The former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and the former Chairman of its Subcommittee on Regulation and Government Information asked us to (1) evaluate the performance of four prominent federal statistical agencies using guidelines developed by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and (2) provide information on the role of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to coordinate and oversee the statistical activities of the agencies that constitute the federal statistical system. Specifically, we examined whether the four agencies (1) had clearly defined and well-accepted missions, (2) cooperated with data users, (3) had established procedures for the fair treatment of data providers, (4) were open about the data provided to users, (5) widely disseminated the data, (6) coordinated with other statistical agencies, and (7) had a strong measure of independence. The Four Agencies Generally Followed Selected Guidelines, With Some Exceptions

The four agencies adhered to five of the seven selected guidelines with only minor exceptions. However, we found that the agencies did not or could not meet all aspects of the other two guidelines, which involved the agencies’ coordination with other statistical agencies and their measure of independence. The NAS guideline on data sharing does not distinguish between data on businesses and data on individuals. Each agency had a clear and well-defined mission and procedures designed to enhance cooperation with data users. It is also important that the efforts of these agencies be coordinated in order to avoid duplication and to ensure that the limited funding available for statistical activities is used as effectively and efficiently as possible. Statistical Policy Branch officials told us that resources for federal statistical activities could be allocated more effectively if a strengthened process were instituted for reviewing statistical agency budgets.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO evaluated the performance of the Bureaus of the Census, Economic Analysis, and Labor Statistics, and the National Center for Health Statistics based on selected National Academy of Sciences (NAS) guidelines. GAO also provided information on the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) role in coordinating and overseeing the statistical activities of the 72 agencies that constitute the federal statistical system.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) the four agencies adhered, with only minor exceptions, to five of the seven selected NAS guidelines; (2) the NAS guidelines emphasize the importance of a statistical agency maintaining the credibility of its data and that it be perceived as free from political interference and policy advocacy; (3) coordination and sharing between federal, state, and local statistical agencies increased their effectiveness and efficiency; (4) in general, each agency had a clearly defined and well-accepted mission statement, cooperated with data users, treated data providers fairly, openly described to users all aspects of its data, and widely disseminated its data; (5) the agencies did not fully adhere to the guideline on protecting their independence from political influence because they did not always sufficiently communicate their procedures to data users; (6) the agencies could not fully coordinate with other statistical agencies because of statute limitations to protect data providers' confidentiality; (7) OMB oversight and coordination of agencies' statistical activities is limited by a lack of staff resources; and (8) OMB is revising its formal process for reviewing statistical agencies' budgets in order to allocate its resources for coordination more effectively.