Statutorily Required Federal Advisory Committees that Began Operations in FY2015

Congress regularly establishes federal advisory committees—sometimes called task forces, panels, commissions, working groups, boards, councils, or conferences. Many of these committees are required to operate pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA; 5 U.S.C. Appendix), which seeks to make advisory committee operations more accessible and transparent. Federal advisory committees are one of only a few formalized mechanisms for private-sector citizens to participate in the executive branch's policymaking process. FACA committees are prohibited from creating policy or issuing regulations. Their role is to remain strictly advisory. For a list of the bills pending in the 114^th Congress that seek to establish a federal advisory committee see CRS Report R44232, Creating a Federal Advisory Committee in the Executive Branch, by [author name scrubbed].

Each year, about 1,000 FACA committees operate governmentwide. In FY2015, 1,009 active federal advisory committees held 7,421 meetings and cost more than $367 million to operate. These committees assist federal agencies by providing policy advice and recommendations on a wide range of issues, including childhood vaccines, appropriate uses of regional resources, and community banking.

Congress, Presidents, and executive branch agencies establish and use federal advisory committees to gain expertise and policy advice from individuals outside the federal government. In FY2015, 42 new FACA committees were established, 20 of which were required by statute. In contrast, the President established 4 of the 42 new advisory committees and agencies established the other 18. In recent years, the number of new FACA committees required to be established by statute has ranged from 5 committees in FY2012 to 25 in FY2011.

Below, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) provides the list of the 20 federal advisory committees required by statute that began operations in FY2015. The Department of the Interior gained five new statutorily required federal advisory committees, the highest number of any federal agency. The Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture were both required to administer four new statutory federal advisory committees in FY2015. Six of the 20 newly established statutory committees were resource advisory councils, which generally provide federal officials advice on public land use.

The tables below include the name of the committee, its affiliated federal agency or department, and its statutory authority. In most cases, the table includes the authorizing language's U.S. Code citation. In some cases, when an advisory body's authority is not codified, the most recent statutory authority for the committee is provided.