CD-ROM Issues

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information regarding a constituent's concerns about the Bureau of the Census's information dissemination policies and activities and the adverse effects on his business. GAO found that: (1) the Bureau has no formal or official agreement with the constituent to purchase Bureau geographic data and publish it for resale in a modified format without competition from the Bureau; (2) such an agreement is a violation of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) information dissemination policy; (3) the Bureau is not prohibited from developing and marketing geographic information databases and related software; (4) OMB guidance directs agencies to recover the costs of disseminating information products through user charges; (5) the Bureau's prices vary depending on the complexity of the information involved and have not changed much in the last 8 years; and (6) the Bureau's actions are consistent with federal laws and executive branch policies on information dissemination.