Skip to main content

Federal Information Collection: A Reexamination of the Portfolio of Major Federal Household Surveys Is Needed

GAO-07-62 Published: Nov 15, 2006. Publicly Released: Dec 15, 2006.
Skip to Highlights

Highlights

 

Federal statistical information is used to make appropriate decisions about budgets, employment, and investments. GAO was asked to (1) describe selected characteristics of federally funded statistical or research surveys, (2) describe agencies' and Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) roles in identifying and preventing unnecessary duplication, (3) examine selected surveys to assess whether unnecessary duplication exists in areas with similar subject matter, and (4) describe selected agencies' efforts to improve the efficiency and relevance of surveys. GAO reviewed agency documents and interviewed officials. Using this information and prior GAO work, GAO identified surveys with potential unnecessary duplication.

 

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Office of Management and Budget To deal with the longer term considerations crucial in making federally funded surveys more effective and efficient, the Director of OMB should work with the Interagency Council on Statistical Policy to plan for a comprehensive reexamination to identify opportunities for redesigning or reprioritizing the portfolio of major federal household surveys.
Closed – Not Implemented
In an August 12, 2008 e-mail from an OMB official in the Office of Statistical and Science Policy in the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, the official stated that OMB generally agreed with GAO's recommendation and would pursue it as OMB reviews federal agency information collections under the Paperwork Reduction Act, coordinates activities of the federal statistical system, and leads the Interagency Council on Statistical Policy (ICSP). The OMB official further stated that the best time to reconsider the priorities for and potential redesigns of the major household surveys in the context of the American Community Survey would be following the 2010 Census. OMB said it would...

Full Report

Media Inquiries

Sarah Kaczmarek
Managing Director
Office of Public Affairs

Public Inquiries

Topics

CensusData collectionGovernment informationPolicy evaluationStandardsStandards evaluationStatistical dataStatistical methodsStrategic planningSurveysDuplication of effortPolicies and procedures