Advisory Committee on Risk 

Sharing Mechanisms

Briefing

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AGENDA

 The Advisory Committee on Risk Sharing 

Mechanisms (ACRSM) Charter

 Representative Members

 The Responsibilities of Representatives

 Ethics Considerations for All

 Federal Advisory Committee Act 

Requirements

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Advisory Committee on Risk Sharing 

Mechanisms Charter

 The ACRSM was established to provide 

advice and recommendations to the Federal 

Insurance Office on:

 Private market risk sharing mechanisms for 

protection against losses arising from acts of 

terrorism.

 The duties of the ACRSM is solely advisory 

and is limited to providing advice and 

recommendations.

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Representatives Members

 In advising the FIO Director, the ACRSM 

includes a cross-section of members 

representative of the views of non-government 

persons in the affected sectors of the insurance 

industry.

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Representatives

 Each of you is serving:

 As a representative of outside interests and 

stakeholders.

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Representative Members 

 Representative members serve on advisory committees 

to provide a point of view of non-governmental entities 

or of a recognizable group of persons (such as an 

industry sector) who have interests in the subject matter 

and to serve as spokespeople for those interests.

 Representative members are not considered 

government employees and are not subject to the 

federal conflict of interest or other ethics rules.

 Representative members are still expected to reflect the 

highest ethical standards in their representation.

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Responsibilities of Representative 

Members

 Gather input and information from the field.

 Act as a spokesperson for the industry sector, 

trade group, public interest group or other 

organization or group that you represent.

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Ethics Considerations for All

 Consider appearance issues

 For representatives, avoid advising on matters 

outside your scope of representation.

 As a representative, you have not been screened for 

potential conflicts that might arise were you to advise 

outside of your scope of representation.

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Ethics Considerations for All

 Don’t accept improper gifts

 Any gift given because of your committee position.

 If you are offered a gift to advance the work of the ACRSM (e.g. 

free conference room space for a listening session), please 

contact us. Treasury does have gift acceptance authority and 

may be able to accept.

 Don’t use public office for private gain

 Do not use your committee position to seek benefits for yourself 

or others.

 Don’t misuse government information

 Non-public information may not be used for your or anyone 

else’s private interest.

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Ethics Considerations for All

 Use government property and time for official 

purposes.

 Do not use government resources for unauthorized 

purposes.

 Don’t accept compensation for teaching, 

speaking or writing relating to your role on the 

ACRSM.

 Check with an ethics official if you suspect you are 

being asked to speak, teach or write regarding the 

ACRSM.

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Ethical Considerations for All

 Expert witness rules

 Check with an ethics official if you are asked to 

serve as an expert witness on matters relating to 

ACRSM.

 Political activities and the Hatch Act

 You may not use your ACRSM title or fact of 

membership while engaging in any political 

activities or any activity unrelated to the work of 

the ACRSM.

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Member Designations

Representatives

 Wendy Peters

 Jonathan Clark

 Kean Driscoll

 Gregory Hendrick

 Sean McGovern

 Edward Ryan

 Michael Sapnar

 John Seo

 Keith Wolfe

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Federal Advisory Committee Act

 The Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) 

became law in 1972 and is the legal foundation 

for how federal advisory committees operate.

 The law has special emphasis on open 

meetings, public involvement, and reporting.

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Federal Advisory Committee Act

 All sessions are open to the public. 

 Detailed minutes of each advisory committee 

meeting must be kept. The committee chair 

must certify the accuracy of the minutes within 

90 days of each meeting. 

With few exceptions, documents used or 

prepared by or for the Committee are 

contemporaneously available to the public.

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