In the United States, a Presidential Commission is a special task force ordained by the President to complete some special research or investigation. They are often used politically in one of two ways: either 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
- Commission to Investigate the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor - a.k.a. Roberts Commission
- President's Private Sector Survey on Cost Control 1982 - a.k.a. the Grace Commission
- National Commission on Excellence in Education (1983) which produced the report A Nation at Risk
- President's Commission on the HIV Epidemic
- U.S. President's Commission on CIA activities within the United States - a.k.a. Rockefeller Commission
- President's Special Review Board (Iran-Contra) - a.k.a. Tower Commission
- Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident (1986) - a.k.a. Rogers Commission
- The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy - a.k.a. Warren Commission
- Presidential Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism (1990)
- Presidential Commission on the Status of Women
- National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States - a.k.a. 9/11 Commission
- Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the United States (1998)
- President's Commission To Strengthen Social Security (May 2, 2001)
- President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education (October 2, 2001)
- Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry (2001)
- 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)
For Additional Reading
Kenneth Kitts, Presidential Commissions and National Security: The Politics of Damage Control (Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 2006).
