OIRA Watch

 Editor’s Note:  The Administration has proposed termination of the oil shale program not withstanding a legal protest filed by a local government and one by CRE. The proven oil reserves in US oil shale is equal to the proven reserves of the world. Hopefully the regulatory review process administered by the Administration  which is highlighted in the following article  will revoke this unilateral action which is not substantiated by fact or meaningful policy. Please see the following:  local support  and  large reserves

Washington Times

 With respect to the OMB review of a regulatory transaction,  in the article that follows the author states:

 “Instead, the White House ordered the document held—in violation of numerous federal guidelines and statutes.”

 We remind the author that eight  consecutive Administrations’ have used  OMB to review regulations. For a detailed description of the OMB review process and its judicially sanctioned foundation please read this article in the Administrative Law Review.

 The bottom line is that wearing a white laboratory costume does not necessarily shield one from a silo mentality; the OMB review process eliminates silos—however painful.

Released: December 21, 2012

By the Commission:

 By this Order, we affirm the Office of Engineering and Technology (“OET”) denial  of a  Data Quality Act (“DQA”) complaint filed by Cynthia Franklin, and, for the reasons stated below, deny Ms. Franklin’s application for review of the OET action.

Read decision  http://www.fcc.gov/document/data-quality-act-complaint-cynthia-franklin

The Center for Regulatory Effectiveness salutes the memory of Rep. Jack Brooks who chaired both the House Government Operations Committee (’75-’88) and the Judiciary Committee (’89-95).  Chairman Brooks worked on the development of and was essential to the passage of many landmark statutes including the the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  Jack Brooks was also known as the “Father of Modern IT Procurement.”

Chairman Brooks may be remembered most of all for his fearlessness.  The New York Times recounted that, “An aide to Johnson called Mr. Brooks “one of the few men L.B.J. was ever afraid of,” while Nixon labeled him “the executioner.”

 Editor’s Note: CRE believes that with the exception of the Supreme Court  the only federal court which has the standing and will to consistently counter the Department of Justice on complex issues of  Adminstrative Law is the DC Circuit.  More specifically for the second time the court has reviewed a federal agency’s compliance with the DQA guidelines; the court could not have conducted the review if judicial review of the DQA were barred.  In one of the cases  DOJ had informed the court of CRE’ views and had asked the court to address  CRE concerns. (Paragraph 3)

Editor’s  Note:  It is important in any organization that employees have a high moral and OMB managers are to be complimented on their progress.  That said,  it is an honor and a privlege to work for the  President of the United  States and if other interests and demands constitute a conflict with delivering the best product to the  President then the employees should seek employment elsewhere.

Government Executive

The employee survey “provides managers with critical data for managing their workplaces,” said acting OMB Director Jeffrey Zients. J. Scott Applewhite/AP

 Pease read article in Government Executive

The Census Bureau, with support from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the support of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has developed an additional methodology for measuring poverty in America.

Work on the supplemental measure of poverty began when then-OIRA Administrator Cass Sunstein requested OMB’s Chief Statistician, Katherine K. Wallman, to spearhead an improved understanding of poverty. CRE has had a long term interest in publicizing  the poverty level. It is not an overstatement to summarize Jim Tozzi’s views as being that the unemployment rate, as important as it is, is essentially a “middle class” metric because even at an 8% unemployment level, 92% of the cohort is employed—a statistic of minimal interest to either the rich or the poor. A metric that states  that 1 in 6 Americans are in poverty demonstrates a need for it being given considerably more attention in public policy debates.

Editor’s Note  Representatives of both political parties emphasize the unemployment rate—a number of critical interest to middle class America. To those not fortunate enough to be in the middle class an  important statistic is the number of Americans who live in poverty—a statistic that is finally emerging from the closet as the result of the diligence of the US Bureau of the Census.

 CNN

U.S. Poverty rate reaches new high

U.S. Poverty rate reaches new high There were nearly 50 million Americans living in poverty in 2011, under an alternative measure released by the Census Bureau Wednesday.

Editor’s Note:  In an international demonstration of its commitment to Data Quality and leadership in good governance, Korea’s National Information Society Agency, “A Global Leader in Realizing A Knowledge-Based Society,” has published a detailed overview of the Data Quality Act.  The publication, “Data Quality Management Practices of the United States Government” is attached here. 

The Korean document discusses OMB’s central role in administering the Act including in the Request for Correction process and use of peer review for influential information.  The publication also recognizes CRE’s role in improving the quality of government data through use of the DQA.

• Nicola Nosengo

L’Aquila, Italy

Mauro Dolce, head of the seismic risk office of the Civil Protection department, is one of seven to be found guilty of manslaughter after the deadly April 2009 earthquake in L’Aquila, Italy.

At the end of a 13-month trial, six scientists and one government official have been found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to six years in prison. The verdict was based on how they assessed and communicated risk before the earthquake that hit the city of L’Aquila on 6 April 2009, killing 309 people (see ‘Scientists on trial: At Fault?‘).