Home page for the National Bioethics Advisory Commission.

Amtrak Reform Council (ARC) is an independent federal commission established under the Amtrak Reform and Accountability Act of 1997 (ARAA), which gave the Council a statutory mandate: (i) to recommend to Amtrak actions that the Corporation can take to improve its operational and financial performance; (ii) to monitor Amtrak's financial performance in the light of both Amtrak's own goals for financial performance, as established in its strategic business plan, and the statutory requirement that Amtrak be free of the need for operating grants after the fifth anniversary of the enactment of the ARAA; and (iii) should the Council find that Amtrak has not achieved or will not achieve either of its financial targets, then it is to forward to the Congress recommendations for a restructured and rationalized national intercity rail passenger system.

The National Drought Policy Commission was established under the National Drought Policy Act of 1998, P.L.105-199. The Act charged the Commission with conducting a thorough study of drought and its impacts and submitting a report on its findings discussing the feasibility for creating a national drought policy. The NDPC report and accompanying materials is posted on this website and can be downloaded by the public.

The Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) closed on September 29, 1995. During its 23-year history, OTA provided Congressional members and committees with analyses of the scientific and technological issues that were increasingly relevant to public policy and legislative action. The agency's legacy is found in the many items of legislation it influenced and in the channels of communication its staff helped foster between legislative policymakers and members of the scientific, technical, and business communities. The Office's legacy is also found in its hundreds of publications, gathered for the first time in electronic form on the set of 5 CD-ROMs: The OTA Legacy, 1972-1995. This Web site presents the complete contents of the five CD-ROMs with additional enhancements and features that facilitate access and retrieval.

Congress established the Census Monitoring Board to observe and monitor all aspects of the preparation and implementation of the 2000 decennial census. After the completion of the 200 census, many thoughtful parties continue a sincere debate over the implementation of statistical adjustment as a means of increasing the accuracy of the census and for its use in redistricting and the allocation of government funds and services. On March 1, 2001, the Census Bureau's Executive Steering Committee overseeing the post-census evaluation phase, the Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation (A.C.E.), recommended against adjusting the count. Reasonable people, including leading statisticians, have reviewed the statistical adjustment methodology and have raised legitimate questions. This report attempts to put that methodology into perspective and add to what will be further debate and discussion on how all of us as shareholders can continue to work together to ensure the most accurate census possible.

On May 2, President Bush announced establishment of a bipartisan, 16-member Commission "to study and report specific recommendations to preserve Social Security for seniors while building wealth for younger Americans." The Commission will provide bipartisan recommendations to the President for modernizing and restoring fiscal soundness to the Social Security System according to the following principles: modernization must not change Social Security benefits for retirees or near retirees; the entire Social Security surplus must be dedicated to Social Security only; Social Security payroll taxes must not be increased; the Government must not invest Social Security funds in the stock market; modernization must preserve Social Security's disability and survivors components; and modernization must include individually controlled, voluntary personal retirement accounts, which will augment the Social Security safety net.

Executive Order 13168, dated September 27, 2000 established the President's Commission on Improving Economic Opportunity in Communities Dependent on Tobacco Production While Protecting Public Health (Commission). The purpose of the Commission is to provide advice to the President on changes occurring in the tobacco farming economy and recommend such measures as may be necessary to improve economic opportunity and development in communities that are dependent on tobacco production, and protect consumers, particularly children, from hazards associated with smoking.

To present a thorough historical record of the collection and disposition of the assets of Holocaust victims that came into the possession or control of the Government of the United States. The Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States (PCHA), established by the U.S. Holocaust Assets Commission Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-186), is charged with conducting original research into the fate of assets taken from victims of the Holocaust that came into the possession of the U.S. Federal government; reviewing research done by others regarding assets that came to private collections and non-Federal government organizations (especially state governments and financial institutions); and advising the President on policies that should be adopted to make restitution to the rightful owners of stolen property or their heirs. The primary goal is to develop an historical account of those valuables that came into the hands of the Federal government. Original research is conducted in the areas of art and cultural property, gold, and non-gold financial property by teams of researchers headed by experts Jonathan Petropoulos, Marc Masurovsky and Helen Junz.

The USCNS/21 is charged with thinking comprehensively and creatively about how the United States should provide for its national security in the 21st century.

This website contains the final report of the Web-Based Education Commission covering their study on how the Internet affects teaching, learning, and educational research including positive aspects and potentials as well as barriers and concerns.

Access America E-Gov E-Zine tells the stories of how federal employees are using information technology to deliver services to the American people and to improve their own productivity. Their work captures the vision of Vice President Al Gore in his book, Access America: Reengineering Through Information Technology.

Welcome to the official website of the Commission on Affordable Housing and Health Facility Needs for Seniors in the 21st Century. This Commission was created by Congress to report on the housing and health needs for the next generation of seniors and offer policy and legislative recommendations for enhancing services and increasing the available housing for this rapidly growing segment of our society.

The Special Oversight Board shall provide advice and recommendations based on its review of Department of Defense investigations into possible detections of, and exposures to, chemical or biological weapons agents and environmental and other factors that may have contributed to Gulf War illnesses.

President Clinton established the Commission on the Celebration of Women in American History to consider how best to acknowledge and celebrate the roles and accomplishments of women in American history. It will hold meetings to consider ideas for such celebration, including a focal point for women's history in Washington, D.C., and the use of technology to connect existing and planned historical sites, museums and libraries. The first meeting of the Commission was held on July 16, 1998, at the Canandaigua County Courthouse, the site where Susan B. Anthony was tried and convicted for voting. The Commission's recommendations were reported to the President on November 15, 2000.

The COPA Commission, a congressionally appointed panel, was mandated by the Child Online Protection Act, which was approved by Congress in October 1998. The primary purpose of the Commission is to "identify technological or other methods that will help reduce access by minors to material that is harmful to minors on the Internet."

An independent foreign affairs agency supporting U.S. foreign policy and national interests abroad, USIA conducts international educational and cultural exchanges, broadcasting, and information programs.

Congress authorized The National Gambling Impact Study Commission ("the Commission") on June 3, 1996 by Public Law 104-169. The Commission is subject to the standards and requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended, with respect to meetings, hearings, and availability of Commission records, and other matters. The implementing statute for the Commission establishes it as an independent commission which is not under the auspices of any executive agency, nor specifically controlled by the legislative or judicial branches of government. The Commission must conduct a comprehensive legal and factual study of the social and economic impacts of gambling on (1) federal, state, local, and Native American tribal governments; and (2) communities and social institutions including the individuals, families, and businesses which compose them.

In keeping with President Clinton's priorities to create a government that works better and costs less, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) launched a comprehensive evaluation of the agency's organizational structure in May of 1997. We did this because our future depends on delivering quality services quickly, working with our transportation partners in the common goal of building the finest transportation system in the world. Yet, as many companies and agencies across the nation have discovered, what were good business practices yesterday may no longer be effective today. Some changes were necessary. In our review, we looked at ways to streamline FHWA's field organization and enhance the program delivery role of our division offices, which work directly with our partners and customers in each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

U.S. Census Monitoring Board is a bipartisan board charged with monitoring the Bureau of the Census' preparations for the 2000 Census and reporting its findings to Congress and the President.

By Executive Order No. 13038, President Clinton established the Advisory Committee on Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television Broadcasters (PIAC). The Committee studied and recommended the public interest responsibilities that should accompany the broadcasters' receipt of digital television licenses. NTIA serves as the Secretariat for the Advisory Committee.

The National Education Goals Panel (NEGP) is a unique bipartisan and intergovernmental body of federal and state officials created in July 1990 to assess and report state and national progress toward achieving the National Education Goals. Under the legislation, the Panel is charged with a variety of responsibilities to support systemwide reform, including: reporting on national and state progress toward the Goals over a 10-year period; working to establish a system of high academic standards and assessments; identifying actions for federal, state, and local governments to take; and building a nationwide, bipartisan consensus to achieve the Goals.

The National Partnership for Reinventing Government (NPR), originally the National Performance Review, was the Clinton-Gore Administration's interagency task force to reform and streamline the way the federal government works. It was the eleventh federal reform effort in the twentieth century. In creating NPR on March 3, 1993, President Clinton said: “Our goal is to make the entire federal government less expensive and more efficient, and to change the culture of our national bureaucracy away from complacency and entitlement toward initiative and empowerment.” Based on the President’s challenge, Vice President Gore set out to create a government that “works better, costs less, and gets results Americans care about.”

Congress established the Census Monitoring Board to observe and monitor all aspects of the preparation and implementation of the 2000 decennial census. The method employed by the Census to count over 275 million Americans in 2000.

The Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry was created by President Clinton to "advise the President on changes occurring in the health care system and recommend such measures as may be necessary to promote and assure health care quality and value, and protect consumers and workers in the health care system."