Stephanie J. Tatham ·
83 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1186 ·
The Administrative Conference of the United States (“ACUS” or
the “Conference”) has been charged by Congress with studying “the
efficiency, adequacy, and fairness of the administrative procedure
used by administrative agencies in carrying out administrative programs,”
as well as with making related “recommendations to administrative
agencies, collectively or individually, and to the President,
Congress, or the Judicial Conference of the United States.” The Conference
regularly exercises this statutory authority and typically issues
five to ten such recommendations annually, accompanied by supporting
research reports prepared by external consultants or staff. Recommendations
are informed by debate and discussion in meetings of the Conference’s
committees and are finalized at the semi-annual plenary sessions before
the full Assembly of Conference members. Over two hundred recommendations
have been issued since the opening plenary session in 1968. The
Conference’s power is persuasive rather than political; its recommendations
are advisory in nature.
