Federal Communications Commission. Federal Advisory Committees Follow Requirements, but FCC Should Improve Its Process for Appointing Committee Members;Report to Congress

摘要

FCC has regulatory authority over many complex telecommunications issues. To obtain expert advice on these issues, FCC often calls upon its federal advisory committees, comprised mostly of members from industry, private consulting, advocacy groups, and government. These committees must follow the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), which sets requirements on the formation and operation of such committees. Because of your interest in how FCC receives advice from outside experts, this report provides information on (1) FCCs current advisory committees, (2) the extent to which the committees follow applicable laws, (3) how FCC makes use of the committees advice, and (4) the non-FACA advisory groups that FCC has established. To better ensure that FCCs federal advisory committee members are fully informed about the type of advice they are being asked to provide, we recommend that FCC establish a process for determining and documenting the type of advice that members are expected to contribute. Committee members who are not representing a specific viewpoint may be more appropriately appointed as special government employees. FCC noted that future appointment letters for representative members would make clear the underlying viewpoint the advisory committee member is expected to represent.