; after advisory committees; ; (2) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as subsections (e) and (f), respectively; and (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the following: (b) Appointments made without regard to political affiliation or activity All appointments to advisory committees shall be made without regard to political affiliation or political activity, unless required by Federal statute. . (b) Minimizing conflicts of interest Section 9 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), as amended by subsection (a) of this section, is further amended by inserting after subsection (b) (as added by such subsection (a)) the following: (c) Public Nominations of Committee Members Prior to appointing members to an advisory committee, the head of an agency shall give interested persons an opportunity to suggest potential committee members. The agency shall include a request for comments in the Federal Register notice required under subsection (a) and provide a mechanism for interested persons to comment through the official website of the agency. The agency shall consider any comments submitted under this subsection in selecting the members of an advisory committee. (d) Designation of Committee Members (1) An individual appointed to an advisory committee who is not a full-time or permanent part-time officer or employee of the Federal Government shall be designated as— (A) a special Government employee, if the individual is providing advice based on the individual’s expertise or experience