To fulfill its responsibilities, GSA has developed regulations and other guidance to assist agencies in implementing FACA, has provided training to agency officials, and was instrumental in creating and has collaborated with the Interagency Committee on Federal Advisory Committee Management. We found that GSA had not appropriately ensured that (1) advisory committees were properly established, (2) committees were reviewed annually, (3) annual reports were submitted to the President before they were due to Congress, and (4) follow-up reports on presidential advisory committees’ recommendations were prepared for Congress. The Secretariat is under the GSA Associate Administrator for Governmentwide Policy. To determine whether GSA had submitted annual reports on advisory committees to the President in a timely manner, we examined documentation regarding when GSA had submitted annual reports to the President for fiscal years 1988 through 1996. GSA Did Not Ensure That Advisory Committees Were Established With Complete Charters and Justification Letters

FACA and GSA regulations require that agencies consult with GSA before establishing advisory committees. In our review of the 203 charters and 107 justification letters submitted to GSA from October 1, 1996, through July 21, 1997, we found that 36 percent of the charters and 38 percent of the letters were missing at least one item that was required by FACA or GSA regulations. Secretariat officials told us that, while they concurred with the need for the 203 committees, the agencies were responsible for ensuring that the charters and justification letters were properly done. Advisory Committees Were Not Comprehensively Reviewed Annually

FACA requires GSA to make an annual comprehensive review of each advisory committee to determine whether it is carrying out its purpose, whether its responsibilities should be revised, and whether it should be abolished or merged with another committee. GSA regulations require that agencies prepare an annual report for each committee, including the agencies’ recommendations for continuing, merging, or terminating committees. GSA did not submit most of its annual reports to the President in time for him to meet the December 31 reporting date to Congress. The Secretariat’s view and proposed action do not relieve it of its responsibilities under FACA, and the Secretariat has not fulfilled those responsibilities. 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.
Why GAO Did This Study

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.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) compared to when GAO last reported in 1988, little had changed during the period it studied on how the Secretariat carried out its FACA responsibilities; (2) with 963 federal advisory committees, 57 sponsoring agencies, and submissions for each committee during fiscal year (FY) 1997, GSA's Committee Management Secretariat reviewed a large amount of paperwork for the purpose of ensuring that sponsoring agencies were: (a) following the requirements placed upon them by FACA; and (b) implementing GSA regulations; (3) the Secretariat conducted these reviews while performing other duties, such as providing formal training to federal employees who were directly involved with the operations of advisory committees and collaborating with an interagency committee on advisory committee management; (4) nevertheless, the Secretariat was responsible under FACA and GSA regulations for ensuring that those requirements were all fulfilled; (5) GSA, in consultation with the agencies, did not ensure that advisory committees were established with complete charters and justification letters as required by FACA or GSA regulations; (6) 36 percent of the charters and 38 percent of the letters GAO reviewed did not contain one or more items required by FACA or GSA regulations; (7) GSA did not independently assess, as it conducted the annual comprehensive reviews required by FACA, whether committees should be continued, merged, or terminated; (8) although GSA collected the FY 1996 annual reports, GSA officials said they accepted the data in them without further review; (9) GAO found this acceptance to be the norm even when information in a FY 1996 annual report should reasonably lead to further inquiries; (10) GSA did not submit most of its FACA annual reports to the President in time for him to meet the statutory reporting date to Congress nor did it ensure that FACA-required follow-up reports on presidential advisory committee recommendations were prepared for Congress; (11) Secretariat officials told GAO that agencies must take greater responsibility for preparing complete charters and justification letters and committee annual reports for sending follow-up reports to Congress; and (12) FACA has given the Secretariat responsibilities for ensuring that agencies satisfy the requirements for forming and operating advisory committees, and the Secretariat is not carrying out these responsibilities.