Regulatory Science and the Data Quality Act

The importance of data quality was highlighted in an amendment attached to a 2000 law enacted by the 106th U.S. Congress. The law known as the “Data Quality Act” or the “Information Quality Act,” mandated that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issue guidance to federal agencies for “ensuring and maximizing the quality, objectivity, utilility, and integrity of information (including statistical information) disseminated by federal agencies.” In turn, OMB required more than 90 federal agencies such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement data quality guidelines. These guidelines have created a rigorous, if not rancorous, debate within the regulated community. This paper will provide a brief synopsis of the evolution of the Act, discuss how the Act and scientific uncertainty interrelate, and review the status of the Act's petition process for correcting government disseminated information.