The Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) applies to the "numerous committees, boards, commissions, councils, and similar groups which have been established to advise officers and agencies in the executive branch of the Federal Government and that...are frequently a useful and beneficial means of furnishing expert advice, ideas, and diverse opinions to the Federal Government." FACA requires that Congress and the public be kept informed about the existence and activities of these committees, which is accomplished primarily through the FACA Database.
From the database home page, click "agencies/committees" to see committees by agency.
From that page, clicking the arrow next to an agency will show a full list of the agency's current and terminated committees; the "committee reports" link provides charter dates and brief information about the committee. Clicking the name of an agency will show contact info for FACA personnel. The "agency reports" links lead to information about charter dates, committee group names, subcommittees, performance measures (e.g. significant program outcomes, associated cost savings, number of recommendations made, percentage of recommendations implemented by agency), number of committees (including breakdown by authority, type, etc.), and more.
The FACA database does not include text of committee reports, meeting minutes, etc. For those and similar materials, you should check the committee's website. It is *generally* possible to find the committee's website address using the database "search" feature, but I have found a general Google search to be quicker and more accurate.
The list below is a highly selective list of current advisory committees, with an emphasis on those related to science and environmental issues.
Links are provided below for reports and meetings pages for each committee, if those materials appear on a page other than the home page. Meeting materials are very useful, as they often provide agendas, minutes, and presentations.
