A Federal Judge Declares that Watchdog Organizations Have No Right To Demand That Federal Agencies Disseminate Accurate Information

WASHINGTON, June 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A federal judge is to opine that the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness and other watchdog groups have no right to correct misinformation disseminated by a federal agency notwithstanding the enactment of the Information Quality Act.

Of note is an article published by the Courthouse News  Service  on June 21 titled "Judge Says US Has No Duty to Correct Bogus "Information".

The definition of "Bogus" is "not genuine or true; fake." Notwithstanding the fact that the passage of the Information Quality Act and the issuance of its attendant guidelines the Department of Justice has informed  the court that  "The statute and these guidelines do not require correcting information, even if it's incorrect, Justice Department lawyer Claire Cormier said."

The Office of Management and Budget is the agency designated as the managing agency in the implementation of the Information Quality Act.  Its guidelines are binding on agencies and they state: 

"OMB Responsibilities Section 515 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act for FY 2001 (Public Law 106–554) directs the Office of Management and Budget to issue government-wide guidelines that provide policy and procedural guidance to Federal agencies for ensuring and maximizing the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information, including statistical information, disseminated by Federal agencies"  [and to]

"Establish administrative mechanisms allowing affected persons to seek and obtain correction of information maintained and disseminated by the agency that does not comply with these OMB guidelines."

In that the aforementioned judicial decision is central to the mission of any watchdog organization we are providing the above information as a public service to other watchdog groups and the public through our media contacts, wire services and our website.

Read this analysis by Courthouse News Service.

SOURCE Center for Regulatory Effectiveness

Related Links

http://thecre.com