# Federal Advisory Committee Structure Tree When a federal agency wants advice from somebody who does not work for it — a scientist, an industry representative, a state official, a patient, a farmer — the advice usually arrives through a chartered committee. There are roughly a thousand of them. They are the formal channel by which people outside the government get a seat at the table inside it, and almost nobody can name one. This page maps that layer as a structure: the statute at the root, the three different ways a committee can come into existence, the chain of officials who run it, the rules it has to follow, the exclusions that put a group outside those rules altogether, and the exits. The governing law is the [[Federal Advisory Committee Act]], enacted in 1972 and now codified at 5 U.S.C. chapter 10. The rules that implement it live at 41 C.F.R. part 102-3, written and maintained not by a department but by a small office inside [[GSA]] called the Committee Management Secretariat. [[Executive Branch Org Chart]] shows the departments these committees hang off; this page is the advisory layer across all of them. ⭐ **The organizing finding is that the system has one way to create a committee and five ways to make one stop existing, and only the first of the five is called termination.** A committee can be terminated by notice. Its charter can be allowed to lapse at the two-year mark by nobody signing. Its members can all be removed while the committee itself continues to exist on paper. The official who alone is permitted to call a meeting can decline to call one. Or the committee can be reconstituted in a form the Act does not reach. Of those five, exactly one produces a document in the [[Federal Register]]. **The second finding is that in December 2025 the implementing rule turned several of its "musts" into "shoulds."** A final rule published at 90 FR 58408 on 16 December 2025 rewrote 41 C.F.R. part 102-3, and among the provisions converted from mandatory to advisory phrasing were the fair-balance membership considerations at § 102-3.60(b), the committee-management principles at § 102-3.95, and the meeting-announcement and website practices at § 102-3.150(c). The statute above them is untouched: 5 U.S.C. § 1004(b)(2) still says membership "shall be fairly balanced." What changed is the document that told agencies how to comply with it. **The third finding is that the definition is the whole fight.** A body is covered by the Act only if it has at least one member who is not a federal employee *and* is "established or utilized" by the President or an agency — and "utilized," by regulation, means the government "exercises actual management or control over its operation." Everything agencies do to stay outside the Act is aimed at one of those two conditions. In January 2026 that question was litigated and lost: the Energy Department had convened a Climate Working Group outside the chartering process entirely, and in *[[Environmental Defense Fund v. Wright]]* the District of Massachusetts held that it had been a federal advisory committee all along. **The fourth finding is that a statutory committee cannot be terminated, so it gets emptied instead.** An executive order can abolish a committee the agency created; it cannot abolish one Congress required. The National Science Board is created by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 and no order can repeal it — so on 24 April 2026 all twenty-two of its members were removed instead. ◈ Termination and depopulation arrive at the same place through different doors, and only one of the two doors has a notice requirement attached to it. **The fifth finding is about scale and attribution.** [[Executive Order 14217]], signed 19 February 2025, names five committees for termination in § 2(f). The number of federal advisory committees formally terminated since then has been reported as roughly 160 by *Bloomberg Law* in November 2025, against a historical baseline of about forty a year, and as more than one hundred by a *Nature* analysis published in April 2026. Whichever figure is right, the overwhelming majority did not come from the executive order. They came through the ordinary discretionary route — an agency head's determination plus a notice — which is the same route by which the committees were created. **The sixth finding is that the rule rewriting the committee rules had to be signed twice.** The December 2025 final rule was issued under authority delegated by an *acting* GSA Administrator. On 14 January 2026 the Senate-confirmed Administrator ratified it (91 FR 2314), the ratification "relating back to the original date of the action that it ratifies" — a precaution taken for the appointments problem rather than for anything about advisory committees. > [!note] How to read this chart > `──▶` = the main path · `└─▶` = a branch · `■` = a tier of the structure · `◆` = an instrument or office inside a tier · `◇` = a decision point · `⊘` = a route foreclosed by statutory text · `◎` = the hinge, the point where the Act stops and something outside it decides · `☐` = a published notice is required · `✕` = a requirement that turns out not to bind · `⚑` = a duty with no due date · `★` = used or decided in 2025–26 · `◈` = a count or reading made on this page rather than published anywhere. Section numbers are 5 U.S.C. unless marked otherwise; `§ 102-3.x` means 41 C.F.R. part 102-3. No officeholder is named inside the chart; names, with their dates, are in the Notes. Officeholders on this page were verified in October 2026. ``` THE FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE SYSTEM — ONE WAY IN, FIVE WAYS OUT (October 2026) │ Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 · 5 U.S.C. ch. 10 · 41 C.F.R. part 102-3 │ ~1,000 chartered committees across ~50 agencies · 1,021 reported for FY2023 │ ☐ a published notice is required ⊘ foreclosed by statutory text │ ◎ the Act stops here ✕ a requirement that does not bind ⚑ no due date │ ★ used or decided in 2025–26 ◈ a count or reading made on this page │ ■ TIER 0 — THE COVERAGE TEST (two conditions; fail either and none of this applies) │ │ ┌────────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ CONDITION 1 — MEMBERSHIP │ CONDITION 2 — CONTROL │ │ │ At least one member who is NOT a │ "Established or utilized" by the │ │ │ full-time or permanent part-time │ President or an agency. § 1001(2) │ │ │ federal officer or employee. │ "Utilized" = the government │ │ │ § 1001(2) │ "exercises actual management or │ │ │ │ control over its operation." │ │ │ ⊘ A group of federal employees │ § 102-3.25 │ │ │ only is excluded outright by │ ◎ A group genuinely run by │ │ │ § 1001(2)(B)(i). │ someone else is outside the Act │ │ └────────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────┘ │ ★ THE LIVE TEST: the Energy Department convened a Climate Working Group in │ April 2025 outside the chartering process. On 30 January 2026 the District │ of Massachusetts held it had been a federal advisory committee all along — │ established and used, with non-federal members — and that its violations of │ the Act were established as a matter of law. The court did not strike the │ group's report from the public record; it made it procedurally unusable as │ a basis for federal action. The Department continues to publish it. │ ◈ The holding matters structurally rather than politically: the way to fail │ the coverage test is to give up control, and an agency that wants a │ particular answer is the least likely party to do that. │ ├─◆ TIER 1 — THE THREE WAYS A COMMITTEE COMES INTO EXISTENCE │ │ │ │ ┌──────────────────┬──────────────────────┬──────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ STATUTORY │ PRESIDENTIAL │ DISCRETIONARY │ │ │ │ (non-discretion) │ (non-discretionary) │ │ │ │ ├──────────────────┼──────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ Congress │ The President, by │ The agency head, on its │ │ │ │ requires it by │ directive, usually │ own authority or under a │ │ │ │ statute, usually │ an executive order │ general congressional │ │ │ │ naming it │ │ authorization │ │ │ ├──────────────────┼──────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ ENDS: only by │ ENDS: when the │ ENDS: when the agency │ │ │ │ legislation │ directive is │ head decides it has │ │ │ │ ⊘ An executive │ rescinded │ served its purpose ☐ │ │ │ │ order cannot │ │ ◎ No vote, no comment │ │ │ │ terminate it │ │ period, no cause │ │ │ ├──────────────────┼──────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ 58% of FY2023 │ 3% of FY2023 │ ◈ the balance, ~39% │ │ │ └──────────────────┴──────────────────────┴──────────────────────────┘ │ │ ◈ The percentages are the published FY2023 shares; the discretionary │ │ share is the remainder and is where almost all 2025–26 activity landed. │ │ │ │ ◇ WHICH BOX A COMMITTEE SITS IN IS A DRAFTING QUESTION, NOT A POLICY ONE. │ │ Authorizing language that does not name a specific committee, and │ │ committee-report language in the legislative history, both leave the │ │ body DISCRETIONARY — so Congress can ask for an advisory body and still │ │ leave the agency free to end it. │ ├─◆ TIER 2 — THE CHAIN OF OFFICIALS (nobody in this chain is Senate-confirmed │ │ for this purpose, and the top of it is a staff office) │ │ │ │ GSA COMMITTEE MANAGEMENT SECRETARIAT — § 1006 │ │ ├─ government-wide oversight of the whole FACA program │ │ ├─ must be CONSULTED before a discretionary committee is established, │ │ │ re-established, renewed, merged or terminated (§ 102-3.60) │ │ ├─ writes and maintains 41 C.F.R. part 102-3 │ │ ├─ runs the public FACA database and the annual comprehensive review │ │ └─ ✕ CONSULTATION IS NOT APPROVAL. Nothing in the Act gives this office │ │ power to refuse an establishment or stop a termination. │ │ ◎ Functions moved here from the budget office in 1977 by │ │ Executive Order 12024. The referee is an administrative │ │ services agency, by executive order, not by design. │ │ │ │ │ ▼ │ │ AGENCY HEAD — § 1007(a) │ │ ├─ designates the Committee Management Officer and the Designated │ │ │ Federal Officers; may delegate both │ │ ├─ issues the agency's administrative guidelines │ │ └─ signs the written determination to close a meeting (§ 102-3.105(d)) │ │ │ │ │ ▼ │ │ COMMITTEE MANAGEMENT OFFICER (CMO) — § 1007(b) │ │ ├─ one per agency · supervises establishment, procedures and reporting │ │ └─ custodian of the records: charters, membership lists, closed-meeting │ │ determinations (§ 102-3.115) │ │ │ │ │ ▼ │ │ DESIGNATED FEDERAL OFFICER (DFO) — § 1009(e)–(f), § 102-3.120 │ │ ├─ CALLS every meeting · APPROVES every agenda · ADJOURNS the meeting │ │ ├─ must chair or attend · ⊘ NO MEETING MAY OCCUR WITHOUT THE DFO │ │ └─ ◎ THIS IS THE QUIETEST EXIT IN THE WHOLE STRUCTURE. A committee │ │ whose designated officer never calls a meeting has not been │ │ terminated, has not lost its charter and has not lost its members. │ │ It simply does not meet, and no notice of that is published │ │ anywhere. ⚑ The Act sets no minimum meeting frequency; the charter │ │ states an ESTIMATE of number and frequency (§ 1008(c)(2)(H)). │ │ │ │ │ ▼ │ │ THE COMMITTEE — advisory only. § 1002(b)(6): its role is advisory, and │ │ determinations of action remain with the federal officials. │ ├─◆ TIER 3 — THE CHARTERING GATE AND THE TWO-YEAR CLOCK │ │ │ │ A committee may not meet or take any action until a charter is FILED. │ │ Filed with, in parallel (§ 1008(c), § 102-3.75): │ │ ├─ the agency head │ │ ├─ the standing committees of jurisdiction in BOTH chambers │ │ ├─ the GSA Committee Management Secretariat │ │ └─ the Library of Congress │ │ │ │ The charter must state: the mission or charge · the specific duties · │ │ the general operating characteristics · ⚑ an ESTIMATE of the number and │ │ frequency of meetings. │ │ │ │ ADDITIONALLY, FOR A DISCRETIONARY COMMITTEE (§ 102-3.60), the agency │ │ must explain to the Secretariat: │ │ 1. why the committee is needed │ │ 2. why it is essential to agency business and in the public interest │ │ 3. why the agency itself, an existing committee, or another method │ │ such as a public hearing cannot do the job instead │ │ plus file a MEMBERSHIP BALANCE PLAN, now uploaded to the FACA database. │ │ │ │ ◇ THE TWO-YEAR CLOCK — § 1008(c)(1), § 1013(b)(2) │ │ Every charter expires two years after filing. Renewal is affirmative: │ │ somebody has to sign. ☐ Renewal and re-establishment require the same │ │ Secretariat consultation as establishment. │ │ ◎ EXIT 2. A committee can be ended by nobody signing. The charter │ │ lapses on its own terms, the committee becomes unable to conduct │ │ business, and no termination decision is ever made or announced. │ │ ★ A statutory committee whose termination requirement has been waived │ │ but which holds no approved charter is administratively inactive — │ │ it exists in law and cannot act. │ ├─◆ TIER 4 — THE RULES THAT APPLY ONCE THE CHARTER IS FILED │ │ │ │ FAIR BALANCE — § 1004(b)(2) │ │ "fairly balanced in terms of the points of view represented and the │ │ functions to be performed" │ │ ├─ for non-discretionary committees, balance is written into the │ │ │ statute or directive that created the body │ │ ├─ for discretionary committees, a membership balance plan (§ 102-3.60) │ │ └─ ★ the § 102-3.60(b) considerations were converted from mandatory to │ │ advisory phrasing by the 16 December 2025 final rule │ │ ✕ The statutory "shall" is unchanged. The regulation that told │ │ agencies how to satisfy it now says "should." │ │ │ │ OPEN MEETINGS AND NOTICE — § 1009, § 102-3.150 │ │ ├─ ☐ notice in the Federal Register at least 15 CALENDAR DAYS ahead, │ │ │ carrying the committee name, time, date, place, agenda summary, │ │ │ open-or-closed status and the DFO's contact details │ │ ├─ shorter notice only on a PRESIDENTIAL determination of national │ │ │ security or exceptional circumstances, with the reasoning │ │ │ published before the meeting │ │ ├─ ★ the § 102-3.150(c) website and announcement practices were │ │ │ likewise softened in December 2025 │ │ └─ ◇ CLOSING A MEETING runs on the Sunshine Act's ten exemptions │ │ (5 U.S.C. § 552b(c)) plus a written determination by the agency │ │ head. Any member may call for a closing vote; the vote is recorded │ │ and made public within one day. │ │ ◈ EXIT 5 IN PRACTICE. A closed meeting is still a meeting, and │ │ the committee is still chartered and still staffed — but the │ │ public channel the Act was written to create is shut. Open │ │ meetings at the Department of Health and Human Services │ │ averaged 255 a year in the decade before 2025 and numbered 91 │ │ in 2025 [Nature, April 2026]. │ │ │ │ RECORDS AND MINUTES — § 1009(c), § 1012, § 102-3.165 │ │ ├─ detailed minutes, certified by the chair, the DFO responsible for │ │ │ securing certification within 90 days │ │ ├─ committee reports deposited with the Library of Congress for public │ │ │ inspection (§ 1012) │ │ └─ ⚑ The 2024 rule requires charters and membership balance plans in │ │ the FACA database; posting minutes and reports there is OPTIONAL, │ │ GSA having declined to require posting of all committee records. │ │ │ │ PUBLIC PARTICIPATION — § 102-3.140 │ │ ├─ any member of the public may file a written statement │ │ └─ ✕ speaking to the committee is allowed only "if agency guidelines │ │ permit" — the right to be heard aloud is set by the agency being │ │ advised. │ ├─◆ TIER 5 — THE EXCLUSIONS (where a group sits outside all of Tier 4) │ │ │ │ ├─ WHOLLY FEDERAL — composed only of full-time or permanent part-time │ │ │ federal officers or employees. § 1001(2)(B)(i). ⊘ Excluded by the │ │ │ statute itself, not by regulation. │ │ │ │ │ ├─ NOT ACTUALLY MANAGED OR CONTROLLED by the executive branch. │ │ │ § 102-3.40(d). ◎ The condition tested and failed in the January │ │ │ 2026 Energy Department case. ★ │ │ │ │ │ ├─ INDIVIDUAL ADVICE, NOT COLLECTIVE — a group assembled so that each │ │ │ person gives their own view, or purely to exchange facts and │ │ │ information. § 102-3.40(e)–(f). ◈ The most elastic exclusion on the │ │ │ list, because it turns on how the meeting is characterised rather │ │ │ than on who is in the room. │ │ │ │ │ ├─ INTERGOVERNMENTAL — federal officials with elected state, local and │ │ │ tribal officers acting in their official capacities, where the │ │ │ purpose is solely intergovernmental. § 102-3.40(g). │ │ │ │ │ ├─ SUBCOMMITTEES — § 102-3.35 │ │ │ ◇ The test is who receives the advice: │ │ │ ├─ reports ONLY to its parent committee ──▶ not separately │ │ │ │ chartered, outside FACA's own requirements │ │ │ └─ advises a federal officer or the agency DIRECTLY ──▶ must file │ │ │ its own charter (§ 102-3.70, § 102-3.75) and is counted as a │ │ │ chartered committee │ │ │ ◎ The subcommittee's creation must be approved by the establishing │ │ │ agency, and the agency MAY choose to apply FACA's provisions to it │ │ │ — which makes the protections discretionary at this level. │ │ │ │ │ ├─ PREPARATORY AND ADMINISTRATIVE WORK — a gathering solely to collect │ │ │ information or handle administrative matters is not a "meeting." │ │ │ § 102-3.160. │ │ │ │ │ └─ STATUTORY CARVE-OUTS — Congress exempts particular committees by name │ │ in substantive legislation (for example 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7c(a)(6)(I) │ │ and 16 U.S.C. § 7702(d)(C)(iv)). │ └─◆ TIER 6 — THE FIVE EXITS, ORDERED BY HOW MUCH ANYONE IS TOLD │ │ EXIT 1 — TERMINATION BY NOTICE ☐ ★ │ The agency head determines the purpose has been fulfilled and publishes │ a notice. Available for discretionary committees only. │ ◈ The only exit on this list that generates a public document. │ ★ WORKED EXAMPLE: one notice at 90 FR 24383 (10 June 2025) terminated │ fourteen Commerce committees together, among them all three of the │ Census Bureau's advisory committees. │ │ EXIT 2 — THE CHARTER LAPSES │ Two years pass and nobody renews. No decision, no notice, no record of │ a choice having been made. The committee cannot conduct business. │ │ EXIT 3 — DEPOPULATION ★ │ Members are removed, or terms are allowed to expire unfilled. The │ committee continues to exist with nobody on it. │ ⊘ This is the only route that reaches a STATUTORY committee, because │ no executive action can repeal the statute that requires it. │ ★ WORKED EXAMPLE: all twenty-two members of the National Science Board, │ the governing and oversight body created by the National Science │ Foundation Act of 1950, were removed on 24 April 2026. The Board │ remains in law. │ │ EXIT 4 — NO MEETING IS CALLED │ The Designated Federal Officer holds the exclusive power to call a │ meeting (§ 1009(f)) and is under no duty to exercise it. ⚑ │ ◈ Indistinguishable from the outside from an active committee between │ meetings. Nothing is filed and nothing expires. │ │ EXIT 5 — RECONSTITUTION OUTSIDE THE ACT ★ │ The function is moved to a body that fails Tier 0: an all-federal │ working group, a contractor-convened panel, a consultation framed as │ individual rather than collective advice, or a subcommittee reporting │ inward. The advice keeps arriving; the public channel closes. │ ★ WORKED EXAMPLE AND ITS LIMIT: the Energy Department's 2025 Climate │ Working Group took this route and a court held in January 2026 that │ the route had not worked, because the Department had kept control. │ └─◆ PART G — WHAT EACH REQUIREMENT BINDS, AND WHAT ENDS IT ┌────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────┐ │ REQUIREMENT │ WHO IS BOUND │ WHAT ENDS IT │ ├────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────┤ │ File a charter │ The agency, before any │ Nothing - it is the gate │ │ │ meeting or action │ into the whole system │ │ Renew every 2 years │ Whoever signs │ Not signing │ │ Consult the GSA office │ The agency, on setup │ Consultation, not consent │ │ Fairly balanced │ Membership, by statute │ Statute stands; the rule │ │ │ │ now says "should" │ │ 15-day public notice │ Each meeting │ A closed-meeting finding │ │ Open the meeting │ Each meeting │ Ten Sunshine Act exemptions │ │ Detailed minutes │ The chair and the DFO │ 90-day certification only │ │ Deposit the report │ Library of Congress copy │ Applies to reports made │ │ Public may speak │ Only if agency permits │ Agency guidelines │ │ Advisory role only │ The committee │ Binding - advice is advice │ │ Hold any meeting │ Nobody │ No duty exists │ └────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────┘ THE READING, SET OUT PLAINLY ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ Eleven requirements. Two of them bind without an exit: the charter must be filed before the committee acts, and the committee's advice remains advice. Both constrain the COMMITTEE. Of the nine aimed at the AGENCY, four are satisfied by publishing or filing a document, three can be switched off by a finding the agency itself makes, one was moved from "must" to "should" in December 2025, and one - the duty to meet at all - was never written. ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ The Act was built to make outside advice public. It does that well while a committee is meeting, and it says almost nothing about whether a committee meets. ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ ``` ## Notes **Officeholders and dates (verified October 2026).** The Administrator of [[GSA]], the agency that houses the Committee Management Secretariat, is [[Edward Forst]], confirmed by the Senate on 18 December 2025 and sworn in on 24 December 2025. He succeeded [[Michael Rigas]], who had served as acting administrator from July 2025. The Director of the Committee Management Secretariat was Lorelei Kowalski as of the Secretariat's last published notice naming the post, in April 2025; no 2026 source confirms the current holder, so the office rather than the person is what this page relies on. The Secretary of Energy, whose department convened the Climate Working Group, is [[Chris Wright]]. **The December 2025 rule, precisely.** The final rule is "Federal Management Regulation; Aligning the Federal Management Regulation (FMR) With the Administration's Deregulatory Priorities," 90 FR 58408, published 16 December 2025 (FMR Case 2025-05, RIN 3090-AK92). It revised 41 C.F.R. part 102-3 in full, reorganised it into subparts A–F, added a severability provision at § 102-3.190, and rephrased a number of obligations in advisory rather than mandatory terms. GSA had announced the revision in April 2025, citing three deregulatory executive orders — E.O. 14148, E.O. 14192 and E.O. 14219 — and describing the goal as aligning the regulation with current administration priorities while reducing administrative burdens on agencies. The rule was signed by the Associate Administrator for Government-wide Policy under authority delegated by the then-acting Administrator; the confirmed Administrator ratified it on 14 January 2026 at 91 FR 2314. **The 2024 rule it replaced.** An earlier revision of the same part took effect on 20 May 2024 (FMR Case 2022-01, RIN 3090-AK59) and moved in the opposite direction: it required membership balance plans to be uploaded to the FACA database, expanded meeting notice beyond the *Federal Register* to agency websites, added virtual-meeting capability to the definition of adequate committee support, and defined the chairperson's role. That rule is the baseline the December 2025 rule rewrote, which is why the two are easy to confuse in the regulatory history. **The counts, with whoever published them.** The Committee Management Secretariat describes itself as overseeing approximately one thousand committees. For FY2023, 1,021 committees were reported, of which 58% were statutory and 3% presidential; the Department of Health and Human Services reported 264 of them and the Department of Housing and Urban Development three. For FY2020 a congressional review covered 896 committees with a median membership of sixteen. On terminations since January 2025, *Bloomberg Law* reported roughly 160 formally terminated as of November 2025 against a historical norm of about forty a year, and said about a third of those ended over the objection of the agency that held them. A *Nature* analysis published in April 2026 put the figure above one hundred and added agency detail: 77 committees disbanded at Health and Human Services in 2025 against two in FY2024; 14 of the National Science Foundation's 52 terminated; six Energy Department panels consolidated into a single advisory committee in August 2025; and six of NASA's eleven lost, with ten committee meetings held in 2025 against a ten-year average of thirty-five a year. **No FY2025 or FY2026 government-wide total has been published that this page can rely on**, so none is asserted. **Where the numbers disagree, and why.** The termination counts differ because the exits differ. A notice-based termination appears in the *Federal Register* and in the FACA database and is countable. A charter allowed to lapse, a committee left without members, and a committee whose meetings are simply never called are all invisible to that method — the first leaves a stale record, and the other two leave an active one. ◈ Any published count of terminations is therefore a count of Exit 1, and the structure has five. **On the National Science Board.** The Board is the National Science Foundation's governing and oversight body, created by statute rather than chartered at an agency's discretion, which is the reason the depopulation route was the one available. The removal of all twenty-two members on 24 April 2026 was reported without a stated reason. **What this page does not resolve.** How many of the roughly one thousand chartered committees currently hold an unexpired charter, which the FACA database could answer but no published analysis has. How many committees have gone a full year without meeting, which is the measure Exit 4 would require and which nobody publishes. Whether the fair-balance requirement at § 1004(b)(2) has ever been enforced by a court against an agency's membership choices. What practical effect the December 2025 "must"-to-"should" conversions have had, which is too recent to measure. And whether the *Environmental Defense Fund v. Wright* holding — that a report may stand as a public document while being procedurally unusable as a basis for federal action — has been applied anywhere else. ## See also - [[Federal Advisory Committee Act]] — the 1972 statute, its charter, balance and open-meeting requirements, and the discretionary/statutory split - [[Environmental Defense Fund v. Wright]] — the January 2026 ruling that a working group run outside the chartering process was a federal advisory committee all along - [[National Science Board]] — the statutory body whose entire membership was removed in April 2026 - [[GSA]] — the agency housing the Committee Management Secretariat, the system's government-wide referee - [[Executive Order 14217]] — the February 2025 order that named five committees for termination by hand - [[Government in the Sunshine Act]] — the ten exemptions a FACA meeting is closed under - [[Freedom of Information Act]] — the other route to a committee's records, and the one a stranger can use - [[Census Bureau Org Chart]] — the worked example: three advisory committees ended by one notice - [[Executive Branch Org Chart]] — the departments these committees hang off - [[Inspector General Oversight Tree]] — the other outside-the-chain-of-command layer, and the one with a statute behind each seat - [[How an Inspector General Is Appointed and Removed]] — the same question of notice-versus-cause, for a single office - [[Agency Head Removal Protections Crosswalk]] — what an appointment statute can give a seat, set side by side - [[Paperwork Reduction Act]] — the other clearance gate an agency must pass to collect outside input - [[Administrative Procedure Act]] — the rulemaking channel that public comment runs through instead - [[Chris Wright]] · [[Edward Forst]] · [[Michael Rigas]] · [[ACIP]] · [[DOGE]] - [[Federal Agencies Hub]] · [[Foundations Hub]]