This Website documented the White House Symposium on Advancing Global Literacy that held in New York City, New York, on September 22, 2008. The site also included the contents of the six UNESCO Regional Conferences in Support of Global Literacy: -Literacy Challenges in the Arab Region (Doha, Qatar – March 12 – 14, 2007) -Literacy Challenges in East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific (Beijing, China – July 31 - August 1, 2007) -Renewing Literacy to Face African and International Challenges (Bamako, Mali – September 10 - 12, 2007) -Literacy Challenges in the South, Southwest and Central Asia (New Delhi, India – November 29 – 30, 2007) -Addressing Literacy Challenges in Europe with a Sub-Regional Focus (Baku, Azerbaijan – May 14 – 16, 2008) -Regional Literacy Conference in Latin America and the Caribbean (Mexico City, Mexico – September 10 – 13, 2008)

The U.S. Department of Education, in partnership with the Conference Board of Mathematical Sciences, hosted the first National Math Panel Forum on October 6-7, 2008. This page documents the Forum activities, which brought together various organizations and other interested parties.

The independent Commission on the National Guard and Reserves was charged by Congress to recommend any needed changes in law and policy to ensure that the Guard and Reserves are organized, trained, equipped, compensated, and supported to best meet the national security requirements of the United States. The Commission was established by the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005. On January 31, 2008, the Commission delivered its final report to Congress and the Secretary of Defense. That report contains six major conclusions and 95 recommendations, supported by 163 findings. It was informed by 17 days of public hearings, involving 115 witnesses; 52 Commission meetings; more than 850 interviews; and the detailed analysis of thousands of documents.

This website describes the activities of the Charles Colson Task Force on Federal Corrections to carry out its mission to examine current challenges in the Bureau of Prisons and provide recommendations about policies and solutions to identified problems.

The National Commission to Ensure Consumer Information and Choice in the Airline Industry was created by the Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR-21), enacted in April 2000, to study the market position and general condition of retail travel agents in today's competitive markets for the sale of air travel services. The commission will examine whether the financial condition of travel agents is declining and, if so, the effect of such a decline on consumers. It also will explore whether there are impediments to information regarding the services and products offered by the airline industry, and, if so, the effects of those impediments on travel agents, Internet-based distributors and consumers.

Home page for the National Bioethics Advisory Commission.

The International Competition Policy Advisory Committee (ICPAC) was formed in November 1997 to address the global antitrust problems of the 21st Century.

The mission of the Commission is to identify, analyze, and develop recommendations that highlight the importance of housing, improve the housing delivery system, and provide affordable housing for the American people, including recommending possible legislative and regulatory initiatives.

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."

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 National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9-11 Commission), an independent, bipartisan commission created by congressional legislation and the signature of President George W. Bush in late 2002, is chartered to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, including preparedness for and the immediate response to the attacks. The Commission is also mandated to provide recommendations designed to guard against future attacks.

President George W. Bush established the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health in April 2002 as part of his commitment to eliminate inequality for Americans with disabilities. The President directed the Commission to identify policies that could be implemented by Federal, State and local governments to maximize the utility of existing resources, improve coordination of treatments and services, and promote successful community integration for adults with a serious mental illness and children with a serious emotional disturbance.

On January 7, 2005, President Bush announced the establishment of a bipartisan panel to advise on options to reform the tax code to make it simpler, fairer, and more pro-growth to benefit all Americans. The Advisory Panel will submit to the Secretary of the Treasury a report containing revenue neutral policy options for reforming the Federal Internal Revenue Code as soon as practicable, but not later than November 1, 2005. These options should: simplify Federal tax laws to reduce the costs and administrative burdens of compliance with such laws; share the burdens and benefits of the Federal tax structure in an appropriately progressive manner while recognizing the importance of homeownership and charity in American society; and promote long-run economic growth and job creation, and better encourage work effort, saving, and investment, so as to strengthen the competitiveness of the United States in the global marketplace.

For 155 years, the Smithsonian Institution has had as its mission "the increase and diffusion of knowledge." Given the important questions facing the scientific world today, the existing level of institutional financial and physical resources, the strengths of the Institution's people and its collections, how should the Smithsonian set priorities for scientific research in the years ahead and, in general, carry out its historic mission more effectively? 1) How should scientific research be organized to optimize the use of the Institution's human, physical and financial resources? 2) How should the performance of scientific research by individuals and research departments be evaluated? 3) How can the relationship between research and public programming be enhanced? 4) What suggestions, of any type might the Science Commission have to strengthen research at the Smithsonian? 5) What should be the qualifications of those chosen to lead key scientific research units of the Smithsonian? 6) What should be done to enhance public recognition of Smithsonian science?

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.

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.

On September 20, 2004, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy fulfilled its mandate to submit recommendations for a coordinated and comprehensive national ocean policy to the President and Congress. The Commission's final report, "An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century," contains 212 recommendations addressing all aspects of ocean and coastal policy. The 16 members of the Commission call on the President and Congress to take decisive, immediate action to carry out these recommendations, which will halt the steady decline of our nation's oceans and coasts.

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.

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 mission of the Commission shall be to provide recommendations to the President on implementation of the vision outlined in the President's policy statement entitled "A Renewed Spirit of Discovery" and the President's Budget Submission for Fiscal Year 2005 (collectively, "Policy"). The Commission shall examine and make recommendations to the President regarding: a) science research agenda to be conducted on the Moon and other destinations as well as human and robotic science activities that advance our capacity to achieve the Policy; b) The exploration of technologies, demonstrations, and strategies, including the use of lunar and other in situ natural resources, that could be used for sustainable human and robotic exploration; c) Criteria that could be used to select future destinations for human exploration; d) Long-term organization options for managing implementation of space exploration activities; e) The most appropriate and effective roles for potential private sector and international participants in implementing the Policy; and f) Methods for optimizing space exploration activities to encourage the interests of America's youth in studying and pursuing careers in mathematics, science, and engineering; and g) Management of the implementation of the Policy within available resources.

The purpose of the Commission is to study the nature, causes, and consequences of the United States merchandise trade and current account deficits.

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.

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.

The Commission on Review of Overseas Military Facility Structure of the United States is charged with implementing Public Law 108-132 Sec. 128 by conducting a thorough study of matters relating to the overseas military facility structure of the United States. See also the Commission's Amended Charter and the Original Charter.