Savannah River Site Health Effects Subcommittee (SRSHES) Meeting

Meeting Minutes
September 5, 2002

Back to Table of Contents

Ms. Helen Kuykendall, of the Committee Management Office (CMO) for CDC and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), explained that FACA was enacted on October 6, 1972 under Public Law 92-463 as a system to create and operate advisory committees in the Executive Branch of the federal government. Congress created FACA to enhance accountability of advisory committees to the public; protect against undue influence of special interest groups; and reduce wasteful expenditures of public funds. Advisory committees are defined by FACA as "any committee, board, commission, council, conference, panel or task force established or utilized by the federal government for the purpose of obtaining consensus advice or recommendations on issues or policies."

Committees subject to FACA are established or controlled by the federal government; have other than full- or part-time federal employees; provide consensus advice; and have a specific purpose, organized structure and fixed membership. In addition to FACA, advisory committees are governed by the General Services Administration (GSA) Final Rule and departmental and agency policies. The General Administration Manual further defines responsibility for each departmental agency; HHS is outlined in Chapter 9 of the document. FACA requires advisory committees to have a charter, public access and balanced membership in terms of points of view represented and functions to be performed.

Advisory committee meetings must be announced in the Federal Register at least 15 days prior to the proceedings. The public must be allowed to speak or file written statements during these sessions. Detailed minutes must be created and maintained for each advisory committee meeting. The documents must contain the meeting date and location; an attendee list; complete and accurate descriptions of discussions and conclusions; and advice or recommendations provided by the committee. Verbatim transcripts are also created and maintained for some advisory committees, but this document is not required by FACA and cannot substitute detailed minutes. Working papers, transcripts, drafts and all other materials shared among an advisory committee must be made available for public inspection as long as the group exists.

Citizens Advisory Committees (CACs) were created to provide recommendations and advice to the CDC Director/ATSDR Administrator on Public Health Service activities and research at DOE sites. CACs provide a forum for community, American Indian Tribal and labor interaction and serve as a vehicle for these groups to express concerns and provide advice and recommendations to CDC and ATSDR. The charter calls for the establishment of up to six CACs at DOE sites; SRSHES is one of the four CACs currently in existence. FACA requires advisory committee charters to be renewed every two years or the group will be terminated.

CMO met with ATSDR, NCEH and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to renew the SRSHES charter in 2002. The agencies consulted with HHS, GSA and the Office of General Counsel (OGC) to explain the need to continue SRSHES and describe the plan to ensure fairly balanced membership. After approval by CMO, the charter renewal must be filed with the GSA Secretariat, standing committees of Congress with legislative jurisdiction and the Library of Congress. The renewal notice must be published in the Federal Register when filed. Based on the GSA Final Rule, advisory committees are structured with three components.

First, the DFO or Executive Secretary supervises day-to-day operations of the advisory committee; approves meeting agendas; attends all committee meetings; and ensures all meeting notices are published in the Federal Register. Second, the chair presides over committee meetings; determines the operation of meetings in conjunction with the DFO; ensures public participation; and certifies the accuracy of meeting minutes. The chair is selected by the agency and also serves as a committee member. Third, committee members represent fairly balanced points of view; are appointed as special government employees and must comply with conflict of interest statutes. Members serve overlapping four-year terms up to four years.

HHS policy further states that committee members must be equitably distributed in terms of geographical, ethnic and gender representation so long as the effectiveness of the group will not be impaired. Committee members must be selected with no discrimination toward age, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, culture, religion or socioeconomic status. Appointments must be made to ensure an orderly rotation of terms. FACA defines a "special government employee" as a private citizen appointed by the agency head, Secretary, HHS or President. Appointments are based on an individual’s expertise that will contribute to the objectives of the advisory committee. Members serve with or without compensation for 130 days or less per year; the SRSHES charter provides for compensation on a daily basis.

Members are appointed to express personal opinions only, but are held legally accountable for ethical issues and financial interests. Advisory committee recommendations are provided from workgroups to the subcommittee or parent committee; the parent committee communicates recommendations to the DFO; and the DFO conveys recommendations to appropriate agency officials. However, Health Effects Subcommittees (HESs) are unique, operate under an umbrella charter and do not report to a parent committee. Since workgroups are not subject to FACA rules, workgroup discussions or recommendations must be presented to the full subcommittee or parent committee in an open session. In terms of FACA management, working relationships are established between the advisory committee and the DFO; CMO and the DFO; and OGC and CMO. Reports are then made to the CDC Director/ATSDR Administrator, the HHS Secretary and GSA. Annual reports of advisory committees are submitted to Congress by GSA. Additional information on FACA as well as meeting minutes and annual reports for SRSHES and other advisory committees can be accessed at the GSA web site. Annual reports outline operating costs, projected expenditures, membership and frequency of meetings. Chapter 9 of the HHS General Administration Manual contains policies governing advisory committees. The document can be accessed at hhs.gov/hhsmanuals/.

Discussion.

Mr. Lockridge inquired about the initial trigger for an agency to establish an advisory committee. Ms. Kuykendall replied that justification would be based on the needs of a particular agency. For example, a discretionary committee is established at the discretion of the agency head; a non-discretionary committee is mandated by legislation or statute; and a presidential committee is created by the President or Congress. After functions for a proposed discretionary committee are adequately justified to HHS and GSA, CDC would receive approval to form the group. ATSDR, CDC and NCEH used the DOE/ HHS memorandum of understanding to justify the need to establish SRSHES. Ms. Kuykendall invited SRSHES members to contact her at htk0@cdc.gov or 404/498-0090. Mr. Green added that SRSHES was formed because of public interest about the site and NCEH’s interest in organizing community members to assist in the agency’s mission.