These members represent numerous sectors across  telecommunications including industry, academia, advocacy groups,  private consulting, and government. Committee Members, FCC Officials, and Interest Group Representatives Generally Believe That Advisory Committees Function Effectively

Advisory committee members who responded to our survey, as well as the  FCC officials and trade and interest groups we contacted, said the  committees generally operate and function effectively. FCC and Its Advisory Committees Adhere to FACA and Related Regulations, but Committee Members Are Not Always Clear About the Role FCC Expects Them to Provide When They Are Appointed to Committees

FACA governs the establishment, operation, and termination of federal  advisory committees. Balanced membership: FACA also requires that the membership of  committees be fairly balanced in terms of points of view represented. Agencies also have discretion to  determine what type of advice the advisory committee members are to  provide. Committee members appointed as special  government employees who are not representative members are expected  to be impartial and are subject to conflict-of-interest rules administered by  the Office of Government Ethics. FCC has designated all current members of its federal advisory committees  as representatives. However, for those members  affiliated with universities, law firms, or consulting firms who are told to  provide advice on behalf of such entities, the underlying viewpoint on  telecommunications issues that the member is expected to represent is not  clear because such institutions generally do not have an obvious viewpoint on telecommunications issues. While FCC is not  required to implement the advice and recommendations of its advisory  committees, in general, the FCC bureau chiefs and designated federal  officers were more satisfied with how FCC uses the committees’ work than  other stakeholders. However, only 54 percent  of responding members were satisfied with the extent to which FCC takes  the committees’ advice into account when developing policy. Three others stated that the committees’  advice and recommendations have little influence on FCC actions. As with the joint boards, the establishment and operations of the joint  conferences are different from federal advisory committees that operate  under FACA requirements. The advisory committees generally follow  the rules and requirements prescribed by FACA, which ensures the  committees’ activities are transparent and accessible to the public. Despite  being designated as representatives, some members responded to our  survey that they do not contribute the opinions of the organization,  company, or institution they represent, but rather contribute their own  expert advice—a role that appears closer to that which the Office of  Government Ethics and GSA describe as the role of a member who would  typically be appointed as a special government employee. Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

As requested by the House of Representatives Committee on Government  Reform, the objectives of this report are to provide information on (1) the  Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) current federal advisory  committees and how they operate, (2) the extent to which FCC’s advisory  committees follow applicable laws and regulations, (3) how FCC makes  use of the advisory committees’ advice or recommendations, and (4) other  advisory groups established at FCC that are not characterized as Federal  Advisory Committee Act (FACA) committees and how they operate. We  obtained documentation from FCC’s Office of General Counsel concerning  the formation of the joint boards, joint conferences, and the  Intergovernmental Advisory Committee, and for their exemption from  FACA requirements. Information on FCC’s Federal Advisory Committees and Advisory Groups Exempt from FACA

This appendix provides information on FCC’s seven federal advisory  committees and on FCC’s five advisory groups that FCC considers exempt  from FACA, including two joint boards, two joint conferences, and the  Intergovernmental Advisory Committee.
Why GAO Did This Study

FCC has regulatory authority over many complex telecommunications issues. To obtain expert advice on these issues, FCC often calls upon its federal advisory committees, comprised mostly of members from industry, private consulting, advocacy groups, and government. These committees must follow the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), which sets requirements on the formation and operation of such committees. Because of Congressional interest in how FCC receives advice from outside experts, this report provides information on (1) FCC's current advisory committees, (2) the extent to which the committees follow applicable laws, (3) how FCC makes use of the committees' advice, and (4) the non-FACA advisory groups that FCC has established.

What GAO Found

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has seven federal advisory committees established at its discretion that address various telecommunications issues. FCC officials, committee members, and other stakeholders we contacted generally believed FCC's advisory committees operated effectively. In forming and operating advisory committees, FCC must follow FACA and related regulations, which require, among other things, that committee membership is balanced in terms of points of view represented and that committee activities are transparent to the public. While FCC follows applicable requirements, GAO found that committee members are not always clear about their expected role on the committees--that is, the type of advice that FCC expects them to provide. FCC designates all of its committee members as "representatives," meaning they are appointed with an expectation that they will provide advice reflecting the views of a company, organization, or other group. However, approximately 22 percent of responding committee members did not say they provided representative advice. Further, some committee members are affiliated with universities or consulting firms that may not have an obvious telecommunications viewpoint. If committee members are expected to primarily provide their own expert opinion, they are expected to be impartial and may be more appropriately appointed as special government employees. Such members are subject to ethics rules administered by the Office of Government Ethics, including conflict-of-interest reviews. While FCC is not required to implement the advice or recommendations of its advisory committees, FCC has taken actions based on these committees' recommendations. Overall, GAO found FCC officials tended to be more satisfied with how FCC implements the committees' recommendations than other stakeholders, including committee members themselves. For example, of the committee members who responded to a GAO survey, only 54 percent were satisfied with the extent to which FCC takes the committees' advice into account when developing policy. Further, three trade groups we contacted said that the advisory committees' advice and recommendations have little influence on FCC actions. In addition to its seven federal advisory committees, FCC considers five advisory groups as exempt from FACA requirements, including two "joint boards," two "joint conferences," and the Intergovernmental Advisory Committee. FCC was mandated to establish the joint boards and created the joint conferences at its discretion. Since the joint boards and joint conferences are considered exempt from FACA, they function differently from FCC's federal advisory committees. FCC created the Intergovernmental Advisory Committee, which it also considers exempt from FACA, to address telecommunications issues affecting state, local, and tribal governments.