DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
 ADVISORY COMMITTEES

Role of Advisory Committees Advisory committees are used extensively by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide advice and guidance on a wide variety of programs providing benefits and services to our Nation’s veterans.  Advisory committees operate as another component of the “people’s voice” in our democratic form of government.  Most of VA’s advisory committees have been mandated by Congress to ensure that federal laws, as carried out by the executive branch, are meeting their intended goals.

The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Veterans Affairs Committees in Congress recognize the value of advisory committees and acknowledge most VA advisory committee members as “consumer representatives” of those millions of beneficiaries whose lives are affected each year by VA programs.  Advisory committees must operate in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended, Public Law 92-463.  Advisory committee meetings are generally open to the public and notice of meetings are published in the Federal Register. 

Advisory Committee Membership     

One of VA’s major objectives for its advisory committees is to ensure that committee membership appropriately reflects the diversity of American society and the veterans’ population.  Committee members are expected to have the technical, scientific and programmatic expertise demanded by the committees’ areas of interest and emphasis.  Committee members are also expected to comply with ethical standards required by existing federal statutes.

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