United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2006-05-01 monographic deposited born digital 72 p. GA 1.13:GAO-06-343 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-343 P0b002ee180395244 000589822 f:d06343 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-343 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-343 GAO-06-343 Advisory committees Agency missions Civil rights Federal advisory bodies Independent agencies Internal controls Policy evaluation Quality assurance Reporting requirements Policies and procedures Other Written Product A53082

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (the Commission) was established by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 to serve as an independent, bipartisan, fact-finding agency whose mission is to investigate and report on the status of civil rights in the United States. Since its inception, the Commission has conducted hearings and issued reports highlighting critical, controversial civil rights issues, including racial segregation, impediments to voting rights, and affirmative action. To carry out its fact-finding and reporting mission, the Commission is required to submit at least one report annually to the President and Congress on federal civil rights enforcement efforts, among other requirements. Because the Commission has no enforcement power, the key means for achieving its mission lies in its credibility as an independent and impartial fact-finding and reporting organization. To complement this national fact-finding and reporting effort, separate state advisory committees were also authorized in 1957 to advise the Commission and serve as its "eyes and ears" on state and local civil rights issues. State advisory committees are composed of volunteers appointed by the Commission in every state who conduct public hearings on state and local civil rights issues and issue reports to the Commission on their findings. The Commission's national office reports are researched and written by national office staff and approved by the Commissioners, and the state advisory committee reports are researched and drafted by the Commission's regional office staff under the direction of the state advisory committees. We were asked to assess the Commission's quality assurance policies for its national and state advisory committee reports and other products and the role of the state advisory committees in fulfilling the Commission's fact-finding and reporting mission. More specifically, our objectives were to assess (1) the adequacy of the Commission's policies for ensuring the quality of its products and (2) the role of the state advisory committees in contributing to the Commission's work. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-343/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-343.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-343/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-343.pdf GAO-06-343 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-06-343 Other Written Product GAO-06-343; U.S. Commission on Civil Rights: The Commission Should Strengthen Its Quality Assurance Policies and Make Better Use of Its State Advisory Committees; Advisory committees Agency missions Civil rights Federal advisory bodies Independent agencies Internal controls Policy evaluation Quality assurance Reporting requirements Policies and procedures Title 5 Section 10(e) Title 5 Section 552b Title 5 Appendix 1-16 Title 5 Appendix 5 Title 5 Appendix 5 5 U.S.C. 10(e) 5 U.S.C. 552b 5 U.S.C. App. 1-16 5 U.S.C. App. 5 5 U.S.C. App. 5