[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 4, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H67-H70]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT AMENDMENTS OF 2017

  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 70) to amend the Federal Advisory Committee Act to increase 
the transparency of Federal advisory committees, and for other 
purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 70

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Federal 
     Advisory Committee Act Amendments of 2017''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Ensuring independent advice and expertise.
Sec. 3. Preventing efforts to circumvent the Federal Advisory Committee 
              Act and public disclosure.
Sec. 4. Increasing transparency of advisory committees.
Sec. 5. Managing Federal advisory committees.
Sec. 6. Comptroller General review and reports.
Sec. 7. Application of Federal Advisory Committee Act to Trade Advisory 
              Committees.
Sec. 8. Definitions.
Sec. 9. Technical and conforming amendments.
Sec. 10. Effective date.
Sec. 11. No additional funds authorized.

     SEC. 2. ENSURING INDEPENDENT ADVICE AND EXPERTISE.

       (a) Bar on Political Litmus Tests.--Section 9 of the 
     Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended--
       (1) in the section heading, by inserting ``membership;'' 
     after ``advisory committees;'';
       (2) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as subsections 
     (e) and (f), respectively; and
       (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
       ``(b) Appointments Made Without Regard to Political 
     Affiliation or Activity.--All appointments to advisory 
     committees shall be made without regard to political 
     affiliation or political activity, unless required by Federal 
     statute.''.
       (b) Minimizing Conflicts of Interest.--Section 9 of the 
     Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), as amended by 
     subsection (a) of this section, is further amended by 
     inserting after subsection (b) (as added by such subsection 
     (a)) the following:
       ``(c) Public Nominations of Committee Members.--Prior to 
     appointing members to an advisory committee, the head of an 
     agency shall give interested persons an opportunity to 
     suggest potential committee members. The agency shall include 
     a request for comments in the Federal Register notice 
     required under subsection (a) and provide a mechanism for 
     interested persons to comment through the official website of 
     the agency. The agency shall consider any comments submitted 
     under this subsection in selecting the members of an advisory 
     committee.
       ``(d) Designation of Committee Members.--
       ``(1) An individual appointed to an advisory committee who 
     is not a full-time or permanent part-time officer or employee 
     of the Federal Government shall be designated as--
       ``(A) a special Government employee, if the individual is 
     providing advice based on the individual's expertise or 
     experience; or
       ``(B) a representative, if the individual is representing 
     the views of an entity or entities outside of the Federal 
     Government.
       ``(2) An agency may not designate committee members as 
     representatives to avoid subjecting them to Federal ethics 
     rules and requirements.
       ``(3) The designated agency ethics official for each agency 
     shall review the members of each advisory committee that 
     reports to the agency to determine whether each member's 
     designation is appropriate, and to redesignate members if 
     appropriate. The designated agency ethics official shall 
     certify to the head of the agency that such review has been 
     made--
       ``(A) following the initial appointment of members; and
       ``(B) at the time a committee's charter is renewed, or, in 
     the case of a committee with an indefinite charter, every 2 
     years.
       ``(4) The head of each agency shall inform each individual 
     appointed to an advisory committee that reports to the agency 
     whether the individual is appointed as a special Government 
     employee or as a representative. The agency head shall 
     provide each committee member with an explanation of the 
     differences between special Government employees and 
     representatives and a summary of applicable ethics 
     requirements. The agency head, acting through the designated 
     agency ethics official, shall obtain signed and dated written 
     confirmation from each committee member that the member 
     received and reviewed the information required by this 
     paragraph.
       ``(5) The Director of the Office of Government Ethics shall 
     provide guidance to agencies on what to include in the 
     summary of ethics requirements required by paragraph (4).
       ``(6) The head of each agency shall, to the extent 
     practicable, develop and implement strategies to minimize the 
     need for written determinations under section 208(b)(3) of 
     title 18, United States Code. Strategies may include such 
     efforts as improving outreach efforts to potential committee 
     members and seeking public input on potential committee 
     members.''.
       (c) Regulations Implementing FACA.--Section 7(c) of the 
     Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by 
     inserting ``promulgate regulations and'' after ``The 
     Administrator shall''.
       (d) Ensuring Independent Advice and Recommendations.--The 
     Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended--
       (1) in section 8--
       (A) in the section heading, by inserting ``independent 
     advice and recommendations;'' after ``responsibilities of 
     agency heads;'';
       (B) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c); and
       (C) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
       ``(b) The head of each agency shall ensure that the agency 
     does not interfere with the free and independent 
     participation, expression of views, and deliberation by 
     committee members. Each advisory committee shall include a 
     statement describing the process used by the advisory 
     committee in formulating the advice and recommendations when 
     they are transmitted to the agency.''; and
       (2) in section 10--
       (A) in the section heading, by inserting ``; chair'' after 
     ``attendance''; and
       (B) by inserting after subsection (f) the following new 
     subsection:
       ``(g) The Chair shall not be an employee of the agency to 
     which the advisory committee reports, unless--
       ``(1) a statute specifically authorizes selection of such 
     an employee as the Chair; or
       ``(2) the head of the agency directs an employee to serve 
     as the Chair.''.

     SEC. 3. PREVENTING EFFORTS TO CIRCUMVENT THE FEDERAL ADVISORY 
                   COMMITTEE ACT AND PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.

       (a) De Facto Members.--Section 4 of the Federal Advisory 
     Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end 
     the following new subsection:
       ``(d) Treatment of Individual as Member.--An individual who 
     is not a full-time or permanent part-time officer or employee 
     of the Federal Government shall be regarded as a member of a 
     committee if the individual regularly attends and 
     participates in committee meetings as if the individual were 
     a member, even if the individual does not have the right to 
     vote or veto the advice or recommendations of the advisory 
     committee.''.
       (b) Subcommittees.--Section 4 of the Federal Advisory 
     Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), as amended by subsection (a) 
     of this section, is further amended by striking subsection 
     (a) and inserting the following:
       ``(a) Application.--The provisions of this Act or of any 
     rule, order, or regulation promulgated under this Act shall 
     apply to each advisory committee, including any subcommittee 
     or subgroup thereof, except to the extent that any Act of 
     Congress establishing any such advisory committee 
     specifically provides otherwise. Any subcommittee or subgroup 
     that reports to a parent committee established under section 
     9(a) is not required to comply with section 9(f).''.
       (c) Committees Created Under Contract.--Section 3(2) of the 
     Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended in 
     the matter following subparagraph (C) by adding at the end 
     the following: ``An advisory committee is considered to be 
     established by an agency, agencies, or the President if it is 
     formed, created, or organized under contract, other 
     transactional authority, cooperative agreement, grant, or 
     otherwise at the request or direction of an agency, agencies, 
     or the President.''.
       (d) Advisory Committees Containing Special Government 
     Employees.--Section 4 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act 
     (5 U.S.C. App.), as amended by subsections (a) and (b) of 
     this section, is further amended by adding at the end the 
     following new subsection:
       ``(e) Special Government Employees.--Committee members 
     appointed as special Government employees shall not be 
     considered full-time or permanent part-time officers or 
     employees of the Federal Government for purposes of 
     determining the applicability of this Act under section 
     3(2).''.

     SEC. 4. INCREASING TRANSPARENCY OF ADVISORY COMMITTEES.

       (a) Information Requirement.--Section 11 of the Federal 
     Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended to read as 
     follows:

     ``SEC. 11. DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.

       ``(a) In General.--With respect to each advisory committee, 
     the head of the agency to which the advisory committee 
     reports shall make publicly available in accordance with 
     subsection (b) the following information:
       ``(1) The charter of the advisory committee.

[[Page H68]]

       ``(2) A description of the process used to establish and 
     appoint the members of the advisory committee, including the 
     following:
       ``(A) The process for identifying prospective members.
       ``(B) The process of selecting members for balance of 
     viewpoints or expertise.
       ``(C) The reason each member was appointed to the 
     committee.
       ``(D) A justification of the need for representative 
     members, if any.
       ``(3) A list of all current members, including, for each 
     member, the following:
       ``(A) The name of any person or entity that nominated the 
     member.
       ``(B) Whether the member is designated as a special 
     Government employee or a representative.
       ``(C) In the case of a representative, the individuals or 
     entity whose viewpoint the member represents.
       ``(4) A list of all members designated as special 
     Government employees for whom written certifications were 
     made under section 208(b) of title 18, United States Code, a 
     copy of each such certification, a summary description of the 
     conflict necessitating the certification, and the reason for 
     granting the certification.
       ``(5) Any recusal agreement made by a member or any recusal 
     known to the agency that occurs during the course of a 
     meeting or other work of the committee.
       ``(6) A summary of the process used by the advisory 
     committee for making decisions.
       ``(7) Detailed minutes of all meetings of the committee and 
     a description of committee efforts to make meetings 
     accessible to the public using online technologies (such as 
     video recordings) or other techniques (such as audio 
     recordings).
       ``(8) Any written determination by the President or the 
     head of the agency to which the advisory committee reports, 
     pursuant to section 10(d), to close a meeting or any portion 
     of a meeting and the reasons for such determination.
       ``(9) Notices of future meetings of the committee.
       ``(10) Any additional information considered relevant by 
     the head of the agency to which the advisory committee 
     reports.
       ``(b)  Manner of Disclosure.--
       ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
     head of an agency shall make the information required to be 
     disclosed under this section available electronically on the 
     official public website of the agency and to the 
     Administrator at least 15 calendar days before each meeting 
     of an advisory committee. If the head of the agency 
     determines that such timing is not practicable for any 
     required information, such head shall make the information 
     available as soon as practicable but no later than 48 hours 
     before the next meeting of the committee. An agency may 
     withhold from disclosure any information that would be exempt 
     from disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United States 
     Code.
       ``(2) Website availability.--The head of an agency shall 
     make available electronically, on the official public website 
     of the agency, detailed minutes and, to the extent available, 
     a transcript or audio or video recording of each advisory 
     committee meeting not later than 30 calendar days after such 
     meeting.
       ``(3) Grant reviews.--In the case of grant reviews, 
     disclosure of information required by subsection (a)(3) may 
     be provided in the aggregate rather than by individual grant.
       ``(c) Provision of Information by Administrator of General 
     Services.--The Administrator of General Services shall 
     provide, on the official public website of the General 
     Services Administration, electronic access to the information 
     made available by each agency under this section.
       ``(d) Availability of Meeting Materials.--Except where 
     prohibited by contractual agreements entered into prior to 
     the effective date of this Act, agencies and advisory 
     committees shall make available to any person, at actual cost 
     of duplication, copies of advisory committee meeting 
     materials.''.
       (b) Charter Filing.--Subsection (f) of section 9 of the 
     Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), as 
     redesignated by section 2(a) of this Act, is amended to read 
     as follows:
       ``(f) No advisory committee shall meet or take any action 
     until an advisory committee charter has been filed with the 
     Administrator, the head of the agency to whom any advisory 
     committee reports, and the standing committees of the Senate 
     and of the House of Representatives having legislative 
     jurisdiction of such agency. Such charter shall contain the 
     following information in the following order:
       ``(1) The committee's official designation.
       ``(2) The authority under which the committee is 
     established.
       ``(3) The committee's objectives and the scope of its 
     activity.
       ``(4) A description of the duties for which the committee 
     is responsible, and, if such duties are not solely advisory, 
     a specification of the authority for such functions.
       ``(5) The agency or official to whom the committee reports.
       ``(6) The agency responsible for providing the necessary 
     support for the committee.
       ``(7) The responsibilities of the officer or employee of 
     the Federal Government designated under section 10(e).
       ``(8) The estimated number and frequency of committee 
     meetings.
       ``(9) The period of time necessary for the committee to 
     carry out its purposes.
       ``(10) The committee's termination date, if less than two 
     years from the date of the committee's establishment.
       ``(11) The estimated number of members and a description of 
     the expertise needed to carry out the objectives of the 
     committee.
       ``(12) A description of whether the committee will be 
     composed of special Government employees, representatives, or 
     members from both categories.
       ``(13) Whether the agency intends to create subcommittees 
     and if so, the agency official authorized to exercise such 
     authority.
       ``(14) The estimated annual operating costs in dollars and 
     full-time equivalent positions for such committee.
       ``(15) The recordkeeping requirements of the committee.
       ``(16) The date the charter is filed.

     A copy of any such charter shall also be furnished to the 
     Library of Congress.''.

     SEC. 5. MANAGING FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEES.

       (a) Committee Management Officers.--Subsection (c) of 
     section 8 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 
     App.), as redesignated by section 2(d) of this Act, is 
     amended to read as follows:
       ``(c) The head of each agency that has an advisory 
     committee shall designate an Advisory Committee Management 
     Officer who shall--
       ``(1) be a senior official who is--
       ``(A) an expert in implementing the requirements of this 
     Act and regulations promulgated pursuant to this Act; and
       ``(B) the primary point of contact for the General Services 
     Administration;
       ``(2) be responsible for the establishment, management, and 
     supervision of the advisory committees of the agency, 
     including establishing procedures, performance measures, and 
     outcomes for such committees;
       ``(3) assemble and maintain the reports, records, and other 
     papers (including advisory committee meeting materials) of 
     any such committee during its existence;
       ``(4) ensure any such committee and corresponding agency 
     staff adhere to the provisions of this Act and any 
     regulations promulgated pursuant to this Act;
       ``(5) maintain records on each employee of any such 
     committee and completion of training required for any such 
     employee;
       ``(6) be responsible for providing the information required 
     in section 7(b) of this Act to the Administrator; and
       ``(7) carry out, on behalf of that agency, the provisions 
     of section 552 of title 5, United States Code, with respect 
     to the reports, records, and other papers described in 
     paragraph (3).''.

     SEC. 6. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REVIEW AND REPORTS.

       (a) Review.--The Comptroller General of the United States 
     shall review compliance by agencies with the Federal Advisory 
     Committee Act, as amended by this Act, including whether 
     agencies are appropriately appointing advisory committee 
     members as either special Government employees or 
     representatives.
       (b) Report.--The Comptroller General shall submit to the 
     committees described in subsection (c) two reports on the 
     results of the review, as follows:
       (1) The first report shall be submitted not later than one 
     year after the date of promulgation of regulations under 
     section 7(c) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 
     App.), as amended by section 2(c).
       (2) The second report shall be submitted not later than 
     five years after such date of promulgation of regulations.
       (c) Committees.--The committees described in this 
     subsection are the Committee on Oversight and Government 
     Reform of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
     Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate.

     SEC. 7. APPLICATION OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT TO 
                   TRADE ADVISORY COMMITTEES.

       Section 135(f)(2)(A) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 
     2155(f)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ``subsections (a) and 
     (b) of sections 10 and 11 of the Federal Advisory Committee 
     Act'' and inserting ``subsections (a) and (b) of section 10 
     and subsections (a)(7), (a)(8), (a)(9), (b)(2), and (d) of 
     section 11 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act''.

     SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

       Section 3 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 
     App.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
     paragraph:
       ``(5) The term `special Government employee' has the 
     meaning given that term in section 202(a) of title 18, United 
     States Code.''.

     SEC. 9. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

       Section 7(d)(1) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 
     U.S.C. App.) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``the rate specified 
     for GS-18 of the General Schedule under section 5332'' and 
     inserting ``the rate for level IV of the Executive Schedule 
     under section 5315''; and
       (2) in subparagraph (C)(i), by striking ``handicapped 
     individuals (within the meaning of section 501 of the 
     Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794))'' and inserting 
     ``individuals with disabilities (as defined in section 7(20) 
     of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 705(20)))''.

     SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       This Act shall take effect 30 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act.

[[Page H69]]

  


     SEC. 11. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.

       No additional funds are authorized to carry out the 
     requirements of this Act and the amendments made by this Act. 
     Such requirements shall be carried out using amounts 
     otherwise authorized.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Utah (Mr. Chaffetz) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah.


                             General Leave

  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Utah?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Committee on 
Ways and Means for their work on this bill; and I include committee 
exchanges of letters into the Record.

                                      Committee on Ways and Means,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                  Washington, DC, January 4, 2017.
     Hon. Jason Chaffetz,
     Chairman, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, House 
         of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Chaffetz, I am writing with respect to H.R. 
     70, the ``Federal Advisory Committee Act Amendments of 
     2017,'' which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 
     Government Reform.
       H.R. 70 involves issues that fall within the Rule X 
     jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means. As a result 
     of your having consulted with the Committee and in order to 
     expedite the House's consideration of H.R. 70, the Committee 
     on Ways and Means will not assert its jurisdictional claim 
     over this bill. However, this is conditional on our mutual 
     understanding and agreement that doing so will in no way 
     diminish or alter the jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways 
     and Means with respect to the appointment of conferees or to 
     any future jurisdictional claim over the subject matters 
     contained in die bill or similar legislation.
       I would appreciate a response to this letter confirming 
     this understanding with respect to H.R. 70, and would ask 
     that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be 
     included in the Congressional Record during Floor 
     consideration thereof.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Kevin Brady,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

             House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and 
                                                Government Reform,
                                  Washington, DC, January 4, 2017.
     Hon. Kevin Brady,
     Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: On January 3, 2017, H.R. 70, the Federal 
     Advisory Committee Act Amendments of 2017, was introduced by 
     Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay (D-MO-1). The bill was referred primarily 
     to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, with an 
     additional referral to the Committee on Ways and Means.
       I ask that you allow the Ways and Means Committee to be 
     discharged from further consideration of the bill so that it 
     may be scheduled by the Majority Leader. This discharge in no 
     way affects your jurisdiction over the subject matter of the 
     bill, and it will not serve as precedent for future 
     referrals. In addition, should a conference on the bill be 
     necessary, I would support your request to have the Committee 
     on Ways and Means represented on the conference committee. 
     Finally, I would be pleased to include this letter and any 
     response in the bill report filed by the Committee on 
     Oversight and Government Reform, as well as in the 
     Congressional Record during floor consideration, to 
     memorialize our understanding.
       Thank you for your consideration of my request.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Jason Chaffetz,
                                                         Chairman.

  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, this is a bill that the primary sponsor is 
actually the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay). I reserve the balance 
of my time in order to allow Mr. Clay to speak first on this issue, Mr. 
Speaker.
  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Let me begin by thanking the chairman for his understanding and his 
support of this legislation. I certainly appreciate it, and I am sure 
it will make the Federal Government run more efficiently.
  I rise in strong support of the Federal Advisory Committee Act 
Amendments. I have introduced this bill in previous Congresses, and it 
passed the House last year without opposition.
  The FACA was originally enacted in 1972. It is intended to ensure 
that committees that provide advice to Federal agencies and the 
President operate with transparency.
  Advisory committees provide the government with recommendations on a 
wide range of issues. For example, the EPA relies on the expertise of 
the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee to provide technical advice 
on setting national air quality standards.
  The bill we are considering today would strengthen FACA to make 
Federal advisory committees more transparent and to make agencies more 
accountable in how they select and use these committees. Agencies 
currently can avoid the requirements of FACA by conducting advisory 
committee business through subcommittees. This bill makes it clear that 
FACA applies to subcommittees as well as parent committees.
  The bill also clarifies that a committee set up by a contractor is 
subject to FACA if it is formed under direction of the President or an 
agency.
  Under FACA, agencies would be required to disclose how advisory 
members are chosen, whether they have financial conflicts of interest 
if they are appointed to provide their own expertise, and who they work 
for if they are representing a specific interest.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I hope the Senate will 
take it up quickly and send it to the President.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Again, I thank the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) for his good 
work on this. The Federal Advisory Committee Act Amendments of 2017 was 
introduced by Representative Clay to help improve the governance and 
transparency of the Federal advisory committees. Last Congress, this 
bill passed through the committee by regular order and passed the 
House.
  Congress acknowledged the merits of using advisory committees to 
acquire viewpoints from business, academic, and other interests when it 
passed the original act back in 1972. While not necessarily well-known, 
Federal advisory committees are small bodies of people who provide 
advice, guidance, and recommendation to Federal policymakers on a wide 
range of topics.
  All told, in fiscal year 2015, there were roughly 1,000 Federal 
advisory committees, and they held roughly 7,400 meetings at a cost to 
the American taxpayers of more than $369 million. Now, this strikes me 
personally as an exceptionally high number. It is a large amount of 
money. We need to learn more about them, and I personally would help 
champion to reduce the number of overall Federal advisory committees.
  We have some 2 million Federal employees, I think, who are highly 
capable, motivated, and compensated to provide this work. It is good to 
get outside perspective; but, at some point, we are going to have to 
look at the cost, the size, and the scope of this as well. 
Nevertheless, we have to make sure that we are getting the most of 
these taxpayer dollars.
  Some agencies believe the FACA requirements are cumbersome and 
resource intensive. We could certainly streamline this. This reduces 
the ability of committees to focus on substantive issues in a timely 
fashion.
  Both governmental agencies and private groups say the 1972 act does 
not do enough to require agencies to promote openness and transparency 
with regard to Federal advisory committees. The bill works to address 
these problems and bring transparency to the Federal advisory 
committees and the Federal agency decisionmaking process.
  The bill provides needed transparency for how committee members are 
selected in several ways. First, the bill requires members to be 
selected without political affiliation. The bill also authorizes agency 
heads to require members to fully disclose any conflicts of interest. 
You would think that that would be common sense but something that we 
actually need to put into this bill and make sure that we understand 
that.
  In addition, the bill allows these individuals who regularly attend 
and participate in committee meetings to be considered as a member, 
even if they are not allowed to vote.
  The bill also improves transparency of committee activities. This is 
done by increasing the independence of these committees and making sure 
its advice, information, and recommendations are a judgment of 
the committee and not the agency.

[[Page H70]]

  The bill also increases transparency by requiring each agency to make 
available on their Web site the committee and its activities.
  I urge our Members to support this. It has wide support and has had 
it in the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. I urge its 
passage. I again thank Mr. Clay, Mr. Connolly, and others who were 
working on this issue.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Connolly), a colleague, friend, and cohort on the 
Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. 
Clay) for his leadership on this very important piece of legislation. I 
also thank the distinguished chairman of our full committee for his 
leadership in moving this through.
  The Federal Advisory Committee Act Amendments of 2017, I think, fall 
under the umbrella of good government, which the Oversight and 
Government Reform Committee, at its best, strives to promote on a 
bipartisan basis. I am proud, as Mr. Clay indicated, to be an original 
cosponsor of the bill.
  We welcome consideration of the Federal Advisory Committee Act 
Amendments, which would improve the transparency and accountability of 
Federal advisory committees, often arcane, Byzantine parts of the 
government most of the public can't access.
  This crucial piece of legislation ensures that the selection process 
of advisory committee members takes place without regard to political 
affiliation and requires the disclosure of potential conflicts of 
interest.
  The Federal Advisory Committee Act, FACA, enacted on October 6, 1972, 
formalized the process for establishing, operating, overseeing, and 
terminating Federal advisory committees. Federal advisory committees 
provide a mechanism for government officials to gain knowledge from 
Federal and non-Federal experts on key policy matters. FACA ensures 
Federal advisory committees, however, are both transparent and 
accessible.
  FACA was enacted in response to concerns that Federal advisory 
committees were becoming increasingly common but had little oversight 
or accountability. The then-House Committee on Government Operations 
listened to concerns over the lack of transparency and formalized a 
governance process for these advisory bodies by establishing the 
Committee Management Secretariat within the General Services 
Administration to monitor compliance with the new law. The intent of 
that law was to make Federal advisory committees more accountable, more 
transparent, balanced, and independent from the influence of special 
interests.
  This bill before us today, inspired by Mr. Lacy's leadership, will 
help strengthen the independence of those advisory committees by 
requiring members to be selected without regard to partisan 
affiliation. It is imperative that the recommendations and guidance of 
the committees be provided free of political influence, pressure, and 
intervention.
  The bill closes the loophole that allows subcommittees to operate 
outside of the regulations of FACA. It also improves the transparency 
of advisory committees by requiring agency heads to obtain conflict of 
interest disclosures from all committee members serving as individual 
experts.
  H.R. 2347 builds upon the accountability of the advisory committees 
by explicitly stating that committees established by contractors must 
comply with the law and that individuals who regularly attend and 
participate as if they are members are considered members regardless of 
their ability to vote.
  This bill also calls on the Government Accountability Office to 
review and report regularly on agency compliance.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Byrne). The time of the gentleman has 
expired.
  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Virginia an 
additional 30 seconds.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, last Congress, the Committee on Oversight 
and Government Reform reported this bill favorably by unanimous 
consent.
  I urge my colleagues to continue Congress' longstanding support of 
oversight, accountability, and transparency and vote for this 
thoughtful and important piece of legislation.
  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers. I continue 
to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers. I would urge 
the House to adopt this legislation.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, it is a good piece of legislation. I again 
thank Mr. Clay and Mr. Connolly for their work on this, and I urge its 
passage.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Chaffetz) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 70.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.

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