Committee passes advisory panel accountability bill

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday passed a bill to beef up laws to ensure transparency and accountability among nearly 1,000 federal advisory committees.

Sponsored by Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Oversight and Government Reform Information Policy Subcommittee Chairman William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., the legislation passed unanimously by voice vote.

The measure strengthens a 1972 act governing the advisory committees by requiring appointment of committee members without consideration of political affiliation, mandating agencies obtain conflict of interest disclosures from committee members and increasing disclosure requirements for committees.

The changes "will improve balance, transparency and independence," among advisory committees, Clay said.

In an April 2 hearing, Clay said the bill responds to reports that the Bush administration "has employed litmus tests to push its ideological agenda and exclude otherwise qualified individuals from federal advisory committees."

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has reported that advisory committee members are often designated improperly as representatives of organizations and thus are not screened for conflicts. GAO said many should instead be classified as "special government employees" subject to more rigorous conflicts reviews.

Clay said advisory committees that suffered from that problem include an energy policy task force formed by Vice President Dick Cheney, which has been widely criticized for its secrecy.

The bill includes language clarifying which committee members must be designated as special government employees. It also requires that interagency committees or task forces established by the President or Vice President publicly release all communications.

The measure imposes extensive disclosure requirements on all advisory committees, requiring they release information including their charters, descriptions of their appointment process, names of members, descriptions of why they were appointed and recordings of meetings.

On a voice vote, the committee approved an amendment offered by Waxman requiring the advisory committees also make public written transcripts of meetings. The bill requires that the General Services Administration post information provided by the committees online.