JOINT COMMITTEE ON ATOMIC ENERGY June 16, 1960 Dr. Allen V. Astin, Director National Bureau of Standards Van Ness Street, N. W. Dear Dr. Astin: Since the close of our hearings on Radiation Protection Criteria and Standards we have been advised that the Counsel of the National Bureau of Standards has ruled that employees of that agency may not serve on the National Committee on Radiation Protection and Measurements. In keeping with Section 202 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, which section provides, in part, "Any Government agency shall furnish any information requested by the Joint Committee with respect to the activities or responsibilities of that agency in the field of atomic energy, it would be appreciated if you would advise the Joint Committee concerning this matter. Specifically, we desire to know whether such a ruling concerning participation on the NCRP has been made; how such a ruling would affect the activities of Mr. Lauriston Taylor of the Bureau of Standards who serves as Chairman of the NCRP; and possible future actions of this nature which may now be contemplated. Sincerely yours, Clinton P. Anderson This is in further response to your letter of June 16, 1960, which arrived while I was out of the city and acknowledged by my staff. Your letter asked about a purported ruling that employees of the National Bureau of Standards may not serve on the National Committee on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP). Such interpretation might be inferred from an informal opinion concerning a hypothetical situation made by one of the staff members of the Office of the General Counsel of the Department of Commerce. Therefore a proper answer to your question requires some background of the circumstances that led to the solicitation of an informal legal opinion. No ruling that NBS employees may not serve on the NCRP has been made. The NBS has been the primary sponsor of the NCRP since it was originally set up more than 30 years ago. Consequently, the NBS staff members have been very active in the Committee's affairs. During the course of the Committee's activities considerable independence of action was developed primarily in an effort to develop comprehensive technical recommendations and to acquire broad technical competence and representation in areas not encompassed by the NBS program or staff. As a result of the independence which developed in the Committee's activities it became evident that its operations were not in accordance with the requirements prescribed by the Attorney General for government advisory committees. As applied in the Department of Commerce, these requirements for government advisory committees are set forth in the attached copy of the Department of Commerce Order No. 114, dated March 13, 1959. For example, the government has not insisted upon naming the committee members nor controlling the agenda for the NCRP meetings, as would be required if the NCRP were formally constituted as a government advisory committee. This problem was brought to the attention of the NCRP members at a meeting approximately a year ago. The overwhelming concensus of opinion of the Committee members was a desire to attain independent status rather than to conform to the requirements for a government advisory committee. During the past year the NCRP membership has been active in exploring various alternative methods of formal establishment as a private organization, including ways and means of financing its work. Because of NBS sponsorship of the NCRP the Bureau has assisted officially in these studies. With the establishment of the Federal Radiation Council, the matter of the Council's working relationship with the NCRP has also been under consideration, and the possibility of status as a government advisory committee for the NCRP was re-examined. However, the overwhelming preference of most of the individuals and agencies involved is to see the NCRP acquire fully independent status. In the course of considering various types of organizational arrangements for an independent NCRP the matter of participation of government employees has been of primary concern. It was in the course of such studies that individuals in the Office of the General Counsel of the Department of Commerce suggested that under certain types of private charters and with certain types of operating objectives conflicts could develop between the NCRP and the government agencies represented on the Federal Radiation Council which would severely inhibit the participation of government employees in the activities of the NCRP. This opinion arose from the very simple consideration that the first responsibility of a government employee is to his job and if private activities conflict with his ability to perform his official duties they could not be permitted. It is, however, our feeling that a form of operation for the NCRP must be developed which will permit the full participation of federal employees. I feel reasonably certain that this objective can be met. Thank you very much for your interest in this matter. It is my plan to keep the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy apprised of the progress in the reorganization of the NCRP. Very truly yours, Attachment A. V. Astin Director This order provides standards for the establishment and utilization of advisory committees within the Department of Commerce. SECTION 2. .01 1 DEFINITIONS: For the purpose of this order the following terms shall have the meanings indicated: "Advisory Committee" means any committee, board, commission, council, conference, panel, task force, or other similar group (including all subcommittees or other subgroups the reof) that is formed by the Department for advice or recommendations and that is not composed wholly of United States Government employees. The term also includes any such group that is not so formed, but only during any period when it is being utilized by any organization unit of the Department for advice or recommendations in a manner similar to that which would be employed in utilizing advisory committees formed by the Government; 2 "Industry Advisory Committee" means an advisory committee which is composed predominantly of members or representatives of a single industry. Each industry advisory committee shall be representative of the entire industry or portions thereof insofar as the purpose of the committee dictates. Representation shall be accomplished by taking into account such factors as size, location, affiliation, and industrial function of the components represented. So far as practicable, selection of industry members shall, unless otherwise provided by statute, be limited to individuals actively engaged in the industry or industries concerned. SECTION 3. ESTABLISHING ADVISORY COMMITTEES: .01 Advisory committees may be established to seek advice from a true cross-section of industry or the arts and sciences in the development and administration of Department programs. The establishment of advisory committees does not preclude obtaining advice from authorized sources such as, for example, the use of experts and consultants or by consultation with individual members of industry or scientific organizations. .02 Advisory committees not specifically authorized by law may be established by the Secretary of Commerce on the basis of a finding that the establishment and use of an advisory committee is in the public interest in connection with the performance of functions assigned to the Department of Commerce by law. .03 The head of an organization unit may propose the establishment of an advisory committee after the following requirements have been met: 1 The problem on which advice is sought will be of such importance as to warrant the Department's use of the time of the members for committee operations; 2 With respect to industry advisory committees, the industry representatives proposed will represent a cross-section of the industry with due consideration given to large, mecium, and small business, geographic distribution, degrees of integration, and differing production classification; DO 114 (Revised) 3 Adequate and clear terms of reference describing the purpose of the committee and its functions will be established in each case; 4 The proposed membership will be composed of responsible representatives of business, industry or science in order that the best advice may be secured for the Department; 5 Wherever possible, the principle will be followed that one advisory committee may be established for any given industry with subcommittees where appropriate and necessary. This practice will avoid any tendency toward duplication of committees within the Department in the same business, industrial or scientific field; and 6 The proposal to establish an advisory committee shall be cleared with and approved by the Secretarial Officer of the Department responsible for the area concerned. This shall be accomplished by the submission of a memorandum detailing the nature and purpose of the committee, the basis on which established, the proposed membership showing affiliations, the proposed chairman and its expected duration, if known. Approval of the proposal by the appropriate Secretarial Officer shall include the finding contemplated in Section 3.02 above. Upon approval by the Secretarial Officer as provided herein, the proposal to establish an advisory committee shall be submitted to the Secretary for such action as he may consider appropriate. A copy of the memorandum or other document establishing an advisory committee shall be furnished the Gommittee Management Officer of the Department for record purposes. SECTION 4. STANDARDS FOR UTILIZATION OF ADVISORY COMMITTEES: .01 Organization units of the Department utilizing advisory committees shall be governed, to the extent consistent with law, by the following standards: 1 The functions of such committees shall be solely advisory and any determination of action to be taken, based in whole or in part on such advice, shall be made solely by the proper official or officials of the Department; 2 Committee meetings shall be at the call of or with the approval of, and the agenda for the meetings shall be formulated or approved by a full-time salaried officer or employee of the Department. The appropriate Secretarial Officer shall be notified promptly of all scheduled advisory committee meetings; 3 Committee meetings shall be under the chairmanship of, or conducted in the presence of a full-time salaried officer or employee of the Department. Such officer or employee shall have the authority to adjourn any meeting whenever he feels that its continuation would not be in the public interest; 4 Minutes of each meeting shall be kept which shall contain at a minimum a summary of the matters discussed, and the conclusions reached. The Department officer or employee shall certify that such minutes are accurate. .02 Compliance with any part or all of the requirements of Sections 4.01 2, 4.01 3, and 4.01 4 above may be waived by the Secretary in the case of advisory committees other than industry advisory committees, when he finds that compliance would render effective utilization of the committee impracticable and that such waivers would be in the public interest. .03 The standards prescribed herein shall not apply to any advisory committee for which the Congress has by statute specified the purpose, composition, and conduct (such as selection of chairman or holding of meetings) unless the Congress has specifically given the President, or otherwise delegated the power to prescribe rules for such committee. Nor shall they apply to any advisory committee composed wholly of persons from charitable, religious, educational, civic, social welfare or other similar nonprofit organizations or to any local civic committee whose primary function is that of rendering a public service other than giving advice or making recommendations to the Government. |