Federal Advisory Committees

GAO discussed its review of the General Services Administration's (GSA) implementation of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, focusing on: (1) GSA management of advisory committee activities; and (2) a proposed legislative amendment to the act. GAO found that GSA: (1) focused its activities on consultations with agencies and preparation of the President's annual report; (2) relied on the agencies responsible for advisory committees to report on any needed changes; (3) failed to determine why 26 committees were inactive in fiscal years 1986 and 1987; (4) did not obtain complete charters and justifications for 114 advisory committees established between 1986 and 1988; (5) provided inadequate reports to Congress in 1986 and 1987 to identify areas for management attention; and (6) since 1980, has failed to send Congress follow-up reports on presidential advisory committees' recommendations. GAO also found that the proposed amendment to the act would: (1) provide GSA with adequate time to analyze advisory committees from a government-wide perspective and would be useful to Congress in carrying out its oversight responsibilities; (2) require periodic reviews of each advisory committee; and (3) require committee members to file financial disclosure statements before appointment in order to avoid conflict-of-interest.