory committees to make available online documents FACA already requires to be made available for public inspection and copying. (Matter for Consideration 1)
Open
As of March 2024, no legislation has been introduced in the 118th Congress that addresses the matter. Requiring these documents to be made available online will make them more readily accessible to Congress and the public. In addition, the General Services Administration would gain the authority to require agencies to post committee documents online.

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Food and Drug Administration The Commissioner of the FDA should ensure that PAC renews its charter. (Recommendation 1)
Closed – Implemented
In response to our recommendation, PAC renewed its charter in July 2022. FDA also posted the renewed charter on PAC's website and in the General Services Administration's FACA database. Renewing its charter is consistent with PAC's statutory obligations under FACA. Renewing the charter and posting it online also provides greater transparency for Congress and the public, and helps PAC adhere to its current objectives and obligations.
Internal Revenue Service The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should require ETAAC and IRSAC to make decisions on proposed recommendations to IRS during open meetings. (Recommendation 2)
Closed – Implemented
In response to our recommendation, IRS opened its March 2021 ETAAC meeting and April 2021 IRSAC meeting to the public, and announced the meetings in the Federal Register and on IRS.gov. IRS said that beginning with these meetings, ETAAC and IRSAC meetings would be open to the public when the committees make decisions on proposed recommendations. Because of these efforts, Congress and the public will have visibility into and an opportunity to participate in ETAAC's and IRSAC's decisions on recommendations to IRS. This, in turn, will provide additional certainty that the committees made independent decisions on recommendations without undue influence from IRS officials.
Internal Revenue Service The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should require ETAAC and IRSAC to compile meeting minutes and make them publicly available. (Recommendation 3)
Closed – Implemented
In response to our recommendation, IRS compiled minutes of the March 2021 ETAAC meeting and April 2021 IRSAC meeting, and made them publicly available on its website. IRS also said it would post minutes from future ETAAC and IRSAC meetings on its website. Compiling the minutes and making them publicly available makes ETAAC and IRSAC deliberations more transparent to the public. Taking these actions also fulfills statutory requirements for IRS and Treasury directives requiring FACA committees to compile meeting minutes.
U.S. Census Bureau The Director of the Census Bureau should require CSAC to compile meeting minutes and make them publicly available. (Recommendation 4)
Closed – Implemented
In response to our recommendation, the Census Bureau (Bureau) made minutes for the September and November 2020 CSAC meetings available on its website. The Bureau also said it would make minutes from future CSAC meetings accessible. Compiling the minutes and making them publicly available makes CSAC deliberations more transparent to the public. Taking these actions also enables the Bureau to meet statutory requirements and Commerce directives requiring FACA committees to compile meeting minutes.
Department of the Treasury The Secretary of the Treasury should require FACA committees under Treasury's purview to provide access to meeting agendas and supporting documents on the committees' websites. (Recommendation 5)
Open
In June 2023, Treasury officials said that they have drafted a revised Treasury Directive 21-03, "Establishment and Management of Treasury Federal Advisory Committees" that incorporates the recommendation. They also said they are aiming to complete the revised directive by the end of fiscal year 2023. Implementing the recommendation will make Treasury FACA committees' work more accessible and transparent to the public. It will also help Treasury provide the public with more visibility into the topics, advice, and recommendations brought forth before the committees for Treasury's consideration.
National Institutes of Health The Director of NIH should establish and implement a policy requiring all FACA committees under NIH's jurisdiction to post meeting minutes online. (Recommendation 6)
Closed – Implemented
In February 2022, in response to our recommendation, NIH revised its Committee Management Handbook to require National Advisory Councils, Program Advisory Committees, and Boards of Scientific Counselors to post minutes of open meetings online. NIH also sent an announcement to its staff to raise awareness of this requirement. Online posting of these minutes allows Congress and the public to more readily access information from the meetings and gain more visibility into FACA committee activities. NIH did not require Initial/Integrated Review Groups (IRG) and Special Emphasis Panels (SEP) to post meeting minutes online. According to NIH officials, NIH hosts about 2,500 peer review meetings per year. Before making minutes from these meetings available online, it would need to review and redact information from the minutes that are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). NIH asserts that it would face significant additional administrative burdens from FOIA-related reviews of these minutes if they were required to make them available online. Based on our review of FACA and associated regulations, we found NIH's rationale for excluding IRG and SEP meeting minutes from online posting requirements to be reasonable.
General Services Administration The Administrator of GSA should encourage FACA committees to make information on agencies' responses to and implementation of specific recommendations publicly available online, unless exempted from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. (Recommendation 7)
Closed – Implemented
In December 2020, in response to our recommendation, GSA's Committee Management Secretariat (CMS) directed members of its Interagency Committee on Federal Advisory Committee Management to encourage public posting of agency responses to and implementation of committee recommendations as much as possible. CMS provided training to encourage posting this information on advisory committee websites. CMS also encouraged agencies to include what they intend or do not intend to do with committee recommendations. In addition, GSA modified the Performance Measures section of the FACA database and now directs the public to obtain details on agency responses to committee recommendations under the Performance Measures section for each committee in the "Agency Feedback" and "Agency Feedback Comment" fields. Because of GSA's actions, committees could improve public reporting on recommendations. These steps, in turn, could enhance congressional and public visibility into the status of agencies' responses to committee recommendations.
General Services Administration The Administrator of GSA should require agencies to develop and implement written policies or procedures to identify, calculate, and fully document FACA committee costs, and ensure agency staff enter accurate and complete cost data into the FACA database. (Recommendation 8)
Closed – Implemented
In September 2022, GSA issued a bulletin to federal agencies regarding Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) database cost reporting. The bulletin required agencies to incorporate into their written administrative procedures instructions on how to identify, calculate, and fully document federal advisory committee costs for all cost fields in the FACA database. In addition, the bulletin required agencies' instructions to specify quality control measures that agency staff will undertake to ensure that cost data reported in the FACA database match the agency's advisory committees' cost records. During the same month, GSA also summarized the bulletin in the Federal Register. We reviewed GSA's bulletin, and confirmed that it required agencies to incorporate the committee cost reporting instructions into their administrative procedures. Implementing and publicizing the cost reporting requirements will provide greater assurance that data reported in the FACA database are consistent with agencies' actual costs. In addition, Congress will have greater assurance that it can rely on these data to inform decisions about funding for FACA committees.
General Services Administration The Administrator of GSA should direct the Committee Management Secretariat to require FACA committees to specify the exact date when they last updated cost data in the FACA database. This could be completed in a field in the database under the "Committee Cost" section or in another relevant data field. (Recommendation 9)
Closed – Implemented
As of May 2021, in response to our recommendation, GSA added new fields in the FACA database for agency users to specify the exact date when they last updated cost data. By providing a specific field on FACA database committee websites to report when the committee last updated cost data, GSA is helping Congress, researchers, agency officials, and members of the public who use the FACA database become more aware of data limitations and avoid misinterpretations of available cost data.

Full Report

GAO Contacts

Office of Public Affairs

Topics

Advisory committeesData elementsData integrityDatabase management systemsDecision makingFederal advisory bodiesGovernment transparencyPeer reviewFederal agenciesGovernment regulations