CRE Response to OSTP Request for Revitalizing Agency Use of Science

The CRE response to the OSTP request for ways to revitalize agency use of science is attached hereto.

CRE believes that the time limited notice and comment period in the Adminstrative Procedure Act is obsolete. In a wired society, the notice and comment period is 24/7.

To meet this challenge,  CRE has championed the use of IPD’s (Interactive Public Dockets). This website is an IPD dedicated to the new ocean zoning program announced by President Obama last week and so described in the Zoning news of this website.

In the attached filing, CRE concludes  that OSTP  should recommend that OMB, as part of their Directive implementing the President’s Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government, :

1. Require that FACA committee agendas be published for notice and comment prior to the meeting and that the sponsoring agency (agencies) respond to the comments;

2. Require FACA committees to publish on their website, or other prominent location, their process for screening candidates for the committee and their process and criteria for ensuring committee balance; and

3. Encourage agencies to participate in Interactive Public Dockets such as the NOAA/MMS IPD found at http://www.thecre.com/creipd/ by posting the availabilty of  IPDs on agency websites.