In the United States, a blue-ribbon committee (or panel or commission) is a group of exceptional people appointed to investigate, study or analyze a given question. Blue-ribbon committees generally have a degree of independence from political influence or other authority, and such committees usually have no direct authority of their own. Their value comes from their ability to use their expertise to issue findings or recommendations which can then be used by those with decision-making power to act.

Appointment and composition

A blue-ribbon committee is often appointed by a

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

body or executive to report on a matter of

controversy Controversy (, ) is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin '' controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an op ...

. It might be composed of independent scientific experts or academics with no direct government ties to study a particular issue or question, or it might be composed of

citizens Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality; ...

well known for their general intelligence, experience and

non-partisan Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias. While an ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., ...

interests to study a matter of political reform. The " blue-ribbon" aspect comes from the presentation of the committee as the "best and brightest" for the task; the appointment of such a committee, ''

ad hoc ''Ad hoc'' is a List of Latin phrases, Latin phrase meaning literally for this. In English language, English, it typically signifies a solution designed for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a Generalization, generalized solution ...

'', is meant to signal its perspective as outsiders of the usual process for study and decisions. The designation "blue-ribbon" is often made by the appointing authority, and may be disputed by others who might see the committee as less independent, or as a way for an authority to dodge responsibility.

Examples

Examples of high-level blue-ribbon committees in the United States would be the

Warren Commission The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established by President of the United States, President Lyndon B. Johnson through on November 29, 1963, to investigate the A ...

investigating the Kennedy Assassination, the

9/11 Commission The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, commonly known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up on November 27, 2002, to investigate all aspects of the September 11 attacks, the deadliest terrorist attack in world history ...

investigating the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the Iraq Study Group assessing the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

and the

Clinton Administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following his victory over Republican in ...

's White House Task Force on National Health Care Reform. In each case, the committee did not have authority to indict or

legislate Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to a ...

, and their brief was to investigate and issue a report on the facts as they found them with recommendations for changes for government

policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an or ...

in the future. The current Blue Ribbon Panel on "sustaining America's diverse fish & wildlife resources" emphasizes incentives of industries, businesses and landowners to aid in conservation funding to prevent species from being added to the endangered species list.

Usage

The term has leaked into official usage. From January 29, 2010, to January 2012, the U.S. had a

Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future A Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future was appointed by US President Barack Obama to look into future options for existing and future High-level radioactive waste management, nuclear waste, following the ending of work on the inco ...

.http://brc.gov/ Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future There are other government and private commissions with "Blue Ribbon Commission" in their names. These and others are often referred to simply as "the Blue Ribbon Commission" or "the blue ribbon commission", creating the potential for confusion.

References

Notes {{Reflist Bibliography *Chapter One, "Presidents and the Blue-Ribbon Option," in Kenneth Kitts
''Presidential Commissions and National Security: The Politics of Damage Control''
(Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2006). Public inquiries Government

Appointment and composition

Examples

Usage

See also

References