Bill Clinton: “Committees September 17, 1997 To the Congress of the United States: As provided by the Federal Advisory Committee Act…”

“Committees September 17, 1997 To the Congress of the United States: As provided by the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended (Public Law 92-463; 5 U.S.C., App. 2, 6(c)), I am submitting the Twenty- Fifth Annual Report on Federal Advisory Committees, covering fiscal year 1996. The executive branch continues to implement my policy of maintaining the number of advisory committees within the ceiling of 534 required by Executive Order 12838 of February 10, 1993. As a result, the number of discretionary advisory committees (established under general congressional authorizations) was held to 501, or 37 percent fewer than those 801 committees in existence at the beginning of my Administration. Savings achieved through elimination of discretionary committees during fiscal year 1996 totalled $2.5 million. Through the advisory committee planning process required by Executive Order 12838, departments and agencies have worked to minimize the total number of advisory committees specifically mandated by statute. The 407 such groups supported at the end of fiscal year 1996 represents a modest 7 percent decrease over the 439 in existence at the beginning of my Administration. However, more can be done to assure that the total costs to fund these groups in fiscal year 1997, or $38.5 million, are dedicated to support high-priority public involvement efforts.…”