Fundamental Responsibilities of Recognized Statistical Agencies and Units

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Evidence Act) became law on January 14, 2019. The Evidence Act seeks to “advance[ ] the evidence building functions in the Federal Government by improving access to data and expanding evaluation capacity.” Part of advancing evidence-building functions is enhancing the foundation for generating high quality evidence, including improving the ability of Recognized Statistical Agencies and Units (RSAUs) to produce relevant, timely, credible, accurate, and objective statistical information. Title III of the Evidence Act (known as the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2018, or CIPSEA 2018) updated and enhanced the original Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 (known as CIPSEA 2002) by, among other things, codifying the four fundamental responsibilities of RSAUs and requiring other Federal agencies to enable, support, and facilitate RSAUs in upholding these responsibilities. The four fundamental responsibilities are as follows:

(1) produce and disseminate relevant and timely statistical information;

(2) conduct credible and accurate statistical activities;

(3) conduct objective statistical activities; and

(4) protect the trust of information providers by ensuring the confidentiality and exclusive statistical use of their responses.

In August 2023, OMB issued a proposed rule that would provide direction to agencies in carrying out these responsibilities. After considering comments on the proposed rule, OMB issues this final rule to be codified at 5 CFR part 1321, which sets forth requirements for RSAUs to carry out their fundamental responsibilities and for agencies to enable, support, and facilitate RSAUs in carrying out their fundamental responsibilities.

A. Statutory Authority

Pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 3563(c) and the general authority in 44 U.S.C. 3562(a) to promulgate rules to ensure consistent interpretation by Federal agencies of the requirements of CIPSEA 2018, OMB finalizes this rule to provide direction to agencies in carrying out the responsibilities described in section 3563. Section 3563 describes the fundamental responsibilities that RSAUs must adhere to and charges all Federal agencies with enabling, supporting, and facilitating RSAUs in meeting these responsibilities.

B. Brief History of the U.S. Federal Statistical System and Related Authorities

Federal statistics have informed decision making in the United States since its founding. The first constitutionally mandated census of population was in 1790. The 1790 Census planted the seeds for what is referred to today as the Federal statistical system. Over the 19th century, the system continued to blossom into a specialized and decentralized yet interconnected network of agencies, units, programs, and officials across the Government addressing emerging information demands of the Nation, including in the fields of tax, agriculture, education, and labor. The 20th Century presented new policy needs leading to further expansion of the Federal statistical system to include the fields of commerce, public health, energy, justice, transportation, and more. More than two decades into the 21st century, the Federal statistical system continues to provide the gold-standard for impartial, trusted Federal statistics foundational to informing decisions across the public and private sectors. Increasingly, collaboration is required across the Federal statistical system to unlock greater efficiencies and leverage diverse expertise.

The Federal Statistical System. The Federal statistical system collects and transforms data into useful, objective information and makes it readily and equitably available to data users, while protecting the responses of individual data providers. Federal, State, local, territorial, and Tribal governments; businesses; and the public all trust this information to be credible and reliable and use it to make informed decisions. The Federal statistical system includes the following entities and officials:

• Office of the Chief Statistician of the United States. Led by the Chief Statistician of the United States, the Office of the Chief Statistician of the United States at OMB has the statutory authority to coordinate the Federal statistical system to ensure its efficiency and effectiveness, as well as the integrity, objectivity, impartiality, utility, and confidentiality of information collected for statistical purposes. The office accomplishes this by promulgating rules, developing and maintaining statistical policies and standards, identifying priorities for improving statistical programs, assessing statistical agency budgets, reviewing and approving collections of information from RSAUs, and coordinating U.S. participation in international statistical activities, among other functions.

• Sixteen RSAUs. OMB currently recognizes 16 statistical agencies and units under CIPSEA (See Table 1). OMB-recognized agencies or units are organizational units of the Executive Branch whose activities are predominantly the collection, compilation, processing, or analysis of information for statistical purposes, covering topics such as the economy, workforce, energy, agriculture, foreign trade, education, housing, crime, transportation, and health.

• Approximately 100 other statistical programs. These other Federal statistical programs produce and disseminate statistics in support of other mission areas and conduct a variety of evidence-building functions, including program evaluation, scientific research, data collection, policy and program analysis, and the provision of funding and other support for external research.

• Twenty-Four Statistical Officials. Pursuant to the Evidence Act, each Chief Financial Officers Act (CFO Act) agency has designated a senior staff person in the agency to be the Statistical Official with the authority and responsibility to advise across the agency on statistical policy, techniques, and procedures, and to champion statistical data quality and confidentiality. At the 11 CFO Act agencies that contain an RSAU, the head of that RSAU has been designated the Statistical Official, as required by OMB M-19-23.

• Interagency Council on Statistical Policy (ICSP). Chaired by the Chief Statistician of the United States, the ICSP was established to advise and assist OMB, through the Chief Statistician of the United States, in carrying out its statutory responsibility to coordinate the Federal statistical system. The ICSP supports the Federal statistical system's vision to operate as a seamless system and its critical role supporting evidence-based decision making. The ICSP sets strategic goals on issues such as modernizing the statistical system, ensuring data quality and confidentiality, and providing safe and appropriate data access, as well as enhancing coordination and collaboration across the system. The ICSP currently includes 29 members in addition to the Chair, including the head of each RSAU and each Statistical Official; however, 11 of the Statistical Officials are also heads of RSAUs.

Brief History of RSAUs. In June 1997, OMB issued the “Order Providing for the Confidentiality of Statistical Information,” (1997 Order) which “clarifie[d] and amplifie[d] the privileged status afforded `confidential statistical data.' ” The 1997 Order established a consistent confidentiality policy across statistical agencies and units “whose activities are predominantly the collection, compilation, processing, or analysis of information for statistical purposes” as “determined by the Office of Management and Budget.” In the 1997 Order, OMB determined 12 statistical agencies and units would be subject to the order. About five years later, CIPSEA 2002 was enacted, which codified OMB's authority to determine whether an agency or unit is a statistical agency or unit subject to the consistent and heightened protections for confidential statistical data under CIPSEA 2002. In 2007, OMB issued CIPSEA 2002 implementation guidance (2007 guidance) and recognized the 12 statistical agencies and units previously identified in the 1997 Order plus two additional statistical agencies or units. These 14 agencies and units listed in the 2007 guidance were known as recognized statistical agencies and units. Since 2007, OMB added two more units for a total of 16 RSAUs. In accordance with the 2007 guidance, OMB maintains a publicly available list of RSAUs online, now available at https://www.StatsPolicy.gov. Table 1 provides a list of the current 16 RSAUs and their highest-level organization.