OMB
White House Outlines FY 2021 R&D Budget Priorities
On August 30, Acting Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Russell Vought, with Kelvin Droegemeier, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), issued a joint memorandum to federal agency and department heads on “FY 2021 Administration Research and Development Budget Priorities.” The memo lays out five key White House priorities as agencies begin working on their budget submissions for the next fiscal year and five “high-priority crosscutting actions” for agencies to maximize success in the science and technology enterprise. This is the first set of R&D priorities released under the…
OMB Releases First Set of Evidence Act Guidance
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued the first set of guidance related to implementing the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act (or Evidence Act), legislation that builds on the recommendations of the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking to formalize the use of data and evidence in informing the everyday work of federal agencies. The guidance provides detailed information for federal agencies on developing Learning Agendas, which identify the agency’s priority questions to be informed by evidence; sets out the requirements and responsibilities for the senior roles mandated by the legislation—Chief Data Officer, Evaluation Officer, and Statistical Official;…
OMB Seeks Feedback on Length of Executive Branch Comment Prohibition for Release of Economic Indicators
Statistical Policy Directive No. 3 recommends Executive Branch employees refrain from commenting on the release of principal federal economic indicators for 60 minutes after their release. The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is seeking public comment on whether that 60-minute window is still appropriate given the many changes in the information landscape since the policy directive was issued in 1985. OMB is not considering changes to the embargo on the release of any information or comment about federal statistics before their official release by the statistical agencies, only whether policy officials should be allowed to comment earlier than 60…
Evidence-Based Policymaking Bill Awaiting President’s Signature
After languishing in the Senate for over a year, the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act (H.R. 4174) was passed by both chambers in the last days of 2018 and is currently awaiting the President’s signature. The President has until January 14 to sign the bill into law. The legislation, which is intended to be a “down-payment” enacting some of the less complicated (and less controversial) recommendations of the report from the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking (see COSSA’s coverage and statement), contains some minor changes from the version passed by the House in November 2017 but generally conforms to the recommendations of the Commission. It contains…
Comments Sought on Federal Data Strategy Best Practices
As recommended in the President’s Management Agenda released back in March, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has been leading the development of a government-wide Federal Data Strategy to better manage the government’s data resources and improve the accessibility and usability of federal date for decision-making. The developers have finalized ten principles to guide the strategy across the themes of Ethical Governance, Conscious Design, and Learning Culture and are seeking comments on 47 aspirational best practices that are intended to “inform agency actions on a regular basis, to be continually relevant, and to be sufficiently general so…
White House Outlines FY 2020 R&D Budget Priorities
On July 31, Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Mick Mulvaney, with Michael Kratsios, Deputy Assistant Secretary to the President, Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), issued a joint memorandum to federal agency and department heads on “FY 2020 Administration Research and Development Priorities.” The R&D memo lays out key White House priorities as agencies begin working on their budget submissions for the next fiscal year. The FY 2020 memo shares many priorities with the FY 2019 memo, including acknowledging the important role of science and technology to America’s global leadership and emphasizing national…
Office of Management and Budget Releases President’s Management Agenda
On March 20, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the President’s Management Agenda, which is a broad framework for bring additional efficiency to the federal government. Goals include accomplishing agency missions more effectively, better serving those receiving services from the federal government, and being better stewards of taxpayer dollars. To accomplish these goals, the Administration will first focus in information technology modernization across the government, data accountability and transparency, and modernizing the federal workforce. Progress on the President’s Management Agenda goals can be tracked online at performance.gov/PMA. The President’s Management Agenda is expected to inform agency…
Chief Statistician Seeks Information on Combining Data
The Chief Statistician of the United States has issued a Request for Information on how best to integrate data from multiple sources to inform the development of standards for using combined data for federal purposes. Specifically, the request is seeking information on: “(1) Current and emerging techniques for linking and analyzing combined data; (2) on-going research on methods to describe the quality of statistical products that result from these techniques; (3) computational frameworks and systems for conducting such work; (4) privacy or confidentiality issues that may arise from combining such data; and (5) suggestions for additional research in those or…
Delay to Common Rule Implementation Likely
On January 4, the Department of Health and Human Services submitted a final rule for approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which would indefinitely delay implementation of revisions to the Common Rule, the set of regulations governing research involving human participants (see COSSA’s analysis of the changes, which were announced in the final days of the Obama administration). This rule replaces an earlier proposal to delay implementation that was submitted in October but never approved by OIRA (see COSSA’s discussion), which would have allowed certain “burden-reducing” provisions of the Rule…
White House Outlines FY 2019 R&D Budget Priorities, Emphasizes Role of Industry
On August 17, Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Mick Mulvaney, with Michael Kratsios, Deputy Assistant Secretary to the President, Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), issued a joint memorandum to federal agency and department heads on “FY 2019 Administration Research and Development Budget Priorities.” The R&D memo, along with an earlier memo released in July that outlines more general budget reforms, keeps with the practices of past administrations to lay out key White House priorities as agencies begin working on their budget submissions for the next fiscal year. Of course, the priorities within…
OMB’s FY 2019 Budget Guidance Calls for Major Funding Reforms
On July 7, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), led by Director Mick Mulvaney, issued a memorandum to federal departments and agencies with guidance on how to approach development of the fiscal year (FY) 2019 budget submission. According to the memo, “the FY 2019 Budget will provide an opportunity to present a comprehensive plan for reforming the Federal Government and reducing the Federal civilian workforce. It also will reflect the first impacts of the Government reorganization called for by Executive Order 13781 [issued in March].” Budget submissions are expected to continue proposals included in the FY 2018…
COSSA Joins Scientific Societies in Raising Concerns with Visa Changes
COSSA joined 54 scientific societies on a letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Bureau of Consular Affairs at the Department of State raising concerns about the proposed supplemental questions for visa applicants. The letter discusses the community’s concerns about a possible chilling effect on international travelers to the United States, which would negatively impact U.S. higher education and scientific collaborations. The signatories also raise concerns about the lack of clarity on which visa applicants would be affected, that social media information would be collected, and that the burden of this proposed change would be…
Congressman Mick Mulvaney Nominated for OMB Director
On December 16, President-elect Donald Trump nominated Congressman Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) to serve as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the Trump Administration. Mulvaney made a name for himself during his three terms in the House as an outspoken opponent of government spending. OMB serves as the implementation and enforcement arm of Presidential policy through budget development, oversight of agency performance, legislative coordination, and oversight of executive orders. If confirmed by the Senate, Mulvaney will have broad responsibilities implementing President-elect Trump’s agenda, including a central role in health care and tax policy changes, as well…
OMB Seeks Comments on Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity
On September 30, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a Federal Register Notice soliciting comments regarding “Review and Possible Limited Revision of OMB’s Statistical Policy Directive on Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity.” These standards were last revised in 1997. The Notice observes that since the revisions were implemented, “much has been learned about how these standards have improved the quality of Federal information collected and presented on race and ethnicity.” Accordingly, the Notice identifies areas that may “benefit from further refinement” (see the Notice for full details). Specifically, OMB is seeking…
White House Issues Annual S&T Guidance for FY 2017 Budget
On July 9, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued their annual joint memorandum to federal agencies outlining “Multi-Agency Science and Technology Priorities for the FY 2017 Budget.” Each year, OMB and OSTP outline specific White House science, technology, and innovation priorities for federal investment, which is meant to inform federal agencies’ development of the fiscal year (FY) 2017 budget submission to OMB and Congress. Similar to last year’s guidance, the FY 2017 memorandum asks federal agencies to allocate resources to a number of multi-agency research activities, including advanced…
OMB Asks Agencies to Plan for 5 Percent Reductions in FY 2017
Although Congress is just beginning the process of working to enact fiscal year (FY) 2016 appropriations for federal agencies and programs, agency officials are beginning their work on the FY 2017 budget request. In a memo from Shaun Donovan, Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), federal agencies have been advised to prepare their FY 2017 budget proposals with a five percent reduction below the net discretionary total provided in the FY 2016 President’s budget request. The scenario is meant to assist the Administration in its efforts to “deliver a Government that is more effective, efficient,…
OMB Finalizes New Statistical Policy Directive
On December 2, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued Statistical Policy Directive No. 1, “Fundamental Responsibilities of Federal Statistical Agencies and Recognized Statistical Units.” The Directive provides “a unified articulation of Federal statistical agency responsibilities.” In order to implement the Directive, federal statistical agencies will report to OMB on their progress toward fulfilling four key responsibilities: (1) Produce and disseminate relevant and timely information, (2) Conduct credible and accurate statistical activities, (3) Conduct objective statistical activities, and (4) Protect the trust of information providers by ensuring the confidentiality and exclusive statistical use of their responses. A draft version…