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entitled 'Data Quality: Expanded Use of Key Dissemination Practices 
Would Further Safeguard the Integrity of Federal Statistical Data' 
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Report to Congressional Requesters: 

United States Government Accountability Office: 

GAO: 

May 2006: 

Data Quality: 

Expanded Use of Key Dissemination Practices Would Further Safeguard the 
Integrity of Federal Statistical Data: 

Data Quality: 

GAO-06-607: 

GAO Highlights: 

Highlights of GAO-06-607, a report to congressional requesters. 

Why GAO Did This Study: 

In 2003, the Bureau of the Census (Bureau) changed the day and location 
of the release of its Income and Poverty Estimates. Some data users 
believed the change was an effort to suppress unfavorable news and 
questioned the Bureau’s data dissemination practices. GAO was asked to 
assess whether (1) the Bureau adhered to its dissemination practices 
for the 2003 and later releases, and (2) the Bureau and 13 other 
federal statistical agencies follow data release practices recommended 
by the National Research Council (NRC). GAO reviewed the Bureau’s 
dissemination process for the 2003 thru 2005 Income and Poverty 
Estimates. 

What GAO Found: 

While not all of the Bureau’s data dissemination practices are 
documented, GAO was able to determine through discussions with Bureau 
officials and review of available documentation, that the Bureau 
adhered to most of its long-standing data release practices. However, 
the Bureau did depart from the traditional day and location for the 
release of the Income and Poverty Estimates report in 2003 and 
subsequent years. According to the Bureau, the day of the 2003 release 
was changed because of a delay in producing a companion report, and the 
location was changed from Washington, D.C., to Suitland, Maryland, in 
part, because the Director of the Census Bureau stated that he wanted 
to raise awareness that the construction of its new headquarters had 
just started. Some of the Bureau’s documented practices, such as 
guidance on who has authority to choose the release date and location, 
lacked specificity. Also, the Bureau’s documented Income and Poverty 
practices are outdated as they are contained in a 21-year-old memo. The 
Bureau is updating it, to among other things, reflect current 
technology. 

Figure: Bureau Press Conference for Release of Income and Poverty 
Estimates: 

[See PDF for Image] 

[End of Figure] 

Most of the 14 statistical agencies in GAO’s review generally adhered 
to NRC’s guidance, important for (1) the wide dissemination of data, 
and (2) maintaining a strong position of independence. Still, there 
were some notable gaps. For example, 6 of the 14 agencies lacked 
dissemination policies (as recommended by NRC) that promote the regular 
and frequent release of major findings from an agency’s statistical 
program. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in concert with 
other statistical agencies, is developing governmentwide guidance on 
the release and dissemination of statistical products that, according 
to OMB officials, parallels NRC’s and other generally accepted release 
practices. OMB’s guidance could foster more consistent adherence to 
practices that promote broader dissemination of statistical data and 
enhance its credibility, especially to the extent they address gaps GAO 
found between agencies’ data dissemination practices and NRC’s 
guidance. 

What GAO Recommends: 

The Secretary of Commerce should direct the Bureau to fully document 
its dissemination practices for the Income and Poverty Estimates. GAO 
also recommends that OMB consider (1) how to address gaps identified 
between agencies’ dissemination practices and NRC’s guidance, and (2) 
how OMB’s proposed guidance should address documentation, coverage, and 
other questions noted in this report. In its comments on a draft of 
this report, Commerce neither agreed nor disagreed with GAO’s 
recommendation but reiterated GAO’s finding that the Bureau is updating 
its practices for releasing the Income and Poverty Estimates. OMB did 
not have comments. 

[Hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-607]. 

To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on 
the link above. For more information, contact Brenda S. Farrell at 
(202) 512-6806 or farrellb@gao.gov. 

[End of Section] 

Contents: 

Letter: 

Results in Brief: 

Background: 

Release of Income and Poverty Estimates Adhered to Most of the Bureau's 
Data Dissemination Practices: 

Governmentwide Guidance Is Being Developed That May Improve Statistical 
Agencies' Data Dissemination Practices: 

Conclusions: 

Recommendations for Executive Action: 

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation: 

Appendix I: Scope and Methodology: 

Appendix II: Comments from the Department of Commerce: 

Appendix III: GAO Contact and Acknowledgments: 

Related GAO Reports: 

Tables: 

Table 1: Income and Poverty Estimates Have Traditionally Been Released 
on a Tuesday or a Thursday at the National Press Club: 

Table 2: Most Statistical Agencies Reported That They Generally Adhered 
to the National Research Council's Guidance for Releasing Information: 

United States Government Accountability Office: 

Washington, DC 20548: 

May 31, 2006: 

The Honorable Wm. Lacy Clay: 
Ranking Minority Member: 
Subcommittee on Federalism and the Census: 
Committee on Government Reform: 
House of Representatives: 

The Honorable Carolyn B. Maloney: 
House of Representatives: 

Data collected and disseminated by federal statistical agencies are a 
critical strategic asset because they provide indicators of the 
economic and social well-being of the nation and help inform agencies' 
rule-making activities. Given the widespread use and the impact of 
federal information, the data itself, the timing of reports, and any 
news releases that accompany them must be accurate and objective. 
Moreover, statistical agencies must be viewed as credible to secure the 
public's trust. One way statistical agencies foster credibility is by 
maintaining a position of independence; that is, taking appropriate 
steps that help ensure their data products and the timing of their 
release are free from even an appearance of political influence. 

Because of the sensitivity of certain statistical information, 
seemingly mundane actions, such as the timing of a data release, can be 
called into question, as interested parties may perceive the change as 
a maneuver to obscure or manipulate the information for partisan 
purposes. The Department of Commerce, which has a number of data 
gathering programs under its purview, oversees the U.S. Bureau of the 
Census (Bureau). Among its many surveys, the Bureau has responsibility 
to report estimates of the nation's income and poverty. In 2003, the 
Bureau changed the day and location for releasing this information. 
Because the estimates showed that poverty rates had risen, some data 
users believed that the change was an effort to suppress unfavorable 
news, and called into question the Bureau's practices for disseminating 
such data, and the Department of Commerce's role in the 2003 release. 

This letter responds to your request that we review the Bureau's level 
of independence in releasing its annual Income and Poverty Estimates 
over the last several years. As agreed with your offices, we determined 
the extent to which (1) the Bureau adhered to its dissemination 
practices for the issuance of the 2003 annual Income and Poverty 
Estimates and subsequent releases in 2004 and 2005, and (2) the Bureau 
and 13 other federal statistical agencies follow data dissemination 
practices that the National Academy of Sciences' National Research 
Council (NRC) recommend in a 2005 report.[Footnote 1] 

To address the first objective, we reviewed relevant program documents 
and interviewed Bureau officials responsible for disseminating the 
Income and Poverty Estimates and other data releases. The dissemination 
process includes the steps from approval of the report content up to 
and including public distribution of the report. For the second 
objective, we surveyed key officials at the Bureau and 13 other federal 
statistical agencies collecting information on their practices for 
releasing data. We compared the 14 agencies' practices to those 
developed by NRC that are important for (1) the wide dissemination of 
data, and (2) maintaining a strong position of independence. According 
to NRC, elements within these practices facilitate the provision of 
timely, credible, and politically neutral information into the hands of 
data users. Appendix I provides additional details on our scope and 
methodology. We conducted our work between March 2005 and April 2006 in 
accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. 

Results in Brief: 

While not all of the Bureau's data dissemination practices are 
documented, we were able to determine through discussions with Bureau 
officials and review of available documentation, that the Bureau 
adhered to most of its long-standing data release practices. In 
changing the date and location of the 2003 and subsequent releases of 
the Income and Poverty Estimates, the Bureau did depart from its 
tradition of releasing this information on a Tuesday or Thursday at a 
news conference at the National Press Club. That said, under the 
Bureau's documented data dissemination practices (1) there is no 
requirement for the Bureau to release this information at a particular 
location on a given day, and (2) no particular official is designated 
authority to choose the release date and location. Also, the Bureau's 
documented data dissemination practices for the Income and Poverty 
Estimates are contained in a memo from 1985. The Bureau is updating 
them, to among other things, reflect current technology. 

Bureau officials stated that the date of the 2003 release was changed 
from September 23rd to September 26th for several reasons, including 
delays in producing a companion report on supplemental measures of 
expenditures, consumption, and poverty. According to Bureau officials 
we interviewed and available documents, the Commerce Department's Under 
Secretary for Economic Affairs wanted to release the two reports 
simultaneously to broaden the public's understanding of social well- 
being, a decision that was consistent with the Bureau's ongoing effort 
to provide alternative measures of poverty. 

In 2004, the Bureau moved up the release of the Income and Poverty 
Estimates to August of that year so it would coincide with the release 
of data from the American Community Survey.[Footnote 2] According to 
Bureau officials, this was done in an attempt to head off the confusing 
press coverage that occurred the previous year when estimates from 
Income and Poverty Estimates did not always match estimates from the 
American Community Survey. In 2004, when the Bureau issued the Income 
and Poverty Estimates and American Community Survey numbers at the same 
time, the Bureau's news release explained the methodological and other 
factors that could account for any differences. 

Bureau officials stated that in 2003, the location of the press 
conference for the Income and Poverty Estimates was changed from 
Washington, D.C., to the Bureau's Suitland, Maryland campus, in part, 
because the Director of the Census Bureau wanted to raise awareness 
that the construction of its new headquarters building had just 
started. According to Bureau officials, future releases of the annual 
Income and Poverty Estimates are to occur at the Suitland, Maryland 
campus in late August. 

Most of the 14 statistical agencies we included in our review reported 
general adherence to NRC's guidance, important for (1) the wide 
dissemination of data, and (2) maintaining a strong position of 
independence. Still, there were some noteworthy gaps. On the one hand, 
for example, all 14 agencies (in accordance with NRC guidance) had 
multiple avenues for disseminating data, released data in a variety of 
formats, and had policies to guide what data should be preserved and 
how they should be archived. On the other hand, adherence to NRC's 
practices was not universal. For example, 6 of the 14 agencies lacked 
dissemination practices that promote the regular and frequent release 
of major findings from an agency's statistical programs to the public 
via the media, the Internet, and other means. 

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in concert with the federal 
statistical agencies, is developing a governmentwide directive on the 
release and dissemination of statistical products that, according to 
OMB officials, parallels NRC's and other generally accepted 
dissemination practices. OMB officials indicated the guidance is 
intended to help ensure statistical products are policy-neutral, 
timely, and accurate. To the extent that statistical agencies 
appropriately follow these practices, the directive could promote more 
consistent adherence to practices that facilitate broader dissemination 
of statistical data and enhance its credibility. For example, OMB's 
directive could help replace the patchwork of agency-specific guidance 
with a more transparent, commonly accepted, and consistently applied 
framework for disseminating data. OMB plans to release the directive 
for public comment in the spring of 2006. 

We are recommending that the Secretary of Commerce direct the Bureau 
to, as part of its efforts to update its practices for releasing the 
Income and Poverty Estimates, fully document those practices. We are 
also making recommendations to the Director of OMB, as OMB completes 
work on its draft dissemination directive, to consider how best to 
address the gaps we identified between agencies' data dissemination 
practices and NRC's guidance, as well as certain questions concerning 
coverage, documentation, flexibility, monitoring, and the posting of 
data. 

The Secretary of Commerce provided written comments on a draft of this 
report (see app. II). While Commerce neither agreed nor disagreed with 
our recommendation for the Bureau to fully document its key data 
dissemination practices for releasing the Income and Poverty Estimates, 
Commerce reiterated the point we made in our report that the Bureau is 
updating its practices for releasing the Income and Poverty Estimates. 
Commerce noted that the updated document--which details the 
dissemination practices for the Income and Poverty Estimates--is under 
review. The Bureau plans to issue it prior to the next release of the 
Income and Poverty Estimates expected in August 2006. 

The Director of OMB did not have comments on the recommendations to 
them. However, OMB officials provided suggestions for technical 
corrections and we revised the report to reflect these suggestions as 
appropriate. 

Background: 

In September 2003, the Bureau broke from its tradition of releasing its 
Income and Poverty Estimates on a Tuesday or Thursday at a news 
conference at the National Press Club (see table 1). The data were 
instead released at a news conference on a Friday at Bureau 
Headquarters in Suitland, Maryland. Although the Bureau provided the 
media and other attendees with bus service from the National Press Club 
to Suitland, because the data showed that poverty levels had risen, 
some data users expressed concern that the change in day and location 
was an attempt to suppress unfavorable information by releasing it at a 
more remote location and before a weekend, when the public tends to pay 
less attention to the news. 

Table 1: Income and Poverty Estimates Have Traditionally Been Released 
on a Tuesday or a Thursday at the National Press Club: 

Year: 1996; 
Date/Day: September 26 - Thursday; 
Location: National Press Club. 

Year: 1997; 
Date/Day: September 29 - Monday; 
Location: National Press Club. 

Year: 1998; 
Date/Day: September 24 - Thursday; 
Location: National Press Club. 

Year: 1999; 
Date/Day: September 30 - Thursday; 
Location: National Press Club. 

Year: 2000; 
Date/Day: September 26 - Tuesday; 
Location: National Press Club. 

Year: 2001; 
Date/Day: September 25 - Tuesday; 
Location: National Press Club. 

Year: 2002; 
Date/Day: September 24 - Tuesday; 
Location: National Press Club. 

Year: 2003; 
Date/Day: September 26 - Friday; 
Location: Census Bureau. 

Year: 2004; 
Date/Day: August 26 - Thursday; 
Location: Census Bureau. 

Year: 2005; 
Date/Day: August 30 - Tuesday; 
Location: Census Bureau. 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. 

[End of table] 

The Income and Poverty Estimates, like other kinds of federal 
statistical information, provide key measures of the health and well- 
being of our society. As a result, the data need to be accurate, 
timely, accessible, relevant, and objective. At the same time, 
according to NRC, the manner in which agencies release the data is also 
important, and needs to be free from even an appearance of bias and 
political manipulation. Failure to meet this goal could undermine 
public confidence in the information and erode an agency's credibility. 

That said, although various guidance and laws have been developed to 
safeguard the overall quality of federal data, few governmentwide 
provisions directly address the data dissemination process itself, and 
agencies have largely been left to develop their own practices. For 
example, while OMB's Statistical Policy Directive Number 3, 
"Compilation, Release, and Evaluation of Principal Federal Economic 
Indicators" provides detailed guidance on the dissemination of data, it 
only applies to 38 market sensitive principal economic indicators. 
Statistical Policy Directive Number 3 is highly regarded in the 
statistical community because it provides statistical agencies with 
comprehensive data dissemination guidance, requiring agencies to, among 
other actions, promptly release data according to an established 
schedule, and announce and fully explain any schedule changes in 
advance. 

Under the Information Quality Act,[Footnote 3] OMB was required to 
issue governmentwide guidelines that provide policy and procedural 
guidance to federal agencies for ensuring and maximizing the quality, 
objectivity, utility, and integrity of information disseminated by 
federal agencies. OMB's guidelines, issued in final form in February 
2002, directed agencies covered by the act (statistical agencies and 
most others) to issue their own quality guidelines. OMB's guidelines 
imposed certain core responsibilities on agencies, including 
incorporating quality into their information dissemination practices. 
OMB noted that quality consists of several dimensions, including 
objectivity (which focuses on whether the disseminated information is 
accurate, reliable, and unbiased in presentation and substance). 

More generally, OMB helps ensure that the activities of the statistical 
agencies are in line with federal statistical policy by coordinating 
agency budget requests and interagency groups working on statistical 
issues, issuing statistical standards, and reviewing agency requests to 
collect information. 

This report is the latest of several studies we have issued on the 
quality of federal data. See Related GAO Reports at the end of this 
report for a list of selected products we have issued to date. 

Release of Income and Poverty Estimates Adhered to Most of the Bureau's 
Data Dissemination Practices: 

While not all of the Bureau's data dissemination practices are 
documented, we were able to determine through discussions with Bureau 
officials and review of available documentation, that the Bureau 
adhered to most of its long-standing data release practices. In 
changing the date and location of the 2003 and subsequent releases of 
the Income and Poverty Estimates, the Bureau did depart from its 
tradition of releasing this information on a Tuesday or Thursday at a 
news conference at the National Press Club. That said, under the 
Bureau's documented data dissemination practices (1) there is no 
requirement for the Bureau to release this information at a particular 
location on a given day and, (2) no particular official is designated 
authority to choose the release date and location. Bureau officials 
stated that the date of the 2003 release was changed from September 
23rd to September 26th for several reasons, including delays in 
producing a companion report on supplemental measures of expenditures, 
consumption, and poverty that was to be released at the same time. 
Also, the 2004 and 2005 estimates were released a month earlier than in 
prior years to coincide with the release of data from the American 
Community Survey. The documented practices for disseminating the Income 
and Poverty Estimates are contained in a memo that is 21 years old so 
the Bureau is updating them, to among other things, reflect current 
technology. 

The Bureau's Income and Poverty Estimate Dissemination Practices Are 
Derived from Several Sources: 

The Bureau has several sources of documented, agencywide practices for 
disseminating data to the public. For example, in accordance with OMB's 
guidelines for implementing the Information Quality Act, the Bureau 
developed its own set of quality guidelines that include provisions 
aimed at ensuring the objectivity and integrity of its data.[Footnote 
4] The Bureau also has a series of data dissemination practices 
available on its Intranet site and it has issued four standards 
governing the dissemination of data products,[Footnote 5] including 
Dissemination of Census and Survey Data Products.[Footnote 6] We found 
that the only documented practices specific to the release of the 
Income and Poverty Estimates are contained in a 1985 memorandum that 
was included as one of several appendixes to the Bureau's 
Administrative Manual. The manual provides Bureau policy on the release 
of data and guidance for divisions to follow in responding to requests 
for such information. 

The 1985 memorandum, which was signed by the Director of the Census 
Bureau at the time, includes eight broad steps, covering the process 
for disseminating the Income and Poverty Estimates. The eight steps 
include the time period from approval of the report content up to and 
including distributing the report at the press conference. 

1. The Associate Director for Demographic Fields approves the final 
content of the report prepared by the Population Division after review 
by the Statistical Methods Division. 

2. The Public Information Office receives a copy of the final content 
to draft a press release. This draft release is approved within the 
Census Bureau, by the Public Affairs Specialist in the Under Secretary 
for Economic Affairs' office, and by the Commerce Department's 
newsroom. 

3. The report is prepared for camera-ready form. 

4. Camera-ready copy is sent to the printer. 

5. When the completion time for this report is known, the Census Bureau 
establishes the release date and time with Commerce Department 
concurrence. 

6. Approximately 48 hours before report release date and time, the 
Census Bureau briefs the Deputy Secretary for Economic Affairs on the 
principal findings. 

7. The Census Bureau makes the report and accompanying press release 
available to the media on the established date at 9 a.m. for 10 a.m. 
release.[Footnote 7] 

8. The Census Bureau distributes the report and press release to the 
Congress and the OMB at the same time as the media. 

Release of 2003 and Subsequent Income and Poverty Estimates: 

In releasing the 2003 Income and Poverty Estimates, the Bureau adhered 
to most of its data dissemination practices. The change in the date and 
location of the 2003 and subsequent releases of the Income and Poverty 
Estimates was a departure from the Bureau's tradition of releasing this 
information on a Tuesday or Thursday at a news conference at the 
National Press Club. That said, under the Bureau's documented data 
dissemination practices there is no requirement for the Bureau to 
release this information at a particular location on a given day. Based 
on our review of available documentation and our interviews with 
officials involved with the Income and Poverty Estimates, the Bureau 
followed the steps in the 1985 memo in the 2003, 2004 and 2005 
releases, with the exception of the release time as previously 
described. 

While the Bureau complied with its documented practices for the 
dissemination of the Income and Poverty Estimates, they lacked 
specificity. For example, clear and specific documentation does not 
exist for how and when the release date and location are to be 
determined for the Income and Poverty Estimates and who should make 
those decisions. In actuality, as discussed in greater detail 
subsequently, in 2003, the Director of the Census Bureau chose the 
location and the Associate Director for Communications chose the date. 
However, because this was not thoroughly documented (the 1985 memo only 
provides general guidance), it is unclear to the public who made these 
decisions and how they were made. 

Furthermore, Bureau officials told us that they did not retain any 
internal memos or e-mails that documented the decision to change the 
2003 Income and Poverty Estimates release, which would have provided 
evidence to support the Bureau's narrative of the events leading up to 
the release. 

According to the Bureau, Delays in the Companion Report Caused Change 
in Timing of the 2003 Release: 

Based on our review of available Bureau documents and interviews with 
key Bureau officials, several factors led to the change in the timing 
of the release of the 2003 and subsequent Income and Poverty Estimates. 

The Chief of the Census Bureau's Housing and Household Economic 
Statistics Division[Footnote 8] at the time of the 2003 release of 
Income and Poverty Estimates, and other senior officials we spoke to, 
stated that the 2003 Income and Poverty Estimates release was different 
from years past because the Bureau decided earlier that year to issue 
the report at the same time as a multi-agency report on supplemental 
measures of expenditures, consumption, and poverty.[Footnote 9] This 
decision was made before the findings of the Income and Poverty 
Estimates report were known. Bureau officials stated that although the 
original target date for releasing both reports was September 23, 2003, 
complications with finalizing the supplemental measures report kept it 
from being ready for release on that day. 

According to Bureau officials and documents we reviewed, because the 
supplemental measures of expenditures, consumption, and poverty report 
involved several statistical agencies, there was a different clearance 
process than that used for the Income and Poverty Estimates report. As 
a result, while the Bureau had completed its review of the latter 
report, all the members of a steering committee still needed to review 
the report on supplemental measures. 

At the same time, based on our discussions with Bureau officials 
involved with the Income and Poverty Estimates report, as well as 
available documents, the Commerce Department's Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs wanted to release both reports simultaneously in an 
effort to broaden the public's understanding of social well-being. The 
Under Secretary's decision was consistent with the Bureau's ongoing 
effort to provide alternative estimates of poverty, which itself 
stemmed from a 1995 report by the National Academy of Sciences that 
recommended revising how poverty is measured. 

Because of the additional time required to clear the supplemental 
measures report, Bureau officials responsible for the Income and 
Poverty Estimates asked for a later date to issue their report. 
Consequently, the Bureau's Associate Director for Communications, with 
the Director's consent, scheduled Friday, September 26, 2003, as the 
release date for the Income and Poverty Estimates, and both reports 
were issued on that date.[Footnote 10] 

Under the Bureau's guidance for dealing with the media, Census Bureau 
analysts are to arrange their work schedules to be available for 
inquiries for 2 to 3 days after a data release. This is why, prior to 
2003, the Bureau tended to release the Income and Poverty Estimates 
earlier in the week: it obviated the need for analysts to work on the 
weekend. Additionally, Bureau officials said that because of the 
Internet and cable television, the news cycle is no longer viewed as a 
cycle and has instead become a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week operation. 
Thus, many of the media's inquiries occur the same day as the data are 
released. While it seldom does so, the Bureau has released other 
reports on Fridays, such as its 2001 health insurance report.[Footnote 
11] 

For the 2004 and 2005 releases of Income and Poverty Estimates, the 
data were released in August at the same time as data from the American 
Community Survey. Bureau officials reported the Income and Poverty 
Estimates (which come from the Bureau's Current Population Survey) are: 

one of several sources of income and poverty information issued by the 
Bureau. Starting in 2003, the Bureau began releasing income and poverty 
information from the American Community Survey, which produces data 
independent from the Current Population Survey. Bureau officials 
reported that for methodological and other reasons, estimates from the 
Current Population Survey, in some cases, did not match estimates from 
the American Community Survey, causing confusing press coverage. In 
August 2004, when the Bureau released the two data sets at the same 
time, the press release that accompanied the estimates explained why 
the two sets of numbers might not match. (According to Bureau 
officials, the plans to move the release date from September 2004 to 
August 2004 were in place well before the actual release.) Going 
forward, the Bureau plans to continue its practice of releasing the 
American Community Survey data and the Income and Poverty Estimates 
simultaneously around the last Thursday in August. 

According to the Bureau, Several Factors Affected the Change in 
Location of the 2003 Release: 

According to a senior official we interviewed in the Bureau's Public 
Information Office, the location of the 2003 Income and Poverty 
Estimates news conference was changed from the National Press Club in 
Washington, D.C., at the request of the Director of the Census Bureau, 
to help raise awareness of the Bureau's new headquarters building, 
which was under construction. The groundbreaking ceremony at the new 
site on the Bureau's campus in Suitland, Maryland, had taken place 
several weeks earlier, and a Bureau official reported the Director 
wanted the media to see the improvements the Bureau was making at its 
headquarters location, as well as to foster a spirit of good feeling, 
and highlight how Bureau officials hoped that the new building would 
help improve the morale of Bureau employees. The Bureau provided bus 
service for attendees from the original location at the National Press 
Club in downtown D.C., to Bureau headquarters in Suitland, a distance 
of around 8 miles. 

Additionally, according to the Bureau's Associate Director for 
Strategic Planning and Innovation, the location of the news conference 
is no longer as relevant as it once was because of changes in 
technology. The 2003 news conference was broadcast in real time via the 
Internet, and materials were made available on the Bureau's Web 
site.[Footnote 12] The Associate Director for Strategic Planning and 
Innovation noted that because of these advances and accommodations, 
news media on-location attendance has declined over recent years. Yet, 
overall media participation has increased via the availability of Web 
casts, satellite-feed transmissions and telephone-audio access. 
Consequently, the Suitland, Maryland headquarters is now the primary 
location for this annual news conference. 

Bureau Officials Made Key Decisions on Releasing Income and Poverty 
Estimates: 

Because the Bureau did not maintain a written record of the release 
decision, a precise list of the personnel involved and time line of 
events is unavailable. However, according to the Bureau officials we 
interviewed, the following Bureau employees were involved in the 
process for releasing the Income and Poverty Estimates in 2003: 

* Director of the Census Bureau; 

* Deputy Director/Chief Operating Officer; 

* Chief of the Bureau's Housing and Household Economic Statistics 
Division; 

* Assistant Division Chief for Income, Poverty, and Health Statistics; 

* Associate Director for Demographic Programs, now serving as the 
Associate Director for Strategic Planning and Innovation; 

* Associate Director for Communications; 

* Staff from the Bureau's Housing and Household Economic Statistics 
Division; 

* Staff from the Bureau's Administrative and Customer Services 
Division; and: 

* Chief and Deputy Chief of the Bureau's Public Information Office. 

Bureau officials said that prerelease access to the Income and Poverty 
Estimates is tightly controlled because of the possible economic impact 
of the data. They stated its contents are shared with staff on a need- 
to-know basis, where only those individuals who are involved with 
drafting the report or the accompanying press release have access to 
the information. They noted further that key steps in preparing and 
releasing the report included the following: 

1. Program staff from the Bureau's Housing and Household Economic 
Statistics Division drafted the Income and Poverty Estimates report. 

2. A branch chief reviewed and approved the draft followed by the 
Associate Division Chief, the Division Chief, and ultimately the 
Associate Director for Demographic Programs, who reports to the Bureau 
Director. These senior officials reviewed the report for such things as 
clarity and presentation. 

3. When the content of the report was finalized, the Bureau's Public 
Information Office was sent a copy so it could draft a press release. 

4. The final draft was sent to the Bureau's Administrative and Customer 
Service Division, which designed the tables and figures, edited the 
text, and prepared a camera-ready version of the report for printing. 

According to Bureau officials, the Department of Commerce had only 
limited access to information from the Income and Poverty Estimates 
report before it was issued, and Commerce officials played no role in 
the decision-making process surrounding its release. For example, 
Commerce's Office of Public Affairs reviewed the press release that 
accompanied the report and thus had access to some of the numbers as 
well as the key findings in the report. However, the office did not 
have access to any of the tables that are placed on the Internet. 
(According to the Bureau, Commerce usually provides a "hook" for the 
news media. In 2003, the press release was issued Friday, September 26, 
and noted, on the first line, that the nation's poverty rate rose from 
11.7 percent in 2001 to 12.1 percent in 2002.)[Footnote 13] Moreover, 
the Bureau considers the press release part of the report and holds it 
to the same standards for statistical quality as the report itself. 

Additionally, according to Bureau officials, the Division Chief and the 
Assistant Division Chief briefed the Director of the Census Bureau on 
the report about a week before the September 26, 2003, press 
conference. Commerce's Under Secretary for Economic Affairs was briefed 
a day or two before the press conference and the Under Secretary's 
staff were provided with the final report at that time. (The report was 
also provided to the Council of Economic Advisers the afternoon before 
the press conference.) 

The Bureau Is Updating Its Practices for Releasing the Income and 
Poverty Estimates: 

The then Chief of the Census Bureau's Housing and Household Economic 
Statistics Division told us the Bureau is updating its practices for 
releasing the Income and Poverty Estimates. The official stated that 
the Bureau was prompted to revisit the 1985 memo by the fact the memo 
does not include all of the Bureau's long-standing data dissemination 
practices; that some of the practices in the 1985 memo are obsolete 
given the age of the guidance; and the rise of the Internet and other 
technological advances have had an effect. The official added that the 
process for releasing Income and Poverty Estimates has become more 
formalized over time. 

Bureau officials began drafting these revisions after the 2004 release. 
In addition to updating the obsolete practices, Bureau officials stated 
they planned to document the current practice of combining the Income 
and Poverty Estimates release with the American Community Survey 
release. The Bureau plans to issue its updated practices prior to the 
next release of the Income and Poverty Estimates expected in August 
2006. 

Governmentwide Guidance Is Being Developed That May Improve Statistical 
Agencies' Data Dissemination Practices: 

Most of the 14 statistical agencies we reviewed reported general 
adherence to NRC's guidance, important for (1) the wide dissemination 
of data, and (2) maintaining a strong position of independence, 
although there were some notable gaps. OMB, in concert with the 
statistical agencies, has developed draft guidance on the release and 
dissemination of statistical products that, according to OMB officials, 
parallel NRC's guidance. To the extent it is comparable to NRC's 
guidance and other widely accepted procedures for disseminating data, 
the proposed OMB directive could promote more consistent adherence to 
practices that promote broader dissemination of statistical data and 
enhance the data's credibility. 

Most Agencies' Data Dissemination Practices Generally Adhered to NRC's 
Guidance for Disseminating Information and Maintaining Their 
Independence: 

According to NRC, statistical agencies must have "vigorous and well- 
planned dissemination programs to get information into the hands of 
users who need it on a timely basis." Attributes of a good 
dissemination program include using a variety of mechanisms to inform 
the widest possible audience about available data products and how to 
acquire them. Agencies should also have arrangements for archiving the 
information so that it is available for future use, as well as a 
publications policy that describes, among other things, the types of 
data products that will be made available, the frequency of their 
release, and the audiences they serve. 

NRC also notes that a statistical agency needs to be politically 
independent; that is, it "must be impartial and avoid even the 
appearance that its collection, analysis, and reporting processes might 
be manipulated for political purposes. . . ." Elements of this practice 
include having the authority for decisions associated with the scope, 
content, and publication of the data, as well as the authority for the 
selection and promotion of professional, operational, and technical 
staff. 

As shown in table 2, the data dissemination procedures of the 14 
statistical agencies we reviewed included elements that were generally 
aligned with NRC's guidance for the wide dissemination of data and 
maintaining a strong position of independence. 

Table 2: Most Statistical Agencies Reported That They Generally Adhered 
to the National Research Council's Guidance for Releasing Information: 

1; 
Wide Dissemination of Data Elements: A variety of avenues for data 
dissemination, chosen to reach as broad a public as reasonably 
possible; 
Number of Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: [Empty]; 
Number of Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: [Empty]. 

Wide Dissemination of Data Elements: a) Regular communication of major 
findings may be disseminated via an agency's Internet Web site, 
government depository libraries, conference exhibits and programs, 
newsletters and journals, e-mail address lists, and the media for 
regular communication of major findings; 
Number of Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: : 14; 
Number of Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: : --. 

Wide Dissemination of Data Elements: b) The broadest possible audience 
of potential users may be informed about available data products and 
how to obtain them, and may include providing direct access to data on 
the Internet, depositing data products in libraries, establishing a 
network of data centers (such as the Census Bureau's state data 
centers), holding exhibits and making presentations at conferences, and 
maintaining lists of individuals and organizations to notify of new 
data; 
Number of Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: : 14; 
Number of Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: : --. 

Wide Dissemination of Data Elements: c) Data releases are made 
available in printed publications, on computer-readable media (e.g., CD-
ROM), and on the Internet; 
Number of Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: 2: 14; 
Number of Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: 2: --. 

2; 
Wide Dissemination of Data Elements: Release of data in a variety of 
formats (e.g., printed reports, various kinds of computer-readable data 
files with careful, complete documentation); 
Number of Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: 14; 
Number of Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: --. 

3; 
Wide Dissemination of Data Elements: Policies for the preservation of 
data that guide what data to retain and how they are to be archived for 
future secondary analysis; 
Number of Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: 14; 
Number of Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: --. 

4; 
Wide Dissemination of Data Elements: An established publications policy 
that describes, for a data collection program, the types of reports and 
other data releases to be made available, the audience to be served, 
and the frequency of release; 
Number of Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: [Empty]; 
Number of Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: [Empty]. 

Wide Dissemination of Data Elements: a) the types of reports to be made 
available; 
Number of Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: : 9; 
Number of Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: : 5. 

Wide Dissemination of Data Elements: b) data releases to be made 
available; 
Number of Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: : 11; 
Number of Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: : 3. 

Wide Dissemination of Data Elements: c) the audience to be served; 
Number of Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: : 7; 
Number of Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: : 7. 

Wide Dissemination of Data Elements: d) the frequency of release; 
Number of Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: 5: 8; 
Number of Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: 5: 6. 

5; 
Wide Dissemination of Data Elements: Procedures for release of 
information that preclude actual or perceived political interference. 
In particular, the timing of the public release of data should be the 
responsibility of the statistical agency; 
Number of Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: 12; 
Number of Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: 2. 

6; 
Maintaining a Strong Position of Independence Elements: Dissemination 
policies that foster regular, frequent release of major findings from 
an agency's statistical programs to the public via the media, the 
Internet, and other means; 
Number of Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: 8; 
Number of Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: 6. 

7; 
Maintaining a Strong Position of Independence Elements: Adherence to 
predetermined schedules in the public release of important statistical 
indicators to prevent even the appearance of manipulation of release 
dates for political purposes; 
Number of Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: [Empty]; 
Number of Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: [Empty]. 

Maintaining a Strong Position of Independence Elements: a) 
Predetermined schedules exist for the public release of data (e.g., 
social and economic indicators and other statistical information), and; 
Number of Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: : 12; 
Number of Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: : 2. 

Maintaining a Strong Position of Independence Elements: b) When an 
agency modifies a customary release schedule, this is done for 
statistical purposes, and the agency announces and explains the change 
in advance; 
Number of Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: 8: 5; 
Number of Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: 8: 9. 

8; 
Maintaining a Strong Position of Independence Elements: Recognition by 
policy officials outside the statistical agency of the agency's 
authority to release statistical information without prior clearance by 
department policy officials; 
Number of Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: 4; 
Number of Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: 10. 

9; 
Maintaining a Strong Position of Independence Elements: Authority for 
statistical agency heads and qualified staff to speak about the 
agency's statistics before Congress, with congressional staff, and 
before public bodies; 
Number of Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: 14; 
Number of Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: -. 

10; 
Maintaining a Strong Position of Independence Elements: Maintenance of 
a clear distinction between statistical information and policy 
interpretations of such information by the President, the secretary of 
the department, or others in the executive branch; 
Number of Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: 12; 
Number of Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: 2. 

11; 
Maintaining a Strong Position of Independence Elements: Authority for 
professional decisions over the scope, content, and frequency of data 
compiled, analyzed, or published; 
Number of Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: 12; 
Number of Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: 2. 

12; 
Maintaining a Strong Position of Independence Elements: Authority for 
selection and promotion of professional, technical, and operational 
staff; 
Number of Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: 5; 
Number of Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: 9. 

13; 
Maintaining a Strong Position of Independence Elements: Authority to 
ensure that information technology systems for data processing and 
analysis securely maintain the integrity and confidentiality of data 
and reliably support timely and accurate production of key statistics; 
Number of Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: [Empty]; 
Number of Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: [Empty]. 

Maintaining a Strong Position of Independence Elements: a) Statistical 
agency has authority to secure information technology systems for data 
processing and analysis; 
Number of Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: : 8; 
Number of Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: : 6. 

Maintaining a Strong Position of Independence Elements: b) Statistical 
agency controls access to records of individual respondents by policy, 
program, or regulatory agencies; 
Number of Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: Number of 
Agencies That Reported Following NRC Guidance: 12; 
Number of Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: Number of 
Agencies That Do Not Report Following NRC Guidance: 2. 

Source: GAO analysis. 

[End of table] 

Twelve or more of the agencies reported having data dissemination 
practices possessing four of the five elements related to the wide 
dissemination of data. All 14 agencies reported their data 
dissemination practices followed NRC's guidance for (1) having multiple 
avenues for disseminating data, (2) releasing data in a variety of 
formats, and (3) having policies to guide what data should be preserved 
and how it should be archived. Similarly, 12 or more of the agencies' 
dissemination practices had characteristics associated with five of the 
eight elements corresponding to maintaining a strong position of 
independence. These elements include (1) adherence to predetermined 
data release schedules, and (2) authority to make decisions over the 
scope, content, and frequency of the data compiled, analyzed, or 
published. 

A greater number of agencies' data dissemination practices lacked 
certain elements important for maintaining a strong position of 
independence. An example of one of these elements is NRC's guidance 
suggesting statistical agencies should have the "authority to release 
statistical information and accompanying materials (including press 
releases) without prior clearance by department policy officials" so 
there is "no opportunity for or perception of political manipulation of 
any of the information." 

However, 10 of the 14 selected agencies reported varying degrees of 
clearance required by department officials. For example, at 2 agencies, 
the department rather than the statistical agency releases statistical 
information. Other agencies have the authority to release statistical 
information, except for press releases, without departmental clearance, 
although in some cases, the department's clearance process is limited 
to reviewing the grammar, punctuation, and other editorial aspects. 
(Among the agencies in our review, 11 agencies use press releases; 1 of 
these 11 agencies first publishes data from all of its major programs 
via a press release; and the 3 remaining agencies reported they do not 
use press releases as a vehicle to disseminate data.) With other 
agencies the clearance process is more involved. For example, one 
agency said it summarizes the data for the press release making sure it 
is fair and complete, while officials at the departmental level might 
insert comments from the cabinet secretary into the release. Further, 6 
of the 14 agencies lacked dissemination policies that promote the 
regular and frequent release of major findings from an agency's 
statistical program. 

As for the Bureau, officials reported that their agency generally 
adhered to NRC's recommended guidelines. A notable gap was that Bureau 
officials did not report adhering to announcing and explaining 
modifications to a customary release schedule in advance (7b in table 
2).[Footnote 14] Bureau officials also lacked the authority to release 
statistical information and accompanying materials (including press 
releases) without prior clearance by department policy officials (8 in 
table 2). Also, while the Bureau's established publications policy 
describes the frequency of release of data collection programs, the 
Bureau reported the policy does not describe the types of reports to be 
made available, the data releases to be made available, or the audience 
to be served (4a-c in table 2). 

OMB Is Developing Governmentwide Data Dissemination Guidance That Could 
Help Strengthen the Credibility of Statistical Information: 

OMB has been working with the federal Interagency Council on 
Statistical Policy to develop guidance for the release and 
dissemination of statistical products. According to OMB officials, the 
guidance is intended to help ensure statistical products are policy- 
neutral, timely, and accurate. OMB officials told us their directive is 
similar to the NRC's recommended practices, as well as to OMB's 
Statistical Policy Directive Number 3, which applies only to the 38 
market-sensitive principal economic indicators produced by the 
Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, and Treasury, as well as 
the Federal Reserve Board. However, OMB officials told us this new 
directive will not be as stringent as Statistical Policy Directive 
Number 3, because the data covered by the directive are released less 
frequently than the principal economic indicators, and the data are not 
considered to be market-sensitive. OMB expects to issue the directive 
for public comment in the spring of 2006. 

To the extent OMB's dissemination directive appropriately addresses the 
principles underlying NRC's guidance and Statistical Policy Directive 
Number 3, the directive could enhance the quality and credibility of 
federal statistical data, in part, by replacing the patchwork of agency-
specific guidance with a more transparent, commonly accepted, and 
consistently applied framework for disseminating data. For example, 
OMB's directive could help promote more consistent adherence to key 
data release practices such as the wide dissemination of data and 
maintaining an agency's independent position. 

As noted in the previous section, the dissemination procedures at 
several statistical agencies we examined lacked elements important for 
these practices, including (1) authority to release statistical 
information without prior clearance by department policy officials, (2) 
data dissemination policies that foster the frequent release of major 
findings from an agency's statistical programs, and (3) an established 
publications policy that describes the types of reports and other data 
releases to be made available. As a result, their data products could 
be better protected, with the directive, from the appearance of, or 
actual political involvement. More specifically, OMB's new directive 
could address how best to address the gaps that exist between agencies' 
data dissemination practices on the one hand, and NRC's guidance on the 
other. 

As OMB moves forward with its new directive, our interviews with OMB 
and statistical agency officials, as well as our past work on data 
quality guidance and internal control standards, identified the 
following questions that will be important for OMB's dissemination 
directive to consider: 

Coverage: What will be covered by the directive?--principal statistical 
agencies only?--the statistical functions of all agencies?--or only 
statistical products? It will be important for OMB's directive to 
clearly define what it does and does not cover so that both statistical 
agencies and their parent organizations share the same understanding of 
their respective authorities, and help ensure dissemination procedures 
are consistently implemented. Certain roles, responsibilities, and 
processes need to be clarified as well. Indeed, officials at two 
statistical agencies we spoke with said there is ambiguity as to 
whether a statistical press release is a statistical product and if so, 
whether statistical agencies can issue them with or without first 
getting releases cleared at the departmental level. Additionally, OMB 
has issued a number of guidelines, directives, and standards on federal 
statistics. Are there any gaps and overlaps among them, and can they be 
better integrated? 

Documentation: To what extent, and how, should agencies document their 
data dissemination procedures and policies, and how often should they 
be reviewed and updated? The agencies we examined did not always 
document their processes for disseminating statistical data, relying 
instead on professional practice. However, as NRC points out: "Although 
a long-standing culture of data quality contributes to professional 
practice, an agency should also seek to develop and document standards 
through an explicit process." 

Moreover, documented guidance would lend more transparency to the data 
dissemination process, and thus provide a basis for agencies to explain 
their dissemination decisions to policy makers, news media, and the 
public. Indeed, an OMB official told us that Statistical Policy 
Directive Number 3 is a useful tool for explaining to high level policy 
officials the procedures agencies must follow to maintain the integrity 
of the data, and why the officials may not access principal economic 
data before it is released to the public nor comment on it until after 
its release. Documented guidance could also help ensure continuity in 
the face of employee turnover. 

The importance of documenting agencies' data dissemination practices 
can be seen in the Bureau's experience in releasing data from the 2000 
Census on the homeless and others without conventional housing, when 
the Bureau was criticized for shifting its position on reporting 
components of this population. In our 2003 report, we noted that 
although the Bureau's decision stemmed from its concerns over the 
reliability of the underlying data, the Bureau's lack of documented, 
clear, transparent, and consistently applied guidance governing the 
release of data from the 2000 Census hampered the Bureau in explaining 
its actions. Had such guidance been in place, it could have helped the 
Bureau be more accountable and consistent in its dealings with the 
public, and helped to ensure that the Bureau's decisions both were, and 
appeared to be, totally objective.[Footnote 15] 

Flexibility: How much leeway should agencies have in implementing OMB's 
directive? Agency officials we spoke with noted the different missions 
of the various statistical agencies and cautioned against a one-size- 
fits-all approach. As a result, it might not be practical to require 
all agencies to meet predetermined release dates because it could lead 
to additional workload burdens and staffing issues. 

Monitoring: How will OMB ensure agencies comply with its directive? 
Indeed, the effectiveness of the policies and procedures laid out in 
OMB's directive will rest in large part on the extent to which agencies 
and their parent departments adhere to them. Related questions include 
whether there should be a regular assessment of agencies' compliance, 
and if so, how often should it occur, and whether this should be done 
by OMB, or by the agencies through a self-assessment. 

Posting Data: Should agencies' dissemination policies include written 
guidance for releasing information via specific channels? Indeed, 
although NRC's guidance calls on agencies to disseminate data using a 
variety of outlets so that the information reaches as wide an audience 
as possible, should agencies also have a standard set of conduits where 
the public will know an agency's data will always be available? Such 
conduits might include, among others, an agency's Web site. Because all 
of an agency's data products would be, at a minimum, available from a 
central point of access, it could help strengthen an agency's 
credibility because the public would always know where to find it. 

Conclusions: 

A key lesson learned from the Bureau's experience is the importance of 
fully documented, specific practices for maintaining the integrity of 
data products, and by extension, the credibility of the agencies that 
release them. Thus, as the Bureau updates its practices for releasing 
the Income and Poverty Estimates, it will be important for the Bureau 
to more thoroughly document its dissemination procedures so they are 
clear to the public. 

Further, OMB's efforts to develop governmentwide guidance on data 
dissemination is a positive step toward enhancing the credibility of 
federal statistical data, especially to the extent the directive 
mirrors NRC's guidance and Statistical Policy Directive Number 3, as it 
would replace each statistical agency's procedures with a more 
transparent, commonly accepted, and consistently applied framework for 
disseminating information. As OMB works to complete its directive, it 
will be important for it to pay particular attention to those elements 
dealing with the wide dissemination of data and maintaining a strong 
position of independence that, our survey of statistical agencies 
suggests can be adhered to by a greater number of agencies. Likewise, 
OMB should also consider other aspects of agencies' data dissemination 
efforts that could make its directive more comprehensive. 

Recommendations for Executive Action: 

To help improve the Bureau's data dissemination practices and thus 
enhance the agency's actual and perceived position of independence, we 
recommend that the Secretary of Commerce direct the Bureau to, as part 
of its efforts to update its practices for releasing the Income and 
Poverty Estimates, fully document its key data dissemination practices 
for releasing the Income and Poverty Estimates. 

Further, to help improve governmentwide data dissemination practices 
that would further safeguard the integrity of federal statistical data, 
we recommend that the Director of OMB ensure his agency, in completing 
its draft directive on the release of federal statistical products, 
considers whether and how to address areas where our survey indicates 
there are gaps between NRC's existing guidance and agencies' practices. 
These areas include the extent to which agencies should have (1) full 
authority to release statistical information without prior clearance by 
their respective departments, (2) data dissemination policies that 
foster the frequent release of major findings from agency's statistical 
programs, and (3) an established publications policy describing the 
types of reports and other releases an agency has available. 

We are also recommending that the Director of OMB direct his agency to 
include in its directive additional elements and characteristics 
important for agencies' data dissemination practices, including (1) 
clear definitions of what is, and what is not covered by the directive, 
(2) the extent to which agencies should document their data 
dissemination guidance and how often the guidance should be reviewed, 
(3) the amount of flexibility agencies have in implementing OMB's 
guidance, (4) procedures for monitoring agencies' adherence to its 
directive, and (5) the feasibility of requiring agencies to distribute 
data products through a standard set of channels as well as through 
other outlets as appropriate, so that the public will always know at 
least one source it can turn to and obtain agency data. 

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation: 

In written comments on a draft of this report, Commerce neither agreed 
nor disagreed with our recommendation for the Bureau to fully document 
its key data dissemination practices for releasing the Income and 
Poverty Estimates. However, Commerce reiterated the point we made in 
our report that the Bureau is updating its practices for releasing the 
Income and Poverty Estimates. Commerce noted that the updated document-
-which details the dissemination practices for the Income and Poverty 
Estimates--is under review. The Bureau plans to issue it prior to the 
next release of the Income and Poverty Estimates expected in August 
2006. Commerce also provided some technical corrections and suggestions 
where additional context might be needed, and we revised the report to 
reflect these comments as appropriate. Commerce's comments are 
reprinted in their entirety in appendix II. 

The Director of OMB did not have comments on our recommendations to 
them. However, OMB officials provided suggestions for technical 
corrections and we revised the report to reflect these suggestions as 
appropriate. 

As agreed with your offices, unless you publicly announce its contents 
earlier, we plan no further distribution of this report until 30 days 
from its issue date. At that time, we will send copies of the report to 
interested congressional committees, the Director of the U.S. Census 
Bureau, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Copies 
will be made available to others on request. This report will also be 
available at no charge on GAO's home page at [Hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov]. 

If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please 
contact me at (202) 512-6806 or farrellb@gao.gov. Contact points for 
our Office of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs can be found 
on the last page of this report. GAO staff that made major 
contributions to this report are listed in appendix III. 

Signed by: 

Brenda S. Farrell: 
Acting Director Strategic Issues: 

[End of section] 

Appendix I: Scope and Methodology: 

To address the extent to which the U.S. Bureau of the Census (Bureau) 
adhered to its dissemination practices for the release of the 2003 
annual Income and Poverty Estimates and subsequent releases we asked 
Bureau officials (in the Housing and Household Economic Statistics 
Division and the Bureau's Public Information Office, among others) to 
identify the Bureau and Department of Commerce officials who 
participated in the data dissemination decisions, and interviewed the 
identified officials to determine their role in the decision-making 
process, and whether they had prerelease access to the information. We 
compared their actions to the Bureau's data dissemination practices. 
The dissemination process includes the steps from approval of the 
report content up to and including public distribution of the report. 
Some of these practices are documented in the Bureau's Policy and 
Procedures Manual, while others are undocumented practices that we 
identified by interviewing cognizant Bureau officials. 

Because written records of key activities related to the release (e.g. 
e-mails, meeting agendas and notes) were either not retained or never 
created, much of our reconstruction of the release was based on 
interviews with the officials involved. We interviewed many of these 
officials both as a group (by department) and individually to obtain as 
complete a picture of the events as possible, and corroborated the 
information we received from the various parties involved. 

To assess the extent to which the Bureau and other federal statistical 
agencies[Footnote 16] followed data dissemination practices that the 
National Academy of Sciences' National Research Council (NRC) 
recommended in its 2005 report, Principles and Practices for a Federal 
Statistical Agency, we surveyed officials at 14 federal statistical 
agencies. (NRC prepared the report to assist statistical agencies in 
making their products as sound as possible.) 

Specifically, we surveyed officials at the Bureau, and 13 additional 
federal statistical agencies to collect information on the procedures 
they followed when releasing data. These 14 agencies comprise the 
Interagency Council on Statistical Policy, a body that coordinates 
federal statistical work and advises Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) on statistical matters. The 14 agencies are: 

1. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce: 

2. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice: 

3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor: 

4. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Department of 
Transportation: 

5. Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce: 

6. Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture: 

7. Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy: 

8. National Agricultural Statistics Service, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture: 

9. National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of 
Education: 

10. National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Department of Health 
and Human Services: 

11. Office of Environmental Information, Environmental Protection 
Agency: 

12. Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics, Social Security 
Administration: 

13. Science Resources Statistics Division, National Science Foundation: 

14. Statistics of Income Division, Internal Revenue Service, U.S. 
Department of the Treasury: 

In surveying the agencies, we reviewed relevant documents such as 
agency policy manuals, and interviewed key officials who included, 
depending on the agency, top management officials, chief statisticians, 
as well as management staff from program, communications, or public 
affairs offices. 

We compared the information they provided us to certain practices that 
the NRC has determined are important to federal statistical agencies in 
the successful conduct of their missions. Specifically, we focused on 
two NRC practices (1) wide dissemination of data, and (2) a strong 
position of independence, because the 13 guidelines or elements 
associated with these two practices are particularly important for data 
dissemination. The first practice, the wide dissemination of data, is 
associated with the mechanics of making the information available to 
the public, including the media for releasing the information, as well 
as how it is formatted and archived. The elements of the second 
practice, a strong position of independence, are essential for 
maintaining the credibility of statistical agencies, as well as for 
providing an unimpeded flow of information to data users. 

To obtain a broader perspective on the governmentwide framework for 
helping to ensure data quality, we also interviewed OMB officials about 
OMB's role in coordinating and overseeing the data dissemination 
activities and reviewed appropriate OMB documents such as Statistical 
Policy Directive Number 2 and Number 3. 

We conducted our work between March 2005 and April 2006 in accordance 
with generally accepted government auditing standards. 

[End of section] 

Appendix II: Comments from the Department of Commerce: 

The Deputy Secretary Of Commerce: 
Washington, D.C. 20230: 

May 19, 2006: 

Ms. Brenda S. Farrell: 
Acting Director: 
Strategic Issues: 
United States Government Accountability Office: 
Washington, DC 20548: 

Dear Ms. Farrell: 

The U.S. Department of Commerce appreciates the opportunity to comment 
on the United States Government Accountability Office's draft report 
entitled Expanded Use of Key Dissemination Practices Would Further 
Safeguard the Integrity of Federal Statistical Data. The Department's 
comments on this report are enclosed. 

Sincerely, 

Signed by: 

David A. Sampson: 

Enclosure: 

U.S. Department of Commerce Comments on the United States Government 
Accountability Office Draft Report Entitled Expanded Use of Key 
Dissemination Practices Would Further Safeguard the Integrity of 
Federal Statistical Data (GAO-06-607): 

comments on Recommendation: 

On page 6, the draft report makes the following recommendation: 

We are recommending that the Secretary of Commerce ensure that the 
Bureau, as part of its efforts to update its practices for releasing 
the Income and Poverty Estimates, fully document those practices. 

As the draft report points out, the U.S. Census Bureau has drafted an 
updated document that describes, in full detail, the data dissemination 
practices for its Income and Poverty Estimates. That document is 
currently undergoing review and is targeted to be finalized before this 
year's planned August release of 2005 income and poverty estimates. 

Other Comments: 

On page 4, the draft report states that the planned release date was 
changed from September 23 to September 26 ". . . because of delays in 
producing a companion report on supplemental measures of expenditures, 
consumption, and poverty." The draft report also discusses reasons for 
the delay on page 14. While the production of this new companion report 
was a factor in this decision, 

there were other changes in the reports released September 2003 that 
played a role. For completeness, we suggest that these other factors 
should be mentioned or at least footnoted, as follows: 

1. The September 2003 reports were the first income and poverty reports 
to include tables and text based on the new Census 2000-consistent race 
groups. 

2. They were also the first to reflect Census 2000-consistent 
industries and occupations. 

3. New tables and analysis on alternative income definitions were added 
to the income report released in September 2003. All of these changes, 
along with the production of the companion report, factored into the 
decision to delay the release. 

On page 11, under step 7, there should be an explanatory note that 
states "For the last three years, the media have received the report as 
if it were an economic indicator. After media are seated in the 
auditorium and the procedures are announced, the report is then 
distributed at approximately 10:10 A.M. The Internet link is also 
opened at 10:10 A.M." 

On page 12, we suggest an addition to the end of the last sentence in 
the first paragraph, so that the end of the sentence would read ". . . 
the Bureau followed the steps in the 1985 memo in the 2003, 2004 and 
2005 releases, with the exception of the release time as previously 
described." 

On page 14, the draft report states, ". . . while the Bureau had 
completed its review of the latter report, a steering committee still 
needed to review the report on supplemental measures." We suggest this 
wording: ". . . while the Bureau had completed its review of the latter 
report, all the members of a steering committee still needed to review 
the report on supplemental measures." 

Also on page 14, the draft report states, "Because of the hold-up in 
clearing the supplemental measures report. We suggest this wording: 
`Because of the additional time required to clear the supplemental 
measures report . 

We also suggest the following wording for the last sentence in that 
paragraph: "Consequently, the Bureau's Associate Director for 
Communications, with the Director's consent, scheduled Friday, 
September 26, 2003, as the first available workday for the release of 
the Income and Poverty Estimates, and both reports were issued on that 
date." 

On page 15, we suggest the following wording for the next-to-last 
sentence in the first paragraph: "Additionally, Bureau officials said 
that because of the Internet and cable television, the news cycle is no 
longer viewed as a cycle and has instead become a 2417 operation. Many 
of the questions come the same day as the data are released." 

In the next paragraph, we suggest that you delete "responsible for the 
2004 release" from the second sentence. 

Also, in the same paragraph, it is incorrect to say that "until 2003, 
the Income and Poverty Estimates (which come from the Bureau's Current 
Population Survey) was the only source of income and poverty 
information issued by the Bureau." The Census Bureau issues income and 
poverty data from several sources other than the Current Population 
Survey (CPS) and the American Community Survey (ACS), including the 
decennial census, the Survey of Income and Program Participation, and 
our Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates Program. Additionally, ACS 
income and poverty estimates for the Nation, states, and large cities 
and counties were released in the summer of 2001 and 2002. The 
difference in 2003 was that this was the first year in which there was 
a significant amount of press coverage that confused the ACS and CPS 
estimates. 

In the same paragraph, in discussing the change in release date from 
September to August 2004, you should note that the plans to make this 
change were in place well before the actual release. There was a 
memorandum sent by the Census Bureau Director to Department of Commerce 
Census Bureau's intention to inform the Office of Management and Budget 
of this change. 

Under Secretary Kathleen Cooper on January 13, 2004, titled "Income and 
Poverty Reports for Reference Year 2003," that outlined that year's 
release plans, the reasons behind them, and the: 

On page 16, first paragraph, change "central location" to "headquarters 
location," and we suggest this wording for the end of the last 
paragraph: "Census Bureau officials noted that because of these 
advances and accommodations, news media on-location attendance has 
declined over recent years. Yet, overall media participation has 
increased via the availability of Webcasts, satellite-feed 
transmissions, and telephone-audio access. Consequently, the Suitland, 
Maryland, headquarters is now the primary location for this annual news 
conference." 

On page 17, change the last bullet to "Chief and Deputy Chief of the 
Bureau's Public Information Office," and in the next paragraph, change 
"prerelease" to "pre-release." 

On page 18, we suggest deleting this sentence: "According to the 
Bureau, Commerce usually provides a "hook" for the news media." 

On page 24, it is not true that the Census Bureau did not report 
modifications to the customary release schedule. In 2004, as noted 
previously, there was a memorandum written by the Census Bureau 
Director in January 2004 that described the rationale for the change. 
There was a Note to Correspondents issued on April 5, 2004, that 
informed the media and stakeholders about the change. There was also a 
Media Advisory released on August 19, 2004, that highlighted the fact 
that ACS and CPS data were being released concurrently for the first 
time. 

We also believe that the Census Bureau has the authority to ensure that 
technology systems securely maintain the integrity and confidentiality 
of data and that these systems reliably support timely and accurate 
productions of key statistics. 

[End of section] 

Appendix III: GAO Contact and Acknowledgments: 

GAO Contact: 

Brenda S. Farrell, (202) 512-6806: 

Acknowledgments: 

In addition to the individual named above, Robert Goldenkoff, Assistant 
Director, as well as Timothy Wexler, April Thompson, Robert Parker, Jay 
Smale, Michael Volpe, Andrea Levine, and Amy Rosewarne made key 
contributions to this report. 

[End of section] 

Related GAO Reports: 

Quality of Federal Data: 

Information Quality Act: National Agricultural Statistics Service 
Implements First Steps, but Documentation of Census of Agriculture 
Could Be Improved. GAO-05-644. Washington, D.C.: September 23, 2005. 

Data Mining: Agencies Have Taken Key Steps to Protect Privacy in 
Selected Efforts, but Significant Compliance Issues Remain. GAO-05-866. 
Washington, D.C.: August 15, 2005. 

Data Quality: Improvements to Count Correction Efforts Could Produce 
More Accurate Census Data. GAO-05-463. Washington, D.C.: June 20, 2005. 

Data Quality: Census Bureau Needs to Accelerate Efforts to Develop and 
Implement Data Quality Review Standards. GAO-05-86. Washington, D.C.: 
November 17, 2004. 

Decennial Census: Methods for Collecting and Reporting Hispanic 
Subgroup Data Need Refinement. GAO-03-228. Washington, D.C.: January 
17, 2003. 

Decennial Census: Methods for Collecting and Reporting Data on the 
Homeless and Others without Conventional Housing Need Refinement. GAO- 
03-227. Washington, D.C.: January 17, 2003. 

2000 Census: Refinements to Full Count Review Program Could Improve 
Future Data Quality. GAO-02-562. Washington, D.C.: July 3, 2002. 

FOOTNOTES 

[1] Margaret E. Martin, Miron L. Straf, and Constance F. Citro eds., 
Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency, (3rd ed.) 
(Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press, 2005). The National 
Academy of Sciences organized the National Research Council in 1916 "to 
associate the broad community of science and technology with the 
Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal 
government." According to Ms. Citro, the Principles and Practices for a 
Federal Statistical Agency report is the signature product of the 
Committee on National Statistics (which is a standing committee of the 
National Research Council). 

[2] The Census Bureau's American Community Survey is a monthly sample 
survey of 250,000 households that is to replace the long-form 
questionnaire used in prior decennial censuses. 

[3] Consolidated Appropriations - Fiscal Year 2001, Pub. L. No. 106- 
554, § 515, 114 Stat. 2763A-153 to 2763A-154 (2000) (44 U.S.C. § 3516 
note). 

[4] http://www.census.gov/quality/quality_guidelines.htm (downloaded 
Oct. 3, 2003). 

[5] The standard, Dissemination of Census and Survey Data Products, 
became effective on May 19, 2005, so it did not apply to the 2003 or 
2004 income and poverty releases. However, it covered the 2005 release 
and will cover all future Income and Poverty Estimates releases. 

[6] The Bureau created this document in response to a recommendation 
contained in our report, GAO, Data Quality: Census Bureau Needs to 
Accelerate Efforts to Develop and Implement Data Quality Review 
Standards, GAO-05-86 (Washington, D.C.: Nov. 17, 2004). 

[7] According to Bureau officials, in 2003, 2004 and 2005 the media 
received the Income and Poverty report as if it were an economic 
indicator. After media were seated in the auditorium and the procedures 
were announced, the report was then distributed at approximately 10:10 
AM. The Internet link was also opened at 10:10 AM. 

[8] The Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division is the unit 
responsible for the Income and Poverty Estimates. 

[9] Supplemental Measures of Material Well-Being: Expenditures, 
Consumption, and Poverty 1998 and 2001 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. 
Department of Commerce. Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. 
Census Bureau. September 2003). The report was a collaborative effort 
by members of the Interagency Working Group on Alternative Measures of 
Material Well-Being. The group was composed of members from the 
following agencies: the Office of Management and Budget; the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics in the U.S. Department of Labor; the Energy 
Information Administration in the U.S. Department of Energy; and the 
Census Bureau, Office of Policy Analysis and Bureau of Economic 
Analysis in the U.S. Department of Commerce. 

[10] The Bureau cited several other factors for changing the date of 
the 2003 Income and Poverty Estimates release: (1) the September 2003 
report was the first income and poverty report to include tables and 
text based on the new Census 2000-consistent race groups; (2) the 
September 2003 report was also the first to reflect Census 2000- 
consistent industries and occupations; and (3) new tables and analysis 
on alternative income definitions were added to the income report 
released in September 2003. 

[11] http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/ 
health_care_insurance/ 000526.html (downloaded Apr. 20, 2006). 

[12] http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2003/IncomePoverty.html 
(downloaded Apr. 20, 2006). 

[13] http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/ 
income_wealth/001371.html (downloaded Apr. 20, 2006). 

[14] In its comments on a draft of this report, the Department of 
Commerce noted that prior to the 2004 release of the Income and Poverty 
Estimates the Census Bureau Director wrote a memorandum that described 
the rationale for the change to the customary release schedule. 
Although the Bureau announced the rationale for the schedule change in 
this instance, in our survey of agencies' data dissemination 
procedures, Bureau officials told us that the Bureau does not always 
adhere to the practice of announcing and explaining modifications to a 
customary release schedule in advance. 

[15] GAO, Decennial Census: Methods for Collecting and Reporting Data 
on the Homeless and Others without Conventional Housing Need 
Refinement, GAO-03-227 (Washington, D.C.: Jan. 17, 2003). 

[16] A federal statistical agency's principal function is the 
compilation and analysis of data and the dissemination of information 
for statistical purposes. 

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