[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 199 (Tuesday, October 15, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63672-63674]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-26186]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight
Information Quality Guidelines
AGENCY: Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, HUD.
ACTION: Availability of information quality guidelines.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) is
publishing a notice of availability of the OFHEO's ``Guidelines for
Ensuring Quality of Disseminated Information and Procedures for
Correction by the Public'' (Guidelines). The purpose of this notice is
to publish the location of the Guidelines on the OFHEO web site at
http://www.ofheo.gov.
DATES: On October 1, 2002, OFHEO's ``Guidelines for Ensuring Quality of
Disseminated Information and Procedures for Correction by the Public''
were posted on the OFHEO Web site.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Varrieur, Chief Information
Officer, Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, 1700 G Street,
NW., Fourth Floor, Washington, DC 20552, telephone (202) 414-8883 (not
a toll free number). Alternatively, questions or comments may also be
sent by electronic mail to infoquality@ofheo.gov. The telephone number
for the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf is: (800) 877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Guidelines are based largely on the ``Guidelines for Ensuring
and
[[Page 63673]]
Maximizing the Quality, Objectivity, Utility and Integrity of
Information Disseminated by Federal Agencies'' (Government-wide
guidance) published by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the
Federal Register.\1\ That Government-wide guidance was issued pursuant
to Section 515 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations
Act for FY 2001, Pub. L. 106-554, which directed OMB to provide
guidance to Federal agencies for ensuring and maximizing the quality,
objectivity, utility and integrity of information, including
statistical information, disseminated by Federal agencies. In
accordance with these provisions, each Federal agency was obligated to:
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\1\ 66 FR 49718 (Sept. 28, 2001), updated 67 FR 369 (Jan. 3,
2002), and corrected at 67 FR 8452 (Feb. 22, 2002).
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1. Issue their own information quality guidelines ensuring and
maximizing the quality, objectivity, utility and integrity of
information, including statistical information, disseminated by the
agency;
2. Establish administrative mechanisms allowing affected persons to
seek and obtain correction of information maintained and disseminated
by the agency that does not comply with the agency's guidelines; and
3. Report annually to the Director of OMB, beginning January 1,
2004, the number and nature of complaints received by the agency
regarding agency compliance with its guidelines concerning the quality,
objectivity, utility and integrity of information and how such
complaints were resolved.
Consistent with the Government-wide guidance, the Guidelines ensure
and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of
information that is disseminated by the agency to the public. The
Guidelines also provide an administrative process allowing affected
individuals to seek and obtain correction of information maintained and
disseminated by OFHEO. The Guidelines reflect OFHEO's internal
procedures for reviewing and substantiating information to ensure and
maximize the quality, including the objectivity, utility and integrity
of information, before it is disseminated. The administrative mechanism
allows affected persons to seek and obtain, where appropriate, obtain
correction of information disseminated by OFHEO that does not comply
with the Guidelines.
Comments
In accordance with OMB guidance, OFHEO published a notice in the
Federal Register on April 2, 2002, entitled ``Solicitation of Public
Comments on Proposed Information Quality Guidelines'' \2\ requesting
public comments on OFHEO's proposed Guidelines. Three comments were
received from private persons in response to this notice and the
proposed Guidelines. Those comments were received from the Federal
National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae); the Federal Home Loan
Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) (collectively, the Enterprises); and
the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness.
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\2\ 67 FR 15580 (April 2, 2002).
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Both Enterprises commented on the proposed Guidelines' statement
that ``OFHEO disseminates very little information that would be subject
to section 515 legislation'' and that OFHEO cites only the House Price
Index as an example of such information. Both Enterprises disagreed
that very little information falls within the scope of the Government-
wide guidance and suggested that other examples of information should
be included in the Guidelines. OFHEO deleted the single citation to the
House Price Index as an example. Instead, the scope of the Guidelines'
applicability will become more clearly defined in light of experience
and the accumulation of precedents over time.
OFHEO's proposed Guidelines also provided that they do not ``apply
to opinions if it is clear that what is being offered is someone's
opinion, rather than fact or the agency's views. For example, the
guidelines do not apply to staff working papers that are preliminary in
nature and do not represent the views of the agency.'' \3\ OFHEO
deleted the citation to working papers. Instead, the scope of the
Guidelines' applicability will become more clearly defined in light of
experience and the accumulation of precedents over time.
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\3\ 3 Id.
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Freddie Mac commented that OFHEO should not exempt all press
releases from the scope of the Guidelines. Freddie Mac also asserted
that a press release that ``only discloses an agency's position on
political or policy issues would appropriately fall outside of the
scope of the information quality guidelines.'' \4\ Freddie Mac also
commented that OFHEO should not exempt all correspondence with
individuals from the scope of the Guidelines. OMB's Government-wide
guidance explicitly exempts press releases and correspondence with
individuals from the definition of ``dissemination,'' thus removing
both from the scope of the Guidelines.
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\4\ Letter from Allan Ratner, Freddie Mac to Andrew Varrieur,
Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, at 3.
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Both Enterprises commented that the proposed Guidelines do not
contain procedures for review of influential information subject to
higher standards of data quality. Freddie Mac noted that the proposed
Guidelines do not include a definition of ``influential information.''
Both Enterprises also asserted that much of the information that OFHEO
disseminates is within the scope of influential information and thus
subject to higher standards of data quality. Although OFHEO need not
identify the information within the purview of ``influential
information'' for purposes of the Guidelines, the Government-wide
guidance suggested agencies adopt a definition of ``influential.''
OFHEO clearly adopts a definition of ``influential'' in the Guidelines
in section VI.9. However, in accordance with OMB guidance, the
definition of ``influential'' has been narrowed. The amended definition
of ``influential,'' when used in the phrase ``influential scientific,
financial, or statistical information,'' is amended to provide that
``the agency can reasonably determine that dissemination of the
information will have or does have a clear and substantial impact on
important public policies or important private sector decisions.''
Consistent with OMB's guidance, the intent of the new phrase ``clear
and substantial'' is to reduce the need for speculation on the part of
agencies of the breadth of the definition of ``influential.'' \5\
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\5\ 67 FR 8455 (2002).
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Fannie Mae asserted in its comment letter that the Guidelines may
be judicially reviewable. The statute upon which the Government-wide
guidance is based is wholly silent on the matter. Speculation as to
future judicial treatment of such guidelines is, however, beyond the
scope of this rulemaking and will not be addressed here.
Finally, Fannie Mae commented that the proposed Guidelines are
confusing as to the responsibilities of each division of OFHEO with
respect to data quality. Specifically, Fannie Mae suggests that,
inasmuch as compliance with law is generally the function of the
General Counsel, OFHEO's General Counsel should be vested with primary
responsibility for compliance with the Government-wide guidance. The
Guidelines have been clarified as to the
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responsibility of each office within OFHEO to ensure and maximize the
quality, including the objectivity, utility and integrity, of the data
originating from it. The General Counsel has overarching responsibility
to advise and counsel the Director and agency personnel as to
compliance with the applicable law. The Guidelines so reflect and
preserve the respective responsibilities of the various agency
officials.
The Center for Regulatory Effectiveness (CRE) outlined a number of
broad cross-cutting policy issues of general concern to all agencies
related to ``Data Quality Guidelines'' and provided recommendations on
how such issues should be addressed. The CRE identified and evaluated a
number of differing agency approaches to these issues, which it
suggested might be emulated or avoided. OFHEO considered these comments
in conjunction with OMB guidance in fashioning the final information
quality guidelines.
Dated: October 8, 2002.
Jimmy F. Barton,
Deputy Director, Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.
[FR Doc. 02-26186 Filed 10-11-02; 8:45 am]
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