Congress, Presidents, and executive branch agencies create federal advisory committees to gain expertise and policy advice from individuals outside the federal government. Federal advisory committees have historically been created on an ad hoc, provisional basis and are created to bring together various experts—often with divergent opinions and political backgrounds—to examine an issue and recommend statutory, regulatory, or other policy actions. Federal advisory committees are one of only a few formalized mechanisms for private-sector citizens to participate in the federal policymaking process. Congress, the President, and executive branch agency heads may create advisory bodies. In 1972, the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) was enacted to govern advisory committees established or utilized by the President or executive branch agency heads. FACA itself provides a detailed definition of a federal advisory committee. FACA-governed entities are statutorily defined as any committee, board, commission, council, conference, panel, task force, or other similar group, or any subcommittee or other subgroup thereof (hereafter in this paragraph referred to as "committee"), which is - (A) established by statute or reorganization plan, or (B) established or utilized by the President, or (C) established or utilized by one or more agencies, in the interest of obtaining advice or recommendations for the President or one or more agencies or officers of the Federal Government, except that such term excludes (i) any committee that is composed wholly of full-time, or permanent part-time, officers or employees of the Federal Government, and (ii) any committee that is created by the National Academy of Sciences or the National Academy of Public Administration. It is unclear in some cases, however, whether FACA should apply to particular advisory committees. Advisory bodies statutorily mandated may or may not be obligated to follow FACA requirements—often depending on whether Congress explicitly states in legislation whether FACA should apply. Otherwise, FACA's application can be determined by examining which branch of the federal government appoints committee members and to which branch of the federal government the committee reports its findings. Whether called commissions, committees, councils, task forces, or boards, these entities have addressed a gamut of public policy issues, offering policy recommendations on topics ranging from organ transplant practices to improving operations at the Department of Homeland Security. Pursuant to statute, the General Services Administration (GSA) maintains and administers management guidelines for federal advisory committees. In FY2011, 1,029 FACA committees with a total of 69,750 members reported total operating costs of $395,179,373 among 51 departments and agencies. Agency administrators, the President, and Congress are likely to continue creating federal advisory committees throughout the 112 th Congress. In the 112 th Congress, one bill has been introduced that would affect FACA's implementation and administration. On October 6, 2011, Representative William Lacy Clay introduced H.R. 3124 , the Federal Advisory Committee Act Amendments of 2011. H.R. 3124 would require the selection of advisory committee members without regard to their partisan affiliation and that advisory body subcommittees and privately contracted committees adhere to FACA requirements. Currently, such subcommittees and privately contracted committees are not covered by FACA. Among other changes, H.R. 3124 seeks to clarify the ethics requirements of committee members and increases records access requirements. On October 6, 2011, H.R. 3124 was concurrently referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the House Committee on Ways and Means. On October 13, 2011, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform ordered H.R. 3124 to be reported by unanimous consent. No further action has been taken on the bill. H.R. 3124 may clarify certain advisory committee transparency requirements and increase public participation with and records access to federal advisory committees. The bill, however, could increase the time and costs associated with starting and administering advisory committees. This report provides a legislative and executive-branch history of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. It then discusses a variety of studies about the design and utility of such advisory bodies. The report then offers possible considerations when designing an advisory committee and analyzes policy options related to advisory committee design and operations. Although FACA committees did not exist until 1974, George Washington is often credited with initiating a tradition of presidential use of outside expertise when, in 1794, he appointed an ad hoc group of commissioners to investigate the Whiskey Rebellion. Since the 1840s, Congress has legislated control over federal advisory bodies—mostly by limiting funding and committee member pay. In 1842, for example, a law was enacted that prohibited payment to "any commission or inquiry, except courts martial or courts of inquiry in the military or naval service" without explicit "special appropriations." Similarly, in 1909, another law was enacted that prohibited appropriation to "any commission, council, board, or other similar body ... unless the creation of the same shall be or shall have been authorized by law." The law also prohibited the detailing of any federal employee to work on an unauthorized commission. By the 20 th century, some Members of Congress believed the executive branch's advisory bodies were inefficient and not accessible to the public. Some Members believed that the public harbored concerns that a proliferation of federal advisory committees had created inefficient duplication of federal efforts. Moreover, some citizens argued that the advisory entities did not reflect the public will, a point that was punctuated by many committees' policies of closed-door meetings. Congress was called on to increase committee oversight and gain some control over the proliferating advisory boards. Subsequently, Congress enacted the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA; 5 U.S.C. Appendix; 86 Stat. 770, as amended). The legislation was enacted in 1972 and requires advisory bodies that fit certain criteria to report annually a variety of information, including membership status and progress, to the General Services Administration (GSA). GSA then reports annually aggregated advisory body information to Congress. Greater detail on the actions of both the legislative and executive branches in FACA's development are provided in the Appendix. FACA attempts to address many of the congressional and citizen concerns about federal advisory committees that were discussed in the section above. The law established the first statutory requirements for management of, access to, and oversight of federal committees. The act requires all advisory committees "be advisory only," and the issues on which they offered determinations are to be "determined, in accordance with law, by the official, agency, or officer involved." FACA allocates a variety of oversight and management responsibilities to the standing committees of Congress, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), agency heads, and the President. FACA requires congressional committees to review continuously whether existing federal advisory committees that fall under their legislative jurisdiction are necessary or redundant. Congress is also to determine if the committees are "fairly balanced in terms of the points of view represented and the functions to be performed." FACA committees are to be created with enough autonomy from the appointing power (Congress, the President, or an agency head) as to not be unduly influenced by it. Reporting requirements are to be clearly stipulated, and proper funding and staffing are to be provided. The 1972 statute charted OMB to oversee the management of advisory committees. The OMB director's first mandated task was to review, concurrently with Congress, existing advisory entities to determine whether they should be abolished. The director was to create operating policies for advisory committees, and provide "advice, assistance, and guidance" to entities "to improve their performance." The guidelines were to include pay rates for members, staff, and consultants—and catalog overall costs for the committees that were to be used for budget recommendations to Congress. Agencies' heads were to ensure proper implementation of OMB's guidelines, and to "maintain systematic information on the nature, functions, and operations of each advisory committee within its jurisdiction." In December 1977, the duties charged to OMB were reassigned to the General Services Administration (GSA) by E.O. 12024. GSA now promulgates regulations related to FACA administration and performs annual reporting requirements to Congress. The President is required to report to Congress—within one year of receiving advice from an advisory committee—his determination for action (or inaction) on the committee's recommendation. The President is also required to report annually to Congress the "activities, status, and changes in the composition of advisory committees in existence during the preceding year." FACA requires the President to exclude the activities and composition changes of advisory committees related to national security from the report. The law authorizes only Congress, the President, or an agency head to create an advisory committee. FACA requires all committees file a charter prior to their operation. A charter is required to include the committee's objectives, the support agency, the committee's duties, the estimated operating costs, the estimated number of committee meetings, and the anticipated termination date, among other information. Most committee meetings are required to be advertised in the Federal Register and open to the public. In FY2009, 907 active FACA committees reported a total of nearly 82,000 members. In FY2009, the total reported operating costs for these committees were $361,493,408. During FY2010, 992 active committees reported a total of 74,289 members. The operating costs reported for those committees were $386,550,504. In FY2011, 1,029 active committees reported a total of 69,750 members. The FY2011 reported total operating costs were $395,179,373. In the past three years, the number of FACA committees has grown by 100 committees, while the number of committee members has dropped 12,190. Figure 1 , Figure 2 , and Figure 3 show the growth in the reported number of FACA committees, the decrease in the reported number of members serving on FACA committees, and the reported increase in costs (adjusted to 2011 dollars) for FACA committees.