The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights was established to serve as an independent, bipartisan, fact-finding agency whose mission is to investigate and report on the status of civil rights in the United States. It is required to study the impact of federal civil rights laws and policies with regard to discrimination or denial of equal protection of the laws. According to its statutory mission, the Commission also serves as a national clearinghouse for information related to its mission and investigates charges of citizens being deprived of the right to vote because of color, race, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin. For the purpose of carrying out its mission, the Commission may hold hearings and has the power to administer oaths, issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and the production of written materials, take depositions, and use written interrogatories to obtain information about matters that are the subject of a Commission hearing or report. However, because the Commission lacks enforcement powers that would enable it to apply remedies in individual cases, the Commission refers specific complaints to the appropriate federal, state, or local government agency for action. Its operations are also governed by the provisions of the Sunshine Act, which requires the Commission to open most of its meetings to the public. By statute, the structure of the Commission has three key components— the Commissioners, the Staff Director, and the state advisory committees: The Commission is directed by eight part-time Commissioners who serve 6-year staggered terms. Four Commissioners are appointed by the President, two by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and two by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. With the concurrence of a majority of the Commission’s members, the President also designates a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson from among the Commissioners. No more than four Commissioners can be of the same political party. The Staff Director is appointed by the President with the concurrence of a majority of the Commissioners. A full-time employee, the Staff Director serves as the administrative head of the Commission. All Commission offices and senior staff report directly to the Staff Director. The Commission has established 51 state advisory committees composed of private citizens appointed by the Commission who volunteer to assist the agency by identifying local civil rights issues, some of which may become important at the national level. Each committee has a minimum of 11 members. The state advisory committees are supported by six regional offices whose primary function is to assist the state committees in their planning, fact-finding, and reporting activities. The Commission’s annual appropriation has averaged about $9 million for more than 10 years, with salaries and benefits constituting about 73 percent. Because of level funding since fiscal year 1995, the total number of full-time equivalent employees steadily declined from 95 in fiscal year 1995 to 64 in fiscal year 2004. As of January 1, 2006, the number of staff had further declined to 46 full-time staff nationwide, excluding the Commissioners; 9 of the 46 staff were professionals in regional offices. After December 2004, when a new Chair, Commissioner, and Staff Director were appointed, the Commission began to reevaluate its product development policies and matters related to the operations of its state advisory committees. Because the Commission has no enforcement authority, the “force of its work derives from its scholarly reports.” The Commission’s work was intended from the outset to be “objective and free from partisanship . . . broad and at the same time thorough,” as the Attorney General noted when he transmitted the legislative proposal that established the Commission—the Civil Rights Act of 1957. The primary written product produced by the Commission’s national office is a statutorily required annual report on federal civil rights enforcement efforts. This statutory report, which is transmitted to the President and Congress, contains findings, conclusions, and recommendations and is published by the national office. In addition, the national office produces other studies, such as reports on federal funding for civil rights programs and letters to agencies or members of Congress on civil rights issues. The Commission also invites speakers, such as attorneys and scholars, to brief the Commissioners on civil rights issues upon request at the Commission’s regular (generally, monthly) public meetings. Such briefings can also serve as the basis for Commission reports that include the speakers’ written statements. The Commission has also conducted public hearings with witnesses as part of its investigative and fact-finding mission. The Commission’s professional staff researches and writes its national office reports and organizes Commission briefings and fact-finding hearings. In addition to the Commission’s national office products, the state advisory committees produce written reports that are based on fact- finding hearings and other public meetings. State advisory committee members propose civil rights topics for study, participate in state and local hearings and public meetings that they sponsor, review draft reports, and vote to approve state advisory committee reports to be sent to the Commission. Fact-finding reports may contain findings, conclusions, and recommendations for action. State advisory committees also issue reports that summarize speakers’ presentations at conferences and public hearings held by the committee. The Commission’s regional staff provide support to the state committees by organizing and attending their meetings, hearings, and other public events, and by researching and drafting reports for the committees. The Staff Director and Commissioners play key roles in approving the Commission’s products. The Staff Director is responsible, among other duties, for approving all national office project proposals, project designs, and draft products before they are forwarded to the Commissioners for review. The Staff Director also approves all state advisory committee activities, project proposals, and reports. Commissioners vote to approve national office products at key stages, such as project proposals and final drafts, and they also receive all state advisory committee final reports but do not vote to accept or reject them. The Commission’s quality assurance policies for its national office and state advisory committee products are set forth in its Administrative Manual, Legal Sufficiency and Defame and Degrade Manual, and Hearing Manual. In addition, the Commission’s quality assurance policies for its state advisory committee products are set forth in the Commission’s State Advisory Committee Handbook, published by the Commission in February 1998. The Commission’s policies for its state advisory committees provide guidance for developing and approving project proposals and reports and conducting fact-finding hearings and public meetings. Some of the Commission’s regional offices also have issued memorandums and other documents on policies affecting their products. (See apps. V and VI for further information on the Commission’s policies and processes for developing and approving national office and state advisory committee products.) The Commission’s state advisory committees were established to function as the “eyes and ears” of the Commission on civil rights issues. The Commission’s statute authorizes the creation of advisory committees and directs the Commission to establish at least one advisory committee in every state and the District of Columbia. Each state committee has a charter that enables it to operate and identifies its members. Each charter is valid for a term of 2 years, and the committee terminates if the charter is not renewed at the end of the term. The Commission is responsible for renewing state advisory committee charters. The mission of the state advisory committees is to investigate within their states any subject that the Commission itself is authorized to investigate and provide advice to the Commission in writing about their findings and recommendations. The committees must confine their studies to the state covered by their charters. They are not limited to subjects chosen by the Commission for their study but may study any subjects within the purview of the Commission’s statute. More specifically, the state advisory committees advise the Commission about (1) any alleged denials of the right to vote due to discrimination or fraud, (2) any matters related to discrimination or denial of equal protection of the law and the effect federal laws and policies have with respect to equal protection of the laws, and (3) any matters of mutual concern in the preparation of reports of the Commission to the President and Congress. Advisory committees are also charged to receive reports, suggestions, and recommendations from individuals, public and private organizations, and public officials upon matters pertinent to advisory committee inquiries; assist the Commission in the exercise of its clearinghouse function; and, attend, as observers, any open hearing or conference that the Commission may hold within their state. To carry out their mission to gather information and to advise the Commission on state and local civil rights issues, state advisory committees are authorized to hold fact-finding meetings and invite government officials and private persons to provide information and their views on various subjects. Advisory committee meetings are open to the public, and a designated federal employee must be present at all meetings. Any person may submit a written statement at any business or fact-finding meeting of an advisory committee and, at the discretion of the designated federal employee, may make an oral presentation. The Commission’s relations with its state advisory committees are guided and regulated by FACA. Enacted in 1972, FACA prescribes certain ground rules that govern all federal advisory committees, including the Commission’s 51 advisory committees. Under the act, GSA established a Committee Management Secretariat, which is tasked with prescribing administrative guidelines and management controls for advisory committees and providing advice, assistance, and guidance to advisory committees to improve their performance. In turn, FACA requires each agency head to establish uniform administrative guidelines and management controls for its advisory committees that are consistent with the Secretariat’s directives. Under FACA, advisory committees are to have a balanced representation of views and adequate funding and support, and to exercise independent judgment without inappropriate influence from the appointing agency or any other party. The Commission has some policies designed to ensure the quality of its products. However, it does not have policies for ensuring an objective examination of the issues or ensuring accountability for the decisions made on its products. The Commission’s policies for developing and approving its products do not contain criteria to be used by the Staff Director or Commissioners and do not provide for the representation of diverse perspectives or the use of experts as external reviewers.