Evaluating and Improving the Utility of Federal Advisory Committees
Headline: Agencies Must Terminate and Review Federal Advisory Committees
What it does: Agencies must evaluate committees and terminate at least one-third of certain advisory committees by September 30, 2019.
- Forces agencies to terminate at least one-third of certain advisory committees.
- Caps total eligible federal advisory committees at 350, limiting new panels.
- Requires agency leaders to submit committee recommendations and termination plans to OMB.
Summary
This order requires executive departments and agencies to review and reduce their advisory committees. Agencies must evaluate committees and, by September 30, 2019, terminate at least one-third of committees created under section 9(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act for reasons like completed work, obsolescence, redundancy, or excessive cost.
Agency leaders must send recommendations and plans to the Office of Management and Budget by August 1, 2019, and OMB will set implementation rules and may grant waivers. The order also caps the total number of eligible committees government-wide at 350 and exempts scientific merit-review panels.
Ask about this order
Ask questions about this executive order and its implications.
What agencies are affected by this order?
How does this order change existing policy?
What are the practical implications of this order?