Congress may decide to establish a federal advisory committee for a variety of reasons, among them
to allow the federal government to collect the experts on a particularly technical or scientific topic in one location to debate the potential policy outcomes; to ensure that appropriate stakeholders of a particular policy arena have the opportunity to voice their opinions to policymakers; to attempt to remove a controversial policy option or funding decision from a highly charged political arena; or to reduce congressional or executive branch workloads. When Congress chooses to establish an advisory committee, it may also determine whether the committee should be governed by or be exempted from the transparency, access, and reporting requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). This report assists Members and staff when they are deciding whether a federal advisory committee is the appropriate mechanism to assist policymaking, grantmaking, or other questions. This report provides analysis of some primary components of federal advisory committee design, including examples of federal advisory committee structure and operations. The collection of data on federal advisory committees and their operations provides around 1,000 examples of operating advisory committees in any year, more than half of which were created by statute. Federal advisory committees can be established for a variety of reasons. In any given fiscal year, Congress establishes a majority of FACA committees. Of the 1,009 active federal advisory committees in FY2015, Congress statutorily required the establishment of 539 (53.4%). Additionally, 183 (18.1%) of the active FACA committees were authorized , but not required, by statute. Table 1 below includes the statutory authority for each of the 20 new statutorily required committees established in FY2015. Currently, 71.5% of all active committees were required to be or authorized to be established by Congress. Of the 20 new statutorily required committees that began operations in FY2015, the Department of the Interior houses the most (5). A statute establishing a federal advisory committee, however, may or may not address the committee's membership. Pursuant to FACA, agencies must assign a committee management officer (CMO) to "oversee the administration" of FACA and a designated federal officer (DFO), whose duties are as follows:
ensure compliance with FACA, and any other applicable laws and regulations; call, attend, and adjourn committee meetings; approve agendas; maintain required records on costs and membership; ensure efficient operations; maintain records for availability to the public; and provide copies of committee report to the CMO for forwarding to the Library of Congress. Advisory Committee Establishment in the 114th Congress

 Table 3 provides a selected list of the advisory committees proposed for establishment by statute in the 114 th Congress.
Federal advisory committees provide a formal forum for members of the public to provide advice and recommendations to the federal government on issues ranging from how to support trade goals of small and minority-owned businesses to which drugs best treat arthritis pain. Many of the roughly 1,000 federal advisory committees that operate at any given time are required to operate pursuant to the open meetings, records access, and reporting requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).
Advisory committees are established for a number of reasons. These reasons often include acquiring new ideas from non-governmental experts, removing certain controversial topics from politically charged arenas, and reducing the workload of executive branch employees and Members of Congress.
Historically, Congress has established the majority of federal advisory committees. Of more than 1,000 federal advisory committees operating pursuant to FACA (FACA committees) in FY2015, for example, 722 (71.6%) were mandated or authorized by Congress—539 (53.4%) of which were required by statute while 183 (18.1%) were authorized, but not required, by statute. Other FACA committees were established by executive branch agencies or the President.
In FY2015, 20 new FACA committees that were required to be created by statute began operations. Five of these 20 new FACA committees were required to be established within the Department of the Interior—more than any other federal agency. Legislative provisions seeking to establish 11 additional FACA committees have been introduced but not enacted in the 114th Congress.
Should Congress want to authorize a new federal advisory committee, there are several statutory choices that might be considered. These considerations include a committee's mandate, membership requirements, powers, funding, and termination. This report provides a brief overview on how Congress can establish federal advisory committees, and provides some considerations as to why a federal advisory committee may or may not be an appropriate mechanism to assist a particular policy or funding question. The report also explores why FACA may or may not be appropriate for application to particular advisory committees. It presents data on the number of active FACA committees established by Congress with special emphasis on the committees established in FY2015. This report concludes by presenting a list of the federal advisory committees currently proposed for statutory establishment in the 114th Congress.