The United States Sentencing Commission is an independent federal agency in the Judicial Branch of government consisting of a bipartisan group of seven members appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate and two non-voting ex-officio members. The agency staff consists of approximately 100 employees. The Commission is tasked by Congress with establishing sentencing policies and practices for the Federal criminal justice system that assure the meeting of the purposes of sentencing, provide certainty and fairness in meeting the purposes of sentencing, and reflect, to the extent practicable, advancement in knowledge of human behavior as it relates to the criminal justice process. The Commission is further tasked with measuring the degree to which the sentencing, penal, and correctional practices are effective in meeting the purposes of sentencing. To fulfill these purposes, the Commission develops and revises guidelines for federal district court judges to consider in sentencing defendants convicted of federal crimes, monitors and evaluates the use of the guidelines, conducts research and education programs on guideline application and sentencing matters generally, produces sentencing-related reports, and recommends improvements in federal sentencing practices and policies to Congress. Additional information about the Commission can be accessed via the Commission's website at http://www.ussc.gov.