Presidential Appointments to Full-Time Positions on Regulatory and Other Collegial Boards and Commissions, 109th Congress
Released: 2009-06-16T00:00:00

Introduction

This report provides an overview of the process for filling positions to which the President makes appointments with the advice and consent of the Senate (PAS positions). It also specifies, for the 109 th Congress (January 2005-December 2006), all nominations to full-time positions on 33 regulatory and other collegial boards and commissions that have such positions (e.g., the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Election Assistance Commission). Profiles of each board and commission provide information on their organizational structures, membership as of the end of the 109 th Congress, and appointment activity during that Congress.

The Appointment Process for PAS Positions

The President and the Senate share the power to appoint the principal officers of the United States. The Constitution (Article II, Section 2, clause 2) empowers the President to nominate and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint the principal officers of the United States. Three distinct stages mark the appointment process: selection, clearance, and nomination by the President; consideration by the Senate; and appointment by the President.

Selection, Clearance, and Nomination

In this stage, the White House selects and clears a nominee before sending the formal nomination to the Senate. There are a number of steps in this stage of the process for most Senate-confirmed positions. First, with the assistance of, and preliminary vetting by, the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, the President selects a candidate for the position. Interested parties, including Members of Congress, often have input during this process. Most boards and commissions are required, by statute, to have a political balance among their members (i.e., no more than a simple majority may be from the same political party), so the President normally negotiates over nominations with leaders of the opposition party in Congress. These negotiations involve questions not only of patronage but of policy, especially when the board or commission is involved in areas that, at the time, may be particularly sensitive. This often results in a packaging process in which the President submits several nominations together for positions in a particular agency and the Senate then confirms them as a group. Sometimes, however, only one or two nominations are submitted when three or four positions may be available. When this occurs, a nomination may remain before the Senate for many months, until one or two additional nominations are submitted. Generally, all are then quickly confirmed.

During the clearance process, the candidate prepares and submits several forms: the "Public Financial Disclosure Report" (Standard Form (SF) 278), the "Questionnaire for National Security Positions" (SF 86), and the White House "Personal Data Statement Questionnaire." The Office of the Counsel to the President oversees the clearance process, which often includes background investigations conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), and an ethics official for the agency to which the candidate is to be appointed. If conflicts are found during the background check, OGE and the agency ethics officer may work with the candidate to mitigate the conflicts. Once the Office of the Counsel to the President has cleared the candidate, the nomination is ready to be submitted to the Senate.

The selection and clearance stage is often the longest part of the appointment process. There can be lengthy delays, particularly if many candidates are being processed, as they are at the beginning of an Administration, or if conflicts need to be resolved. Candidates for higher-level positions are often accorded priority in this process. In an effort to reduce the elapsed time between a new President's inauguration and the appointment of his or her national security team, provisions added, in 2004, to the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 encourage Presidents-elect to submit, for security clearance, potential nominees to high-level national security positions as soon as possible after the election.

For positions located within a state (e.g., U.S. attorneys, U.S. marshals, and U.S. district judges), the President, by custom, normally nominates an individual recommended by the Senator or Senators (if they are from the same party as the President) from that state. If neither Senator is from the President's party, he usually defers to the recommendations of party leaders from the state. Occasionally, the President solicits recommendations from Senators of the opposition party because of their positions in the Senate. Before making a nomination to a federal position at the state or national level, the President would consider how it will fare in the confirmation process.

A nominee has no legal authority to assume the duties and responsibilities of the position; the authority comes with Senate confirmation and presidential appointment. A nominee who is hired by the agency as a consultant while awaiting confirmation may serve only in an advisory capacity. If circumstances permit and conditions are met, the President may give the nominee a recess appointment to the position (see below). Recess appointments may have political consequences, however, particularly if Senators perceive that an appointment is an effort to circumvent their constitutional role. Some Senate-confirmed positions, such as many of those in the executive departments, may also be temporarily filled under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998. Positions on most boards and commissions, however, are not covered by this act.

Senate Consideration

In the confirmation or second stage, the Senate alone determines whether or not to confirm a nomination. The way the Senate acts on a nomination depends largely on the importance of the position involved, existing political circumstances, and policy implications. Generally, the Senate shows particular interest in the nominee's views and how they are likely to affect public policy. Two other factors may also affect the scrutiny with which a nominee's personal and professional qualities are examined: whether or not the President's party controls the Senate and the degree to which the President becomes involved in supporting the nomination.

The Senate confirmation process is centered at the committee level. On the day the President submits a nomination to the Senate, the Senate's executive clerk refers it to the appropriate committee or committees. When making a referral, the executive clerk is guided by Senate Rule XXV, which establishes the subject matters under the purview of each committee and directs that "all proposed legislation, messages, petitions, memorials, and other matters relating primarily to [those] subjects" be referred to that committee. The executive clerk is also guided by precedents set by prior referrals and by standing orders and unanimous consent (UC) agreements pertaining to referral of nominations. Most nominations are sent to a single committee. Occasionally, the Senate has agreed, by unanimous consent, by standing order, or by statute, to refer one or more nominations to more than one committee.

Committee nomination activity generally includes investigation, hearing, and reporting stages. As part of investigatory work, committees may draw on information provided by the White House as well as information collected by the committees. Hearings provide a public forum to discuss a nomination and any issues related to the program or agency for which the nominee would be responsible. Even if confirmation is thought to be a virtual certainty, hearings may provide Senators and the nominee with an opportunity to go on the record with particular views or commitments. Senators may use hearings to explore a nominee's qualifications, articulate a policy perspective, or raise related oversight issues. Some committees hold hearings on nearly all nominations that are referred to them; others hold hearings for only some.

The committee may discontinue acting on a nomination at any point—upon referral, after investigation, or after a hearing. If the committee votes to report the nomination back to the full Senate, it has three options: it may report the nomination to the Senate favorably, report it unfavorably, or report it without recommendation. If the committee elects not to report a nomination, the Senate may, under certain circumstances, discharge the committee from further consideration of the nomination in order to bring it to the floor.

Although the Senate confirms most nominations, some nominations are not confirmed. Rarely, however, does the full Senate reject a nomination. Most nominations that are not confirmed fail in committee, either by committee vote or by committee inaction. Rejections in committee occur for a variety of reasons, including opposition to the nomination, inadequate amount of time for consideration of the nomination, or factors that may have nothing to do with the merits of the nomination. If a nomination is not acted upon by the Senate by the end of a Congress, it is returned to the President. Pending nominations also may be returned automatically to the President at the beginning of a recess of 30 days or longer, but the Senate rule providing for this return is often waived.

Appointment

In the final stage, the confirmed nominee is given a commission signed by the President, with the seal of the United States affixed thereto, and is sworn into office. The President may sign the commission at any time after confirmation. Once the appointee is given the commission and sworn in, he or she has full authority to carry out the responsibilities of the office.

Recess Appointments

The Constitution also empowers the President to make limited-term appointments without Senate confirmation when the Senate is in recess. Such recess appointments expire at the end of the next full session of the Senate. Appendix C provides a table showing the dates of the Senate recesses for the 109 th Congress and the number of recess appointments to positions on regulatory and other collegial boards and commissions during each recess.

Presidents have occasionally used the recess appointment power to circumvent the confirmation process. In response, Congress has placed restrictions on the President's authority to make a recess appointment. Under 5 U.S.C. § 5503(a), if the position to which the President makes a recess appointment falls vacant while the Senate is in session, the recess appointee may not be paid from the Treasury until he or she is confirmed by the Senate. The salary prohibition does not apply (1) if the vacancy arose within 30 days before the end of the session; (2) if a nomination for the office (other than the nomination of someone given a recess appointment during the preceding recess) was pending when the Senate recessed; or (3) if a nomination was rejected within 30 days before the end of the session and another individual was given the recess appointment. A recess appointment falling under any one of these three exceptions must be followed by a nomination to the position not later than 40 days after the beginning of the next session of the Senate. For this reason, when a recess appointment is made, the President generally submits a new nomination for the appointee even when an earlier nomination is still pending. In addition, although recess appointees whose nominations to a full term are subsequently rejected by the Senate may continue to serve until the end of their recess appointment, a provision of the annual financial services and general government appropriations act prohibits payments, from appropriated funds, to an appointee after such a rejection.

Characterization of Regulatory and Other Collegial Bodies

Federal executive branch boards and commissions share, among other things, the following characteristics: (1) they are independent executive branch bodies located, with four exceptions, outside executive departments; (2) several members head each entity; (3) the members are appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate; and (4) the members serve fixed terms of office, and, except in a few bodies, the President's power to remove them is restricted.

In this context, fixed terms of office have set beginning and end dates, irrespective of whether the posts are filled or when appointments are made. (In other contexts, in contrast, the full term begins to run when an appointee takes office, and it expires after the incumbent has held the post for the requisite period of time.) The end dates of the fixed terms of a board's members are staggered, so that the terms do not expire all at once. The use of terms with fixed beginning and end dates is intended to minimize the occurrence of simultaneous board member departures and thereby increase leadership continuity.

A new commission or board member may be nominated and confirmed for a position from which someone has resigned (or died) with an unexpired term or for a position with a new term that is already underway. Occasionally, where the unexpired term has been for a very short period, the President has submitted two nominations of the same person simultaneously—the first to complete the unexpired term and the second to complete a regular term of office.

On some commissions, the chair is subject to Senate confirmation and must be appointed from among the incumbent commissioners. If the President wishes to appoint, as chair, someone who is not on the commission, two nominations are submitted simultaneously for the nominee—one for member and the other for chair.

As independent entities with staggered membership, executive branch boards and commissions have more political independence from the President than do executive departments. Nonetheless, the President can sometimes exercise significant influence over the composition of the membership when he designates the chair or has the opportunity to fill a number of vacancies at once. For example, President George W. Bush had the opportunity to shape the Securities and Exchange Commission during the first two years of his presidency because of existing vacancies, resignations, and the death of a member. Likewise, during the same time period, President Bush was able to submit nominations for all of the positions on the National Labor Relations Board because of existing vacancies, expiring recess appointments, and resignations. Simultaneous turnover of board or commission membership may result from coincidence, but it may also be the result of a buildup of vacancies after extended periods during which the President fails to nominate, or the Senate fails to confirm, members.

Two other notable characteristics apply to appointments to some of the boards and commissions. First, for 25 of the regulatory and other collegial boards and commissions, the law limits the number of appointed members who may belong to the same political party, usually to no more than a simple majority of the appointed members (e.g., two of three, or three of five). Second, advice and consent requirements also apply to inspector general appointments in four of these organizations and general counsel appointments in three.

Appointments During the 109th Congress

During the 109 th Congress, President George W. Bush submitted nominations to the Senate for 84 of the 151 full-time positions on 33 regulatory and other boards and commissions. (Most of the remaining positions on these boards and commissions were not vacant during that time.) A total of 111 nominations were submitted for these positions, of which 79 were confirmed, 6 were withdrawn, and 26 were returned to the President. The number of nominations exceeded the number of positions for two reasons. First, for some agencies, appointment of an individual to be chair or vice chair requires two separate nominations: one to be a member and the other to be chair or vice chair. In these cases, the chair or vice chair title is not counted as an additional position. Second, the President submitted multiple nominations for some positions. In some cases, for example, the President submitted one nomination for the end of a term in progress and a second nomination of the same person to the same position for the succeeding term. In other cases, the President submitted a second nomination after his first choice failed to be confirmed. The President also usually submitted an "extra" nomination of an individual to whom he had given a recess appointment in order to comply with a law affecting the payment of that appointee (see " Recess Appointments ," above). President Bush made 12 recess appointments to regulatory and other boards and commissions: 10 when the Senate was adjourned during a session (intrasession recess appointments) and 2 between sessions (intersession recess appointments). Table 1 summarizes the appointment activity for the 109 th Congress. At the end of the 109 th Congress,12 incumbents were serving past the expiration of their terms. In addition, there were 12 vacancies among the 151 positions.

Length of Time to Confirm a Nomination

The length of time a given nomination may be pending in the Senate varies widely. Some nominations are confirmed within a few days, others may not be confirmed for several months, and some are never confirmed. In the board and commission profiles following this opening narrative, this report provides, for each board or commission nomination that was confirmed in the 109 th Congress, the number of days from nomination to confirmation ("days to confirm"). For those nominations that were confirmed, an average of 96 days elapsed between nomination and confirmation. The median number of days elapsed was 50. The difference between these two numbers suggests that the average was pulled upward by a small number of unusually high numbers. These statistics exclude days during August recesses and between sessions of the Congress. This cutoff point is suggested by the Senate rules, which provide that "if the Senate shall adjourn or take recess for more than thirty days, all nominations pending and not finally acted upon" shall be returned to the President, although this rule is often waived. The 33 days during the August 2005 recess, the 11 days between the first and second sessions of the 109 th Congress, and the 31 days during the August 2006 recess were subtracted from the "days to confirm" for those nominations that spanned one or more recesses. Although it also exceeded 30 days, no days were subtracted for a 39-day recess during October and November 2006 in order to maintain consistency with similar reports for previous Congresses.

Organization of the Report

Board and Commission Profiles

Each of the 33 board or commission profiles following the narrative portion of this report is organized into three parts: a paragraph discussing the body's organizational structure, a table identifying its full-time membership as of the end of the 109 th Congress, and a table listing nominations and appointments to its full-time positions during the 109 th Congress. The organizational sections discuss the statutory requirements for the appointed positions, including the number of members on each board or commission, their terms of office, whether or not they may continue in their positions after their terms expire, whether or not political balance is required, and the method for selection of the chair.

Data on appointment actions during the 109 th Congress appear under both the sections entitled "Membership as of the End of the 109 th Congress" and those entitled "Appointment Action in the 109 th Congress." The former identifies the agency's positions requiring Senate confirmation and the incumbents in those positions as of the date the Senate adjourned sine die at the end of the 109 th Congress (December 9, 2006). Incumbents whose terms had expired are italicized. Most of the incumbents serve fixed terms of office and are removable only for specified causes. They generally remain in office when a new administration assumes office following a presidential election. For those agencies requiring political balance among their members, the party affiliation of an incumbent is listed as Democrat (D), Republican (R), or Independent (I). The section also includes the pay levels of the positions. For presidentially appointed positions requiring Senate confirmation, the pay levels usually fall under the Executive Schedule, which ranges from level I, for cabinet-level offices, to level V, for the lowest-ranked positions. Most of the chair positions are at level III, and most of the other positions are at level IV.

The "Appointment Action" section identifies the nominees (in chronological order), the positions to which they were nominated, the dates of nomination, the dates of confirmation, and the number of days taken for confirmation. Actions other than confirmation (i.e., nominations rejected by the Senate, nominations returned to or withdrawn by the President, and recess appointments) are also noted. Occasionally, when a position is vacant and the unexpired term of office ends within a number of weeks or months, two nominations for the same nominee are submitted, the first to complete the unexpired term, and the second for a full term following completion of the expired term. Also, when a nominee is awaiting Senate action and he or she is given a recess appointment, a second, follow-up nomination is usually submitted to comply with the requirements of 5 U.S.C. § 5503(b).

In tables that show more than one confirmed nomination, the mean number of days to confirm a nomination is provided. This figure was determined by calculating the number of days between the nomination and confirmation dates, adding these numbers for all confirmed nominations, and dividing the result by the number of nominations confirmed. For tables in which one individual was confirmed more than once (to be a chair and a member, for example), the mean was calculated by averaging all values in the "Days to confirm" column, including the values for both confirmations.

Additional Appointment Information

Appendix A provides, in a single table, information on all of the nominations and appointments to regulatory and other collegial boards and commissions during the 109 th Congress, alphabetically organized, and following a similar format to that of the "Appointment Action" sections just discussed. It identifies the board or commission involved and the dates of nomination and confirmation. The appendix also indicates if a nomination was withdrawn, returned, or rejected, or if a recess appointment was made. The mean and median number of days taken to confirm a nomination are also provided.

Appendix B provides summary information on appointments and nominations by organization. For each of the 33 independent boards and commissions discussed in this report, the appendix provides the number of positions, vacancies, incumbents whose terms have expired, nominations, individual nominees, positions to which nominations were made, confirmations, nominations returned to the President, nominations withdrawn, and recess appointments.

Appendix C provides the dates of Senate adjournments during the 109 th Congress and the number of recess appointments during each period of adjournment. A list of organization abbreviations can be found in Appendix D .

Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB)

The CSB is an independent agency consisting of five members (no political balance is required), including a chair, who serve five-year terms. The President appoints the members, including the chair, with the advice and consent of the Senate. When a term expires, the incumbent must leave office. (42 U.S.C. § 7412(r)(6))

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)

The CFTC consists of five members (no more than three may be from the same political party) who serve five-year terms. At the end of a term, a member may remain in office, unless replaced, until the end of the next session of Congress. The chair is also appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. (7 U.S.C. § 2(a)(2))

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)

The statute establishing the CPSC calls for five members, who serve seven-year terms. During a period that included the 109 th Congress, however, funding was authorized for only three of these positions. No more than three of the members may be from the same political party. A member may remain in office for one year at the end of a term, unless replaced. The chair is also appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. (15 U.S.C. § 2053)

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB)

The DNFSB consists of five members (no more than three may be from the same political party), who serve five-year terms. After a term expires, a member may continue to serve until a successor takes office. The President designates the chair and vice chair. (42 U.S.C. § 2286)

Election Assistance Commission (EAC)

The EAC consists of four members (no more than two may be from the same political party), who serve four-year terms. After a term expires, a member may continue to serve until a successor takes office. The chair and vice chair, from different political parties and designated by the commission, change each year. (42 U.S.C. § 15323)

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

The EEOC consists of five members (no more than three may be from the same political party), who serve five-year terms. An incumbent whose term has expired may continue to serve until a successor is appointed, except that no such member may continue to serve (1) for more than 60 days when Congress is in session, unless a successor has been nominated; or (2) after the adjournment of the session of the Senate in which the successor's nomination was submitted. The President designates the chair. The President also appoints the general counsel, with the advice and consent of the Senate. (42 U.S.C. § 2000e-4(a))

Export-Import Bank (EXIMBANK)

The Export-Import Bank Board of Directors comprises the president of the bank, who serves as chair; the first vice president of the bank, who serves as vice chair; and three other members (no more than three of these five may be from the same political party). All five members are appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and serve four-year terms. An incumbent whose term has expired may continue to serve (1) until a successor is qualified, or (2) until six months pass after the term expires—whichever occurs earlier. (12 U.S.C. § 635a) The President also appoints an inspector general, with the advice and consent of the Senate. (5 U.S.C. App., Inspector General Act of 1978, § 11)

Farm Credit Administration (FCA)

The FCA consists of three members (no more than two may be from the same political party), who serve six-year terms. A member may not succeed himself or herself unless he or she was first appointed to complete an unexpired term of three years or less. A member whose term expires may continue to serve until a successor takes office. The President designates the chair. (12 U.S.C. § 2242)

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

The FCC consists of five members (no more than three may be from the same political party) who serve five-year terms. When a term expires, a member may continue to serve until the end of the next session of Congress, unless a successor is appointed before that time. The President designates the chair. (47 U.S.C. § 154)

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Board of Directors (FDIC)

The FDIC board of directors consists of five members, of whom two—the comptroller of the currency and the director of the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS)—are ex officio . The three appointed members serve six-year terms. Not more than three of the members of the board of directors may be from the same political party. When a term expires, the member may continue to serve until a successor is appointed. The President appoints the chair and the vice chair, with the advice and consent of the Senate, from among the appointed officers. The chair is appointed for a term of five years. (12 U.S.C.§ 1812) The President also appoints the inspector general, with the advice and consent of the Senate. (5 U.S.C. Appendix, Inspector General Act of 1978, § 11)

Federal Election Commission (FEC)

The FEC consists of six members (no more than three may be from the same political party), who serve six-year terms. When a term expires, a member may continue to serve until a successor takes office. Persons nominated and appointed to the FEC after December 31, 1997, are not eligible for reappointment after their terms expire. ( P.L. 105-61 , Title 5, sec. 513) The chair and vice chair, from different political parties and designated by the commission, change each year. Generally, the vice chair succeeds the chair. (2 U.S.C. § 437c)

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

The FERC, an independent agency within the Department of Energy, consists of five members (no more than three may be from the same political party), who serve five-year terms. When a term expires, a member may continue to serve until a successor takes office, except that such commissioner may not serve beyond the end of the session of the Congress in which his or her term expires. The President designates the chair. (42 U.S.C. § 7171)

Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB)

The FHFB consisted of five members, of whom one—the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) or his or her designee—was ex officio . The four appointed members served seven-year terms, and no more than three could be from the same political party. An appointed member whose term expires could continue to serve until a successor was appointed. The President designated the chair from among the appointed members. Section 1204 of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 ( P.L. 110-289 ; 122 Stat. 2654 at 2785) repealed the section of the U.S. Code that provided for these arrangements (12 U.S.C. § 1422a), but this provision was still in effect during the period covered by this report. Section 1311 of the act (122 Stat. 2797) provided for the abolishment of FHFB, effective one year from the statute's July 30, 2008, enactment.

Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA)

The FLRA consists of three members (no more than two may be from the same political party), who serve five-year terms. When a term expires, a member may continue to serve until the end of the next Congress, unless a successor is appointed before that time. The President designates the chair. The general counsel is also appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. (5 U.S.C. § 7104)

Federal Maritime Commission (FMC)

The FMC consists of five members (no more than three may be from the same political party), who serve five-year terms. When a term expires, a member may continue to serve until a successor takes office. The President designates the chair. (46 U.S.C. § 301; Reorganization Plan No. 7 of 1961)

Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC)

The FMSHRC consists of five members (no political balance is required), who serve six-year terms. When a term expires, the member must leave office. The President designates the chair. (30 U.S.C. § 823)

Federal Reserve System, Board of Governors (FRS)

The FRS consists of seven members (no political balance is required), who serve 14-year terms. When a term expires, a member may continue to serve until a successor takes office. The President appoints the chair and vice chair, who are separately appointed as members, for four-year terms, with the advice and consent of the Senate. (12 U.S.C. §§ 241, 242)

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

The FTC consists of five members (no more than three may be from the same political party), who serve seven-year terms. When a term expires, the member may continue to serve until a successor takes office. The President designates the chair. (15 U.S.C. § 41)

Foreign Claims Settlement Commission (FCSC)

The FCSC, located in the Department of Justice, consists of three members (political balance is not required), who serve three-year terms. When a term expires, the member may continue to serve until a successor takes office. Only the chair, who also is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, serves full-time. (22 U.S.C. §§ 1622, 1622c)

Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB)

The MSPB consists of three members (no more than two may be from the same political party), who serve seven-year terms. When a term expires, the member may continue to serve for one year, unless a successor is appointed before that time. The President appoints the chair, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and designates the vice chair. (5 U.S.C. §§ 1201-1203)

National Credit Union Administration, Board of Directors (NCUA)

The NCUA consists of three members (no more than two members may be from the same political party), who serve six-year terms. When a term expires, a member may continue to serve until a successor takes office. The President designates the chair. (12 U.S.C. § 1752a)

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

The NLRB consists of five members, who serve five-year terms. Political balance is not required, but, by tradition, no more than three members are from the same political party. When a term expires, the member must leave office. The President designates the chair. The President also appoints the general counsel, with the advice and consent of the Senate. (29 U.S.C. § 153)

National Mediation Board (NMB)

The board consists of three members (no more than two may be from the same political party), who serve three-year terms. When a term expires, the member may continue to serve until a successor takes office. The board annually designates a chair. (45 U.S.C. § 154)

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)

The NTSB consists of five members (no more than three may be from the same political party), who serve five-year terms. When a term expires, a member may continue to serve until a successor takes office. The President appoints the chair, from among the members, for a two-year term, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and designates the vice chair. (49 U.S.C. § 1111)

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

The NRC consists of five members (no more than three may be from the same political party), who serve five-year terms. When a term expires, the member must leave office. The President designates the chair. The President also appoints the inspector general, with the advice and consent of the Senate. (42 U.S.C. § 5841 and 5 U.S.C. Appendix 3)

Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC)

The OSHRC consists of three members (political balance is not required), who serve six-year terms. When a term expires, the member must leave office. The President designates the chair. (29 U.S.C. § 661)

Postal Rate Commission (PRC)

The PRC consists of five members (no more than three may be from the same political party), who serve six-year terms. When a term expires, the member may continue to serve for one year, unless a successor is appointed before that time. The President designates the chair. The commissioners designate the vice chair. (39 U.S.C. § 3601)

[The Postal Rate Commission became the Postal Regulatory Commission, as provided in Section 604 of P.L. 109-435 , the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, enacted on December 20, 2006.]

Railroad Retirement Board (RRB)

The board consists of three members (political balance is not required), who serve five-year terms. When a term expires, the member may continue to serve until a successor takes office. The President appoints the chair, and an inspector general, with the advice and consent of the Senate. (45 U.S.C. § 231f and 5 U.S.C. Appendix 3)

No RRB Appointment Action in the 109 th Congress

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

The commission consists of five members (no more than three may be from the same political party), who serve five-year terms. When a term expires, the member may continue to serve until the end of the next session of Congress, unless a successor is appointed before that time. The President designates the chair. (15 U.S.C. § 78d)

Surface Transportation Board (STB)

The STB, located within the Department of Transportation, consists of three members (no more than two may be from the same political party), who serve five-year terms. When a term expires, the member may continue to serve until a successor takes office, but not for more than one year after expiration. The President designates the chair. (49 U.S.C. § 701)

United States International Trade Commission (USITC)

The USITC consists of six members (no more than three may be from the same political party), who serve nine-year terms. When a term expires, a member may continue to serve until a successor takes office. The President designates the chair and vice chair for two-year terms of office, but they may neither belong to the same political party nor be the two most recently appointed members of the commission. A new chair may not belong to the same political party as the chair being replaced, unless the replacement is to complete an unexpired term. (19 U.S.C. § 1330)

United States Parole Commission (USPC)

The USPC is an independent agency in the Department of Justice. The commission consists of five commissioners (political balance is not required) who serve for six-year terms. When a term expires, a member may continue to serve until a successor takes office, but no commissioner may serve more than 12 years. The President designates the chair. (18 U.S.C. § 4202) The commission was previously scheduled to be phased out, but its life has been extended several times by Congress. Under P.L. 110-312 , § 2 (122 Stat. 3013), it was extended until November 1, 2011. (18 U.S.C. § 4202)

No USPC Appointment Action in the 109 th Congress

United States Sentencing Commission (USSC)

The USSC consists of seven voting members, who are appointed to six-year terms. Only the chair and three vice chairs, selected from among the members, serve full-time. The President appoints the chair, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and designates the vice chairs. No more than three members may be federal judges, and no more than four may be of the same political party. No more than two vice chairs may be of the same political party. No voting member may serve more than two full terms. When a term expires, an incumbent may continue to serve until he or she is reappointed, a successor takes office, or Congress adjourns sine die at the end of the session that commences after the expiration of the term, whichever is earliest. The Attorney General (or designee) serves ex officio . (28 U.S.C. § 991-992) The chair of the United State Parole Commission is also an ex officio member of the commission. (18 U.S.C. § 3551 note)

Appendix A. Nominations and Appointments to Regulatory and Other Collegial Boards and Commissions, 109 th Congress

Appendix B. Appointment Action, Regulatory and Other Collegial Boards and Commissions, 109 th Congress

Appendix C. Number of Recess Appointments to Regulatory and Other Collegial Boards and Commissions During Senate Intersession Recesses and Intrasession Recesses of Four or More Days, 109 th Congress

Appendix D. Board/Commission Abbreviations