Presidential Commission (United States)

In the United States, a Presidential Commission is a special task force ordained by the President to complete a specific, special investigation or research. They are often quasi-judicial in nature; that is, they include public or in-camera hearings.

Presidential Commissions often serve one of two political purposes: 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). 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.

List of Presidential Commissions

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

• 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 Committee on Economic Security (CES) founded 1934
• 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)
• National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control (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 Blue Ribbon Commission on Defense Management -a.ka. "Packard Commission" (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

• Royal Commission

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).