The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has recently proposed a bulletin that would supplement existing procedures under the Information Quality Act by requiring peer review of regulatory information and by specifying the procedures under which that review would take place. OMB has also proposed to become intimately involved in the resolution of information quality complaints. OMB's proposals would continue its previous efforts to build almost out of whole cloth a procedural apparatus that is likely to stifle the government's efforts to provide useful information to the public about their safety and health risks and about risks to the environment.

The Information Quality Act, formerly referred to by OMB as the Data Quality Act, is a two paragraph rider that Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.) slipped into a 2001 appropriations bill without legislative hearings, committee review, or debate. As far as can be determined, few, if any, other members of the U.S. Congress knew of the appropriations rider at the time they voted for it. In February 2002, OMB issued instructions telling agencies how to implement the legislation. After seeking public input, agencies adopted permanent procedures to implement the rider in October 2002.