Introduction to the Ogmius Exchange
This month we present an exchange between
· Jim Tozzi, who was the first deputy director of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget from 1981-1983, and is currently a member of the board of advisors to the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness.
· Chuck Herrick, who served as associate director of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and assistant director of the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program, and is currently a Vice President at Stratus Consulting.
The subject of the exchange is the Data Quality Act. In December 2000, Congress passed a little-known provision known as the Data Quality Act. The Act, which will go into effect next October 1, requires every federal agency to establish "guidelines ensuring and maximizing the quality, objectivity, utility and integrity of information (including statistical information)." Proponents of the Act, who include Mr. Tozzi, contend that it will improve science-based policy making. By contrast, some critics of the Act are concerned that it will be used to impede environmental information and regulation. For more background, see:
- Center for Regulatory Effectiveness
website- the organization that authored the provision
- National Academy of Sciences, Ensuring
the Quality of Information Disseminated by the Federal Government
project
- Office of Management and Budget, Guidelines
for Ensuring and Maximizing the Quality, Objectivity, Utility,
and Integrity of Information Disseminated by Federal Agencies
- Andrew C. Revkin, "Law
Revises Standards for Scientific Study," New York Times
March 21, 2002
- Roger Pielke, Jr., Flying
Blind: The Data Quality Act and the Atmospheric Sciences,
WeatherZine Number 33
And now, on to the exchange …
