Congressional Membership and Appointment Authority to Advisory Commissions, Boards, and Groups
Released: 2019-05-08T00:00:00

Introduction

Congress has created a wide array of advisory bodies, separate from each chamber's committees and officers, in order to better exercise its legislative, oversight, and investigative mandates, and to attend to both temporary and ongoing administrative tasks and responsibilities. During the past two decades, Congress has established or renewed the existence of hundreds of statutory entities to study, advise on, coordinate, or monitor matters of particular interest to Congress. These entities vary in several dimensions, including their official designation, purpose, lifespan, membership, and mechanism by which members are appointed.

Many of these bodies are expressly identified as commissions, but others are designated as boards, advisory committees, or other terms. In this report, they are referred to generically as "congressional advisory bodies." These groups are sometimes created to address a single purpose—to study a discrete policy issue or to attend to one-time or recurring administrative functions. Often, they have a well-defined mandate, which typically includes the submission of a final report to Congress with detailed findings and recommendations. Although some have a specific lifespan, others have been created to provide ongoing support and advice (e.g., the boards of visitors for the U.S. military service academies, or the Commission to Recommend Individuals to the President for Appointment to the Office of Architect of the Capitol).

The statutory provisions creating a substantial proportion of congressional advisory bodies provide for a membership that, either entirely or in part, (1) includes, (2) is chosen by, or (3) is recommended by Members of Congress. This report addresses only those statutory groups whose membership involves congressional participation in one or more of these forms. It provides selected background information on these groups and specific information relating to the role of Members of Congress in the appointment process.

This report is intended to inform Members of Congress of their specific appointment responsibilities and to make them aware of their opportunities to serve as members of congressional advisory bodies. Additionally, observations regarding the rationale and effects for the many variations in the appointment schemes for existing bodies are intended to provide some alternatives to legislators to facilitate the drafting of membership language in potential future statutes.

Scope

Following an examination of the appointment schemes to various congressional advisory bodies, this compilation attempts to identify all congressional advisory bodies currently in existence on which Members of Congress serve directly, or for which they make appointments or recommend potential members to another appointing authority (e.g., the President). It includes any statutorily created advisory entity (e.g., boards, advisory panels, task forces) whose membership scheme mandates the participation of Members of Congress, either as potential members or as participants in the process of appointing the membership. Entities created by Congress that have neither congressional membership nor congressional involvement in the appointment process have been omitted. Boards and commissions for which the Senate has "advise and consent" authority are also omitted, unless Members of Congress otherwise participate in the appointment process.

Also excluded are ad-hoc commissions and advisory groups empaneled by individual congressional committees under their general authority to procure the "temporary services" of consultants to "make studies and advise the committee with respect to any matter within its jurisdiction," pursuant to 2 U.S.C. §72a or under chamber rules or resolutions. The membership of these entities, such as the Advisory Commission to Study the Consumer Price Index, might be selected by the chairman and ranking minority member of the committee concerned, and these bodies are generally empaneled for short durations. This report also does not include caucuses, observer groups, or working groups created by means other than statute.

Tracking the provisions of law that create congressional advisory bodies is an inherently inexact exercise. Although many such bodies are created in easily identifiable freestanding statutes, others are contained within the statutory language of lengthy omnibus legislation. It is also sometimes difficult to determine when such bodies have ceased to operate, as termination dates are not always included in the organic statute, or may be tied to ambiguous conditions.

Membership Composition

When making appointments to congressional advisory bodies, Members of Congress may be empowered to act independently or in concert with other Members. Structurally, variations in the authority of appointment officials fall within several common patterns.

Direct Designation

The statutory scheme may mandate that membership of a congressional advisory body be made up in whole or in part by specifically designated Members of Congress, typically members of the leadership or of specified committees.

In most such cases, leadership service is limited to bodies concerned with the internal administrative functions of the House and Senate. For example, membership of the Commission to Recommend Individuals to the President for Appointment to the Office of Architect of the Capitol includes the Speaker of the House, the President pro tempore of the Senate, the majority and minority leaders of the House and the Senate, and the chairmen and the ranking minority members of the Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate, the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.

Appointment

Selected leaders, often with balance between the parties, may appoint congressional advisory body members, who may or may not be Members of Congress. For appointments made by congressional leaders, the statutory scheme generally mandates that appointments be made by leaders of both parties. The members of some congressional advisory bodies are selected by majority and minority party leaders in equal numbers. In other instances, the majority party appoints a greater number. In a few cases, the majority/minority ratio of appointments to a commission varies, depending upon whether the President is of the same party as the majority in the House or the Senate.

One common component of statutory appointment schemes for certain congressional advisory bodies is the requirement that Members of Congress serve on these panels. Certain bodies, such as the British American Parliamentary Group, are composed entirely of Members of Congress. In other instances, a statute may require that a certain specified number of Senators or Representatives be selected, or may prohibit Members of Congress from serving.

For appointments made by the President pro tempore of the Senate, 2 U.S.C. §199 specifies involvement of the majority and minority leaders of the Senate.

Recommendation

Selected leaders, again often with balance between the parties, may be authorized to recommend members, who may or may not be Members of Congress, for appointment to a congressional advisory body. They may do so either in parallel or jointly, and the recommendations may be made to other congressional leaders, such as the Speaker of the House and President pro tempore of the Senate, to the President, or to a cabinet official.

Qualification Provisos

Some statutory provisos may have the effect of limiting the degree of autonomy a Member has in appointing or making recommendations of individuals for congressional advisory body membership. For example, the appointing official may be required by law to select members who are specifically qualified by virtue of their education, knowledge, training, experience, expertise, distinguished service, or recognized eminence in a particular field or fields. In other instances, appointments are expressly limited to individuals occupying specific federal, state, or local government positions, representing a particular occupation, or serving as head of a particular public or private sector institution or organization.

Separation of Powers

In many instances, the authority to appoint members to the entities covered in this report is shared by the executive and legislative branches. When the appointment authority set out in a statute creating a congressional advisory body is shared by the President (or other executive branch officials) and Members of Congress, questions about implementation of the appointment scheme have sometimes prompted the President to comment on separation-of-powers issues raised under the Appointments Clause of the Constitution. Some statutes instruct the President to appoint congressional advisory body members from a list provided by congressional leadership. For example, the appointment scheme for the Commission on Interoperable Data Sharing provides for nine members, one member appointed by the President to serve as chairman, and eight members appointed by the President "from a list of nominees jointly provided by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the minority leader of the House of Representatives, the majority leader of the Senate, and the minority leader of the Senate."

In the signing statement accompanying the law, President George W. Bush noted that methods of selection included in the Appointment Clause of the Constitution include "appointment by the President with Senate consent, or by the President alone," but not by the President "from a pool of persons selected by congressional leadership." Similarly, in a statement accompanying the signing of legislation creating the Brown v. Board of Education 50 th Anniversary Commission, President Bush made it clear that he would not be bound by the membership recommendations of House and Senate leadership required by the statute, but would rather "welcome, as a matter of comity, the suggestions of the congressional leadership for those positions."

Impact of Appointment Framework

As the foregoing discussion suggests, several alternative approaches are available to legislators in drafting membership selection language. Inclusion of legislators on such panels insures that Congress will be able to exercise a certain degree of control over the operations of the entity concerned. At the same time, service by Members on congressional advisory bodies is arguably antithetical to at least one of the rationales for creating the entity in the first place, namely, to reduce the workload of Congress by delegating certain functions to temporary bodies.

Even in the absence of direct membership on a congressional advisory body, in drafting the particulars of an appointment scheme, legislators can dictate, to some degree, the measure of autonomy an entity enjoys. For example, although the legislation creating the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (the 9-11 Commission) did not stipulate that Members of Congress be included in the commission's membership, it did call for 9 of the 10 members of the commission to be selected by congressional leaders. Attention to the proper balance between the number of members appointed by congressional leaders and by other individuals, or to the number of Members of Congress required to be among the appointees, or to the qualifications of appointees, can be significant factors in enabling an advisory body to fulfill its congressional mandate.

Organization of the Report

Each currently functioning congressional advisory body that was identified, regardless of when it was initially established, is profiled following the narrative portion of this report. For each entity, a brief summary of its purpose or role is provided, as well as the following information:

Statutory D uration of the A dvisory B ody . The termination date is provided for each advisory body, where appropriate. Occasionally, termination dates are ambiguous, due to their contingency upon an associated time line within the statute, such as the date of submission of a final report. FACA A pplicability . Advisory bodies established in the executive branch that report to the President are subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), which governs their creation, administration, and management. Advisory bodies that are appointed by Congress and report only to Congress are not specifically bound by the requirements set forth in FACA. Because many commissions involve both congressional and presidential participation, some of the entities in this report may be governed by FACA. Occasionally, statutes creating congressional advisory bodies will incorporate explicit statutory language exempting a commission from FACA requirements, in whole or in part. Membership Appointment Structure . Each entry includes the advisory body's membership appointment scheme. The particulars of congressional involvement in the appointment process are varied. The statutory language of membership appointment schemes detail a wide range of membership patterns that may be of interest to lawmakers who might be contemplating creation of advisory bodies. In the legislative branch, the individuals most commonly empowered to make appointments to commissions and similar bodies are the Speaker of the House, the President or President pro tempore of the Senate, and the majority and minority leaders of the House and Senate. The majority leader of the House is less often included in these mechanisms, since the appointment role of the minority leader may be paired with the Speaker's appointment role. For each board, the appointment structure is outlined, with the participation of Members of Congress highlighted. For Member appointments, the appointer's role is provided in (parentheses) in the left-hand column. Additionally, the role of noncongressional officials is also provided. Term of Appointment . Most ongoing congressional advisory bodies have fixed terms of appointment set by statute. Statutes creating temporary commissions often provide that appointments are for the "life of the commission."

Additionally, commissions are divided into two groups: temporary advisory commissions (e.g., those with a statutory end date) and permanent entities.

Listing of Individual Advisory Bodies

The more than 90 entries on the following pages highlight the broad diversity of matters Congress has felt deserved examination beyond the established organizational structure of Congress. Entries are arranged alphabetically. Citations to the U.S. Code and the Statutes at Large are provided where particulars relating to the scope, purpose, and composition of these bodies may be located. The internet address of the entity's website is also provided, if available.

Information on the involvement of Members of Congress in the appointment process for congressional commissions is also presented in a series of tables. Table 1 through Table 6 list the appointment responsibilities of each of these major congressional leaders. Table 7 lists other congressional leaders, namely the chair or ranking minority members of specified committees in the House and Senate who may also be granted authority to make or recommend appointments, or be designated as members of a commission.

Temporary Advisory Commissions

400 Years of African-American History Commission

Adams Memorial Commission

Advisory Committee on International Exchange Rate Policy

Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children

Commission on Farm Transactions-Needs for 2050

Coltsville National Historical Park Advisory Commission

Creating Options for Veterans' Expedited Recovery Commission

Cyberspace Solarium Commission

Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission

Frederick Douglass Bicentennial Commission

National Commission on Military Aviation Safety

National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence

Public Buildings Reform Board

Public-Private Partnership Advisory Council to End Human Trafficking

Syria Study Group

United States Semiquincentennial Commission

Western Hemisphere Drug Policy Commission

Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission

World War I Centennial Commission

Permanent Entities

Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance

Advisory Committee on the Protection of Presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidates

Advisory Committee on the Records of Congress

American Folklife Center in the Library of Congress, Board of Trustees

Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, Board of Trustees

British American Parliamentary Group

Canada-United States Interparliamentary Group

Citizen's Coinage Advisory Committee

Commission for the Judiciary Office Building

Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission)

Commission on Social Impact Partnerships

Commission to Recommend Individuals to the President for Appointment to the Office of Architect of the Capitol

Congressional-Executive Commission on the People's Republic of China

Congressional Advisers for Trade Policy and Negotiations

Congressional Award Board

Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

Denali Commission

Election Assistance Commission

Election Assistance Commission, Board of Advisors

Federal Judicial Center Foundation Board

Federal Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Board

Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board

Financial Oversight and Management Board

Gallaudet University, Board of Trustees

Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation, Board of Trustees

Health Information Technology (HIT) Advisory Committee

Help America Vote Foundation, Board of Directors

Henry M. Jackson Foundation, Council of Directors

House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards (Franking Commission)

House Child Care Center, Advisory Board

House of Representatives Fine Arts Board

House Office Building Commission

Human Space Flight Independent Investigation Commission

Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development Board of Trustees

International Clean Energy Foundation, Board of Directors

James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation, Board of Trustees

Japan-United States Friendship Commission

John C. Stennis Center for Public Service Training and Development, Board of Trustees

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Board of Trustees

Library of Congress Trust Fund Board

Medal of Valor Review Board (Public Safety Officer)

Mexico-United States Interparliamentary Group Delegation

Migratory Bird Conservation Commission

Millennium Challenge Corporation, Board of Directors

Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation, Board of Trustees

National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity

National Capital Planning Commission

National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics

National Council on Disability

National Council on the Arts

National Historical Publications and Records Commission

NATO Parliamentary Assembly, U.S. Group

Office of Congressional Workplace Rights, Board of Directors

Open World Leadership Center, Board of Trustees

Senate Commission on Art

Smithsonian Institution, Board of Regents

Social Security Advisory Board

State and Local Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Board

Tribal Advisory Committee

United States Air Force Academy, Board of Visitors

United States Capitol Preservation Commission

United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission

United States Coast Guard Academy, Board of Visitors

United States Commission on Civil Rights

United States Commission on International Religious Freedom

United States Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

United States Group of the United States Senate-China Interparliamentary Group

United States Group of the United States Senate-Russia Interparliamentary Group

United States Holocaust Memorial Council

United States International Development Finance Corporation, Board of Directors

United States Merchant Marine Academy, Board of Visitors

United States Military Academy, Board of Visitors

United States Naval Academy, Board of Visitors

United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control

Utah Reclamation Mitigation and Conservation Commission

Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, Board of Visitors