Presidential commission (United States)
In the United States, a Presidential Commission is a special task force ordained by the President to complete some special research or investigation. They are often used politically in one of two ways: either to draw attention to a problem (the publication of a report by a commission can generally be counted on to draw attention from the media, depending on how its release is handled); or, on the other hand, to delay action on an issue (if the President wants to avoid taking action but still look concerned about an issue, he can convene a commission and then let it slip into obscurity)[citation needed]. However, there have been cases (the Tower, Rogers and Warren Commissions) where the commission has created reports that have been used as evidence in later criminal proceedings[citation needed].
List of Presidential Commissions
- Philippine Commission - "Taft Commission" (1900)
- Commission on the Organization of Government Scientific Work (1903)
- Committee on Department Methods - "Keep Commission" (1905–1909)
- President's Commission on Economy and Efficiency (1910–1912)
- President's Commission on Administrative Management - "Brownlow Committee" (1937)
- Commission to Investigate the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor - a.k.a. "Roberts Commission" (1941)
- President's Committee on Civil Rights (1946)
- President's Scientific Research Board (1946)
- Presidential Commission on Higher Education (1947)
- Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government - Hoover Commission (1947)
- President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services (1948)
- President’s Committee on Religious & Moral Welfare & Character Guidance in the Armed Forces (1948)
- President's Water Resources Policy Commission (1950)
- President's Communications Policy Board (1950)
- President's Commission on Migratory Labor (1950)
- President's Commission on Internal Security and Individual Rights (1951)
- President's Commission on the Health Needs of the Nation (1951)
- President's Commission on Immigration and Naturalization (1952)
- Commission on Intergovernmental Relations - a.k.a. "Kestenbaum Commission" (1953)
- Presidential Commission on the Status of Women (1961)
- The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy - a.k.a. "Warren Commission" (1963)
- President's Review Committee for Development Planning in Alaska (1964)
- President's Commission on Crime in the District of Columbia (1965–1969)
- President's Commission on Budget Concepts (1967–1969)
- President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice (1965–1969)
- National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence (1969)
- President's Blue Ribbon Defense Panel(1969-1970) (urged 60% cuts in Pentagon staffs)
- President's Commission on Campus Unrest (1970)
- President's Commission on Financial Structure and Regulation - a.k.a. the "Hunt Commission" (1970-1971)
- President's Commission on Olympic Sports (1975)]
- President's Advisory Board on International Investment (1977)
- Presidential Advisory Board on Ambassadorial Appointments, (1977)
- President's Commission on Mental Health (1977)
- President's Commission on Military Compensation (1977)
- President's Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies (1978)
- President's Commission on the Coal Industry (1978)
- President's Commission on Pension Policy (1978)
- Presidential Commission on World Hunger (1978)
- President's Commission on the Holocaust (1978)
- President's Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island (1979)
- President's Advisory Committee for Women (1979)
- President's Commission for a National Agenda for the Eighties (1979)
- President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine & Biomedical & Behavioral Research (1979)
- Advisory Committee on Small and Minority Business Ownership (1980)
- President's Commission on United States-Liberian Relations (1980)
- President's Committee on the International Labor Organization (1980)
- President's Committee on Small Business Policy (1981)
- President's Council on Spinal Cord Injury (1981)
- President's Commission on Hostage Compensation (1981)
- President's Private Sector Survey on Cost Control - a.k.a. "Grace Commission" (1982)
- National Commission on Excellence in Education (1983)
- U.S. President's Commission on CIA activities within the United States - a.k.a. Rockefeller Commission (1975)
- Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident - a.k.a. "Rogers Commission" (1986)
- President's Special Review Board (Iran-Contra) - a.k.a. "Tower Commission" (1986)
- President's Commission on Organized Crime (1986)
- President's Commission on the HIV Epidemic (1987)
- President's commission on aviation security and terrorism (1990)
- President's Commission on Veterans Education (1996)
- Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States (1998)
- President's Commission To Strengthen Social Security (2001)
- President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education (2001)
- Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry (2001)
- National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States - a.k.a. 9/11 Commission (2002)
- President's Commission on the United States Postal Service (2002)
- President's Commission on Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy (2004)
- Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction (2005)
- National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (2010)
- Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future (2010)
- National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling (2010)
See also
For additional reading
Donna Batten, et al. Encyclopedia of Governmental Advisory Organizations (Detroit, MI: Gale, 1973- . annual editions).
Kenneth Kitts, Presidential Commissions and National Security: The Politics of Damage Control (Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 2006).
Steven D. Zink, Guide to the Presidential Advisory Commissions, 1973-1987 (Alexandria, VA: Chadwyck-Healey, Inc, 1987).