The most recent of these reports, which is being released today, gathered the views of federal advisory committee members and federal agencies on specific FACA matters. The other report, which was issued last month, assessed the General Services Administration’s (GSA) efforts in carrying out its oversight responsibilities under FACA. 1. Advisory committees appear to be adhering to the requirements of FACA and Executive Order 12838. These requirements do not appear to be overly burdensome to agencies. 2. 3. In response to our June 1998 report, GSA said it will take immediate action to improve its oversight. As I noted earlier, Executive Order 12838 established ceilings for each agency on its maximum allowable number of discretionary advisory committees. Concerns Surfaced About Certain Advisory Committee Requirements

Although committee members and agencies responding to our questionnaires generally provided a more positive than negative image of FACA, their responses also pointed to concerns and issues that the Subcommittee may wish to explore in its consideration of FACA. Finally, there appears to be some concern among agencies about the possibility of being sued for noncompliance with FACA if they obtain input from parties who are outside of the agency and its advisory committees. GSA Has Fallen Short of Fulfilling Its FACA Oversight Responsibilities

Although the GSA Committee Management Secretariat does not have authority to stop the formation or continuation of an advisory committee, FACA and GSA regulations assign it certain responsibilities for overseeing the federal advisory committee program. For example, even though all charters and justification letters had been reviewed by the Secretariat, 36 percent of the 203 charters and 38 percent of the 107 letters from October 1996 through July 1997 that we reviewed were missing one or more items required by FACA or GSA regulations.
Why GAO Did This Study

GAO discussed the: (1) views of federal advisory committee members and federal agencies on specific Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) matters; and (2) General Services Administration's (GSA) efforts in carrying out its oversight responsibilities under FACA.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) advisory committees appear to be adhering to the requirements of FACA and Executive Order 12838, which led to the establishment of ceilings for each agency on the number of discretionary advisory committees; (2) these requirements do not appear to be overly burdensome to agencies; (3) although the responses of committee members and agencies portrayed a more positive than negative image of FACA, their responses did raise concerns and issues that the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, Subcommittee on Government Management, Information, and Technology may wish to explore in its consideration of FACA; (4) there appears to be some concern among agencies about the possibility of being sued for noncompliance with FACA if they obtain input from parties who are outside of the agency and its advisory committees; (5) GSA's Committee Management Secretariat has fallen short of fulfilling its FACA oversight responsibilities; (6) further, GSA did not ensure that the advisory committees were established with complete charters and justification letters; (7) 36 percent of the 203 advisory committee charters and 38 percent of the 107 justification letters from October 1996 through July 1997 that GAO reviewed were missing one or more items required by FACA or GSA regulations; and (8) GSA said that it will take immediate action to improve its oversight.