Contents

• Introduction
• Defining Congressional Commission
• Independent Establishment by Congress
• Temporary Existence
• Advisory or Commemorative Role
• Inclusion of Members in the Appointment Process
• Reporting Requirements
• Types of Congressional Commissions
• Policy Commissions
• Commemorative Commissions
• Potential Value of Congressional Commissions
• Obtaining Expertise
• Overcoming Political Complexity
• Building Consensus
• Solving Collective Action Problems
• Raising Visibility
• Criticism of Commissions
• Abdicated Responsibility
• Reduced Democratic Accountability
• Financial Inefficiency
• Selected Considerations for Congress
• Membership and Appointment Authority
• Reporting Requirements
• Report Destination
• Deadlines
• Commission Expenses
• Commission Member Pay
• Staffing
• Cataloging Congressional Commissions
• Methodology
• Results
• Congressional Commissions, 101^st to the 118^th Congress

Summary

Congressional commissions are formal groups established to provide independent advice, recommend changes in public policy, study or investigate a particular problem or event, or commemorate an individual, group, or event. While there is no legal definition of congressional commission, this report defines it as a multimember independent entity that (1) is established by Congress, (2) exists temporarily, (3) serves in an advisory or commemorative capacity, (4) is appointed in whole or in part by Members of Congress, and (5) reports to Congress. These five characteristics differentiate congressional commissions from presidential commissions, executive branch commissions, and other bodies with "commission" in their names. Since the 101^st Congress (1989-1990), Congress has established over 170 congressional commissions.

Commissions might offer some advantages for policymakers. By establishing a commission, Congress can potentially provide a highly visible forum for important issues and assemble greater expertise than may be readily available within the legislature. Commissions can allow for the examination of complex policy issues over a longer period and in greater depth than may be practical for legislators. The nonpartisan or bipartisan character of most congressional commissions may also make their findings and recommendations more politically acceptable, both in Congress and to the public. On the other hand, critics argue that congressional commissions can be expensive, that they are often formed to take difficult decisions out of Congress's hands, and that their recommendations are mostly ignored by decisionmakers.

The temporary status of congressional commissions and the short time they are often given to complete their work call for legislators to construct commission statutes with care. Legislators have a wide variety of options for tailoring a commission's composition, organization, and working arrangements, based on Congress's particular goals. As a result, individual congressional commissions often have organizational structures and powers quite different from one another.

This report provides an overview and analysis of congressional commissions, information about the general statutory structure of a congressional commission, and a catalog of congressional commissions created since the 101^st Congress.

For additional information on congressional commissions, see CRS Report R45328, Designing Congressional Commissions: Background and Considerations for Congress, by Jacob R. Straus; CRS Report RL33313, Congressional Membership and Appointment Authority to Advisory Commissions, Boards, and Groups, by Jacob R. Straus; CRS Report R41425, Commemorative Commissions: Overview, Structure, and Funding, by Jacob R. Straus; and CRS Report R45826, Congressional Commissions: Funding and Expenditures, coordinated by Jacob R. Straus.

Introduction

Congressional commissions are formal groups established by Congress to provide independent advice, recommend changes in public policy, study or investigate a particular problem or event, or commemorate an individual, group, or event. Usually composed of subject matter experts, current or former government officials, or members of the public chosen by Members of Congress and/or officials in the executive branch, commissions may hold hearings, conduct research, analyze data, investigate policy areas, or make field visits as they perform their duties. Most commissions complete their work by outlining their activities, findings, or recommendations in a written report to Congress. Occasionally, legislation submitted by commissions will be given "fast track" authority in Congress.

Commissions might offer some advantages for policymakers.¹ By establishing a commission, Congress can potentially provide a highly visible forum for important issues and assemble greater expertise than may be readily available within the legislature. Complex policy issues can be examined over a longer period and in greater depth than may be practical for legislators, and the nonpartisan or bipartisan character of most congressional commissions may make their findings and recommendations more politically acceptable, both in Congress and to the public. On the other hand, some have expressed concerns that congressional commissions can be expensive, that they might be created to take difficult decisions out of Congress's hands, and that their findings and recommendations are mostly ignored.

Two broad types of congressional commissions exist: policy commissions and commemorative commissions. Policy commissions generally study a particular public policy problem (e.g., the United States Commission on North American Energy Freedom) or investigate a particular event (e.g., the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States).² They typically report their findings to Congress along with recommendations for legislative or executive action. Commemorative commissions, such as the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, are commonly tasked with planning, coordinating, and overseeing celebrations or memorials of people or events, often in conjunction with milestone anniversaries.³

The temporary status of congressional commissions and their often-short time horizons make it important for legislators to construct statutes with care. Statutes establishing congressional commissions generally include language that states the mandate of the commission, provides a membership structure and appointment scheme, defines member or staff compensation and other benefits, outlines the commission's duties and powers, addresses funding, and sets a termination date for the commission.

Each organizational choice offers a variety of options. Legislators can tailor a commission's composition, organization, and arrangements, based on particular goals. As a result, individual commissions often have organizational structures and powers quite different from one another.

Defining Congressional Commission

In the past, confusion has arisen over whether particular entities are "congressional commissions." There are several reasons for this confusion. First, the law does not define the term congressional commission; observers might disagree as to whether an individual entity qualifies. Second, the federal government has many entities with the word "commission" in their names, such as regulatory commissions, presidential advisory commissions, and advisory commissions established in executive agencies.⁴ Conversely, some congressional commissions do not have the word "commission" in their names; instead, they might be called boards, advisory panels, advisory committees, task forces, or other terms.

This report defines a congressional commission as a multimember independent entity that (1) is established by Congress, (2) exists temporarily, (3) serves in an advisory or commemorative capacity, (4) is appointed in part or whole by Members of Congress, and (5) reports to Congress. This definition differentiates congressional commissions from presidential commissions, executive branch commissions, and other bodies with "commission" in their names, while including most entities that fulfill the role most commonly attributed to commissions: studying policy problems and reporting findings to Congress.⁵ Each of the five characteristics of a congressional commission is discussed below.

Independent Establishment by Congress

Congress usually creates congressional commissions by statute.⁶ Not all statutorily established advisory commissions, however, are congressional commissions. Congress may also statutorily establish executive branch advisory commissions. Conversely, Congress does not establish all federal advisory commissions. The President, department heads, or individual agencies may also establish commissions under various authorities.⁷

Congressional commissions also generally operate independently of Congress. This characteristic excludes commission-like entities established within Congress, such as congressional observer groups, working groups, and advisory groups created by individual committees of Congress under their general authority to procure the "temporary services" of consultants to "make studies or advise the committee," pursuant to 2 U.S.C. §4301.⁸

Temporary Existence

Congressional commissions are established to perform specific duties, with statutory termination dates that are often linked to task completion. This criterion excludes entities that typically serve an ongoing administrative purpose, do not have statutory termination dates, and do not produce regular reports, such as the House Office Building Commission or Senate Commission on Art.⁹ Also excluded are entities that serve ongoing diplomatic or interparliamentary functions, such as the United States Group of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly or the Canada-United States Interparliamentary Group.¹⁰ Finally, Congress has created a number of permanent boards to oversee government entities, such as the United States Holocaust Memorial Council and the John F. Kennedy Center Board of Trustees.¹¹ Although some might consider these entities congressional commissions, their lifespan, purpose, and function differ from temporary congressional commissions as defined above.

Advisory or Commemorative Role

Policy commissions typically produce reports that present findings and offer recommendations for legislative or executive action but lack the power to implement their recommendations. Commemorative commissions may have authority to carry out activities, programs, or projects but only in connection with celebrations or memorials. These powers contrast with those of regulatory commissions, which are usually granted administrative authority over public policy.

Inclusion of Members in the Appointment Process

Members of Congress—particularly House and Senate leaders—are intimately involved in the congressional commission appointment process, either through direct service on the commission or by appointing or recommending candidates for membership.¹²

Reporting Requirements

Congressional commissions are usually required to submit their reports to Congress or to both Congress and the President. Other advisory commissions, such as presidential or executive branch commissions, typically submit their reports only to the President or an agency head.

Types of Congressional Commissions

There are two general types of congressional commissions: policy commissions and commemorative commissions. Most congressional commissions are policy commissions, or bodies that study a particular policy problem or investigate a specific event and report their findings to Congress. Other commissions are commemorative commissions, or entities established to commemorate a person, group, or event, often to mark an anniversary. These categories are not mutually exclusive; a commission can perform policy and commemorative functions in tandem.

Policy Commissions

Congress establishes the vast majority of congressional commissions to study, examine, investigate, or review a particular policy problem or event. For example, policy commissions have focused on the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, motor fuel tax enforcement, threats to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) attacks, and the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.¹³

Commemorative Commissions

Congress also creates commemorative commissions. Commemorative commissions most often commemorate or celebrate an individual, group, or event and may be assigned administrative activities, such as the construction of a national memorial. For example, Congress authorized the World War I Centennial Commission to coordinate the 100^th Anniversary of World War I and to establish the National World War I Memorial in Washington, DC.¹⁴

For more information on commemorative commissions, see CRS Report R41425, Commemorative Commissions: Overview, Structure, and Funding, by Jacob R. Straus.

Potential Value of Congressional Commissions

Congress might find commissions useful in helping carry out its work. Commissions may be established to, among other things, cope with increases in the scope and complexity of legislation, forge consensus, draft bills, promote interparty communication, address issues that do not fall neatly within the jurisdictional boundaries of congressional committees, and develop recommendations.¹⁵ These goals can be grouped into five categories: expertise, political complexity, consensus building, collective action problem solving, and visibility.

Obtaining Expertise

Congress may choose to establish a commission when legislators and their staffs do not currently have the requisite knowledge or expertise in a complex policy area or when an issue area is sufficiently complicated that engaging noncongressional experts could aid in policy development.¹⁶ By assembling experts in particular policy areas to focus on a specific mission, legislators might efficiently obtain insight into complex public policy problems.¹⁷ Further, a commission can devote itself to a particular issue full time and focus on a single problem without distraction.¹⁸

Overcoming Political Complexity

Complex policy issues may also introduce institutional challenges because they do not fall neatly within the jurisdiction of any particular congressional committee.¹⁹ By virtue of their ad hoc status, commissions may circumvent such issues. Similarly, a commission may allow legislation or policy solutions to bypass the traditional development process in Congress, potentially sidestepping some of the impediments inherent in a decentralized legislature.²⁰

Building Consensus

An array of political considerations may confront legislators seeking policy changes or congressional investigations. The normal legislative or oversight process may sometimes suffer politically from charges of partisanship.²¹ By contrast, the nonpartisan or bipartisan character of most congressional commissions may make their findings and recommendations less susceptible to such charges and more credible both in Congress and with the public.²²

Commissions may also offer space to negotiate compromises among competing viewpoints, avoiding the short-term tactical political maneuvers that may accompany public negotiations in a congressional markup or oversight session.²³ Similarly, because commission members are often not elected officials, they may be better suited to suggesting unpopular, but arguably necessary, policy solutions.²⁴

Solving Collective Action Problems

A commission may help legislators solve collective action problems, in which all legislators individually seek to protect the interests of their own districts despite widespread agreement that the collective result of such interests is something none of them prefers. Legislators can use a commission to jointly "tie their hands" in such circumstances, helping prevent individual concerns about the effect or implementation of a proposed policy solution from impeding consensus about it.²⁵

For example, in five instances, Congress empowered commissions to make recommendations about closures and realignments of military bases.²⁶ Under the terms of the statutes, each commission produced a list of recommended base closures and realignments, and statutory "fast track" procedures were used to govern congressional consideration of the commission's report.²⁷ This process bypassed internal congressional politics over which individual bases would be closed and helped protect individual Members from political charges that they did not "save" their district's base.²⁸

Raising Visibility

By establishing a commission, Congress can provide a highly visible forum for important issues that might otherwise receive little attention from the public.²⁹ Commissions are often composed of notable public figures whose personal prestige can transfer to their recommended policy solutions.³⁰ Meetings and press releases from a commission may receive significantly more attention in the media than corresponding information coming directly from members of congressional committees. Completion of a commission's work product may temporarily focus public attention on a topic that otherwise would receive scant attention, increasing the probability of congressional action on it.³¹

Criticism of Commissions

Some political and scholarly observers have criticized congressional commissions. These criticisms chiefly fall into three groups. First, critics often charge that commissions are an "abdication of responsibility" on the part of legislators.³² Second, some criticize commissions as undemocratic, replacing elected legislators with appointed decisionmakers. Third, critics also say that commissions are not cost-effective, arguing that they are expensive and that Congress can ignore or decline to implement their recommendations.

Abdicated Responsibility

Critics of commissions argue that legislators may create commissions specifically for "blame avoidance."³³ In this view, Congress uses commissions to distance itself from politically risky decisions. By creating a commission, legislators can take credit for addressing a controversial topic without having to stake out a substantive position on it. If the commission's work is ultimately popular, legislators can take credit for it, and, if it is unpopular, they can shift responsibility to the commission.³⁴

Reduced Democratic Accountability

Some critics contend that commissions are not democratic. This criticism takes three forms. First, commissions may not be representative of the general population or reflect the variety of public opinion on an issue.³⁵ Second, commissions lack public accountability. Unlike Members of Congress, commission members are often not elected officials and are therefore insulated from electoral pressures or popular opinion. Finally, commissions may not operate in public. Unlike Congress, commission meetings, hearings, and investigations may be held in private.³⁶

Financial Inefficiency

A third criticism of commissions is that they have high costs and low returns. Congressional commission costs vary widely, ranging from several hundred thousand dollars to over $10 million. Coupled with this objection is the issue of congressional response to commission work. In most cases, Congress is under no obligation to act on, or even respond to, the work of a commission; if legislators disagree with a commission's results or recommendations, they may simply ignore them. In addition, there is no guarantee that any commission will produce a balanced product—commission members may have their own agendas, biases, and pressures—or a high-quality one.³⁷ Finally, advisory boards may be economically or legislatively inefficient if they function as patronage devices, with Members of Congress using commission positions to pay off political debts.³⁸

Selected Considerations for Congress

Statutes establishing congressional commissions generally specify the scope of a commission's mission, its structure, and its rules of procedure. Legislators can tailor the composition, organization, and working arrangements of a commission, based on the particular goals of Congress. As a result, individual congressional commissions often have organizational structures and powers quite different from one another.³⁹

This section provides an overview of certain features commonly found in commission statutes. For a more detailed and comprehensive description of legislative language and features that often appear in congressional commission statutes, see CRS Report R45328, Designing Congressional Commissions: Background and Considerations for Congress, by Jacob R. Straus.

Membership and Appointment Authority

Congressional commissions use a wide variety of membership framework and appointment structures. The statute establishing a commission may require its membership to be made up in whole or in part of specifically designated Members of Congress, typically Members in congressional or committee leadership positions. In other cases, selected leaders are charged with appointing commission members or recommending potential commission members to other appointing authorities. These leaders typically include representatives of both parties, may act either in parallel or jointly, and may make recommendations either to other congressional leaders, such as the Speaker of the House and President pro tempore of the Senate, or to the President or another executive branch official.

Reporting Requirements

Congressional commission statutes usually direct the commission to carry out specific tasks. One of the primary functions of most congressional commissions is to produce a final report for Congress outlining their activities, findings, or recommendations.⁴⁰ These reports can be sent to Congress generally, to specific congressional committees, to the President, to executive agencies, or to a combination of entities. Recommendations in a commission report are only advisory. The potential implementation of such recommendations depends on future congressional or executive branch action.

Report Destination

Most commissions submit their work product to both Congress and the President. A smaller number send their work only to Congress, and others have submitted to both Congress and a specified executive branch agency. The report's destination might matter for the type of future action taken on a topic. Sending a report to both Congress and the President might prompt either legislative or executive action in a policy area. If a commission sends its report to only one entity, on the other hand, others might be less likely to act.

Deadlines

Most commission statutes set a deadline for the submission of a final report. The final report deadline varies from commission to commission. Some commissions, such as the National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education, have had less than six months to submit their final reports to Congress.⁴¹ Other commissions, such as the Antitrust Modernization Commission, have had three or more years to complete their work.⁴²

Commission Expenses

Congressional commission costs vary widely, and Congress has funded them in various ways. Overall expenses for any individual commission depend on a number of factors, including whether commissioners are paid, how many staffers the commission has and how much they are paid, and how long the commission lasts.

Many commissions have few or no full-time staff, while others employ large numbers, such as the 80 full-time paid employees of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.⁴³ Additionally, some commissions provide compensation to members, while others only reimburse them for travel expenses. Many commissions finish their work and terminate within a year of creation; in other cases, work may not be completed for several years.

Secondary factors that can affect commission costs include the number of commissioners, the frequency of commission meetings or hearings, and the number and size of publications the commission produces. For a more detailed analysis of commission funding and expenditures, see CRS Report R45826, Congressional Commissions: Funding and Expenditures, coordinated by Jacob R. Straus.

Commission Member Pay

Most statutorily created congressional commissions do not compensate their members, except to reimburse them for expenses directly related to their service, such as travel costs.⁴⁴ Statutes that do authorize commissioner compensation almost always specify the level of compensation. Typically, commissioner pay is set in accordance with one of the federal pay scales, prorated to the number of days of service.⁴⁵ The most common level of compensation is the daily equivalent of the basic annual rate of pay for Level IV of the Executive Schedule (EX), which is $195,200 in 2025.⁴⁶

Staffing

Congressional commissions are usually authorized to hire a staff. The size of the staff is not generally specified, leaving the commission flexibility to judge its own staffing needs. Typically, maximum pay rates will be specified, but the commission will be granted authority to set actual pay rates within those guidelines.

Many congressional commissions are also authorized to hire consultants and procure intermittent services, to request detailees from federal agencies, or to accept voluntary services.

Cataloging Congressional Commissions

This report attempts to identify all congressional commissions enacted into law between the 101^st Congress and the end of the 118^th Congress.

Methodology

To identify congressional commissions, CRS searched Congress.gov for commission-related terms and phrases in the text of laws enacted between the 101^st Congress (1989-1990) and the end of the 118^th Congress (2023-2024).⁴⁷ Each search result was examined to determine if (1) the legislation established a commission, and (2) the commission met the five criteria outlined above. If the commission met the criteria, its name, public law number, Statutes-at-Large citation, date of enactment, and other information were recorded.

Results

A total of 172 congressional commissions were identified through this search. Figure 1 shows the number of commissions enacted in each Congress between the 101^st Congress and the 118^th Congress.

Two caveats accompany these results. First, as stated above, identifying congressional commissions involves making judgment calls about particular characteristics. Second, tracking provisions of law that create congressional commissions is an inherently inexact exercise. Although many such bodies are created in easily identifiable freestanding statutes, others are established as part of much longer omnibus legislation.⁴⁸ Consequently, the search methodology may have missed individual commissions.

Figure 1. Number of Congressional Commissions Created by Congress 101st Congress to 118th Congress

Source: CRS search of public laws enacted between the 101st Congress and the 118th Congress.

Congressional Commissions, 101^st to the 118^th Congress

The tables that follow provide information about the 172 congressional commissions CRS identified through a search of Congress.gov for legislation enacted between the 101^st Congress and the 118^th Congress. Not included are commissions that were reauthorized during a given Congress.⁴⁹

Each table contains the commissions established in one Congress, listed in alphabetical order. For each newly created commission, the tables provide the following information: the name of the commission, the public law creating the commission, and the year of enactment.

This report was originally coauthored with former CRS Analyst Matthew E. Glassman. Tyler L. Wolanin, former Research Assistant; Raymond T. Williams, former Research Assistant; and William T. Egar, former Analyst in American National Government, also contributed to previous versions of the report.

Footnotes