Barton Begins Reviewing Agency Implementation of Data Quality Act
WASHINGTON - To begin a review of the agency implementation of the
Data Quality Act, U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, chairman of the House Energy
and Commerce Committee, today sent letters to the following agencies and
commissions:
U.S. Department of Energy;
Department of Health and Human Services;
National Institutes of Health;
Food and Drug Administration;
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services;
Environmental Protection Agency;
U.S. Department of Commerce;
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration;
Federal Trade Commission;
Federal Communications Commission;
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission;
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission;
National Transportation Safety Board;
U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board;
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
(A copy of the letter sent today is below.)
January 13, 2005
Dear _______,
I write to request your assistance in providing the House Committee on
Energy and Commerce with documents and information relating to your agency’s
implementation of the data-quality guidelines and procedures required by Section
515 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal 2001,
which is known as the Data Quality Act (DQA).
In December 2000, to ensure fulfillment of the purposes and provisions of
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Congress enacted the DQA, which directed
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue to all Federal agencies
guidelines for “ensuring and maximizing the quality, objectivity, utility, and
integrity of information” that the agencies disseminate. Among other
provisions, the law requires agencies within a set time-period to implement
responsive data-quality guidelines and procedures, such as administrative
procedures for the correction of information that does not comply with the
guidelines.
In the November 2003 Conference Report for the Consolidated Appropriations
Act of 2004 (H.R. 2673), Congress expressed concern that agencies were not
complying fully with the requirements of the DQA and directed OMB to report on
agency action and make recommendations. Although the OMB report released in
April 2004 provides a useful overview of some of the agencies’ work with
regard to the DQA, I seek a more thorough understanding of agency activity on
this front. Given that much of the data and information effects health and
safety and that such data and information form the foundation for rules and
regulations of agencies within its jurisdiction, the Committee seeks to assess
directly whether the agencies are implementing and following data-quality
procedures as Congress intended. Moreover, and in addition to other ongoing
oversight of regulatory and risk assessment issues, the Committee seeks to
examine the general impact and effectiveness of DQA requirements.
Accordingly, the Committee is requesting information from agencies that
are subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act to begin a review of data-quality
procedures, including procedures for responding to DQA petitions to correct
facts and data that have a substantial impact on the public and public policy.
Therefore, pursuant to Rules X and XI of the U.S. House of Representatives,
please provide for the time period starting on January 1, 2001 to the present
the following documents and answers to questions detailed below on or before
Friday, January 28, 2005:
- Please provide a copy of your agency's procedures and rules relating to
compliance with the DQA and the February 2002 OMB guidelines implementing
the DQA, including, but not limited to, (a) a detailed narrative explanation
of your agency's data-quality guidelines, agency procedures for implementing
the guidelines, and the scope and applicability of the guidelines; and (b)
the specific rationale behind any decisions or definitions limiting the
scope of the information covered by these guidelines, including, but not
limited to, the rationale behind exempting certain categories or types of
public information from coverage, particularly information associated with
rulemaking or any adjudicative process, and information the agency has
determined it will exempt on a case-by-case or discretionary basis.
- Identify the offices, job titles, and names of individuals responsible
for devising and implementing the guidelines and for oversight of agency
activity with regard to the DQA.
- Describe current agency efforts for ensuring and maximizing the quality
of information it disseminates, including, but not limited to, (a) an
explanation of the agency’s basic standard of quality as a performance
goal and the measures, indicators, or assessments used to determine if the
goal is being met; and (b) the procedures for review of information before
it is disseminated to ensure it meets the agency’s quality standards and
to prevent the release of poor-quality or questionable data, including, but
not limited to, a description of your agency’s peer-review process for
scientific information that the agency may disseminate, and the mechanisms
for transparency in the peer-review process.
- All internal memoranda and guidance to agency departments and outside
parties subject to the DQA, e.g., if the agency sponsored or endorsed the
third party’s distribution of information, relating to your agency's
data-quality guidelines and procedures.
- Regarding analysis of risks to human health, safety, and the
environment maintained or disseminated by your agency, (a) explain how your
agency has adopted the quality and risk reporting principles specifically
identified by the OMB guidelines to be the principles applied by Congress to
risk information used and disseminated pursuant to the Safe Drinking Water
Act Amendments of 1996 and (b) provide the specific rationale and basis for
any changes from these principles.
- Regarding transparency of third-party information or data, models, or
other information the agency cannot disclose, but which underlie the
information and analytical results the agency does disseminate, describe and
explain the rationale for your agency’s “robustness checks,” as
referenced in the OMB guidelines, and disclosure of the underlying data and
analysis, per the DQA.
- Describe and explain in detail the administrative mechanisms for
responding to DQA petitions for correction of information that does not
comply with DQA guidelines, including, but not limited to, (a) how your
agency ensures that petition review is objective; (b) how your agency
ensures a timely response, including criteria for extensions of decisions;
(c) who performs the reviews; (d) how your agency defines “affected
persons” and the basis for this definition as it relates to DQA petitions;
and (e) under what conditions the agency acts on petitions during rulemaking
or other administrative proceedings.
- Regarding appeals of DQA-related agency decisions, (a) describe and
explain your agency’s appeals process as it relates to DQA, the offices,
job titles, and names of individuals responsible for appeals, and how the
agency ensures the objectivity of the appeals review; and (b) describe and
explain your agency’s position regarding the potentially available
appellate avenues, including administrative hearings and the federal court
system, as a means of petitioners to appeal agency decisions relating to DQA.
- A listing and detailed description of the number and nature of all
complaints or petitions received by your agency regarding the accuracy of
information disseminated by your agency as well as the parties within the
agency that reviewed such petitions and complaints.
Thank you for your assistance. If you have any questions,
please contact Joby Fortson or Peter Spencer of the Majority Committee staff at
(202) 226-2424.
Sincerely,
Joe Barton
Chairman
c.c.: The Honorable John Dingell, Ranking Member
Committee
on Energy and Commerce
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