Rescinding the Executive Order on Evaluating and Improving the Utility of Federal Advisory Committees

The document argues that the Executive Order on Evaluating and Improving the Utility of Federal Advisory Committees arbitrarily reduces essential expert advice and public transparency without providing a sufficient rationale or evidence of cost savings.

• The Executive Order requires the elimination of one-third of existing federal advisory committees and imposes a cap of 350 total committees, which the authors claim would arbitrarily remove essential advice used in government decision-making.
• The authors contest the order's cost-reduction justification, noting that advisory committees are cost-effective because members volunteer their time and only receive small expense reimbursements. They cite a GAO report showing that a similar 1993 executive order to cut committees actually saw costs increase by four percent over four years.
• The reduction of committees is described as a threat to science-based policy and public health, specifically citing that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services might have to choose between addressing infant mortality or sickle cell disease, and the Environmental Protection Agency might have to choose between protecting children's health or environmental justice issues.
• Federal advisory committees are characterized as vital for independent review and public accountability, as they provide a venue for transparent deliberations and public comment on issues such as lead in drinking water and the U.S. census.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2019). Rescinding the Executive Order on Evaluating and Improving the Utility of Federal Advisory Committees. https://ucs-documents.s3.amazonaws.com/science-and-democracy/fac-eo-letter.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Rescinding the Executive Order on Evaluating and Improving the Utility of Federal Advisory Committees. 2019. https://ucs-documents.s3.amazonaws.com/science-and-democracy/fac-eo-letter.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Rescinding the Executive Order on Evaluating and Improving the Utility of Federal Advisory Committees |date=4 October 2019 |url=https://ucs-documents.s3.amazonaws.com/science-and-democracy/fac-eo-letter.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{unionofconcernedscientists2019rescinding, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Rescinding the Executive Order on Evaluating and Improving the Utility of Federal Advisory Committees}}, publisher = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2019}, month = oct, url = {https://ucs-documents.s3.amazonaws.com/science-and-democracy/fac-eo-letter.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }