Federal Advisory Committee Act: General Services Administration's Oversight of Advisory Committees
GGD-98-124
Published: Jun 15, 1998. Publicly Released: Jun 15, 1998.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed whether the General Services Administration (GSA), through its Committee Management Secretariat, was carrying out its oversight responsibilities under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), focusing on whether GSA had: (1) ensured that federal advisory committees were established with complete charters and justification letters; (2) comprehensively reviewed each advisory committee annually; (3) submitted annual reports on advisory committees to the President in a timely manner; and (4) ensured that agencies prepared follow-up reports to Congress on recommendations by presidential advisory committees.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| General Services Administration | The Administrator, GSA, should direct the Committee Management Secretariat to fully carry out the responsibilities assigned to it by FACA in a timely and accurate manner. In particular, the Secretariat should: (1) consult with the agencies to ensure that the charters and justification letters for federal advisory committees contain the information required by law or regulation; (2) follow up with agencies when their annual reports contain information that raises questions about whether committees should be continued; and (3) ensure that agencies file the required follow-up reports to Congress on presidential advisory committee recommendations. |
GSA had agreed to implement the recommendation and has completed action on all three facets of the recommendation. These actions have included revising its database to include a checklist of required data for committee charters and justification letters, providing feedback to agencies on their annual report submissions, and reissuing guidance to agencies on the required follow-up reports to Congress on presidential committee recommendations.
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| General Services Administration | The Administrator, GSA, should direct the Committee Management Secretariat to make the necessary arrangements with agencies to submit its annual report to the President on time or follow through with its intention to ask Congress to move the reporting date. |
The Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs introduced legislation (S. 2228) in the 104th Congress to amend the Federal Advisory Committee Act which, at the request of GSA, would move the reporting date of the President's annual report on advisory committees to Congress for the previous fiscal year from December 31 to March 15.
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Topics
Committee evaluationCongressional oversightFederal advisory bodiesNoncompliancePresidential appointmentsProposed legislationReporting requirementsAdvisory committeesData elementsStatistical data