[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]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 [email protected]. 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:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ 66 FR 49718 (Sept. 28, 2001), updated 67 FR 369 (Jan. 3, 
2002), and corrected at 67 FR 8452 (Feb. 22, 2002).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ 67 FR 15580 (April 2, 2002).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ 3 Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ Letter from Allan Ratner, Freddie Mac to Andrew Varrieur, 
Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, at 3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ 67 FR 8455 (2002).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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

[[Page 63674]]

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]
BILLING CODE 4220-01U-P