The America250 commission’s founding law provides for sixteen private citizen members.
The commission’s membership combines elected-government representation with citizens who are not employees or officers of federal, state, or local governments. The law provides for sixteen such private citizens.
Congressional party leaders designate eight members from Congress: two from each party leader in each chamber. The president designates a chairperson from among the sixteen private citizen members.
This structure was intended to make the commission bipartisan and nationally representative. The sixteen private citizens are separate from the congressional members and from certain ex officio or governmental participants described in later amendments.