USDA's Quality of Information Guidelines
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued "Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing the Quality, Objectivity, Utility, and Integrity of Information Disseminated by Federal Agencies." Congress directed OMB to issue these guidelines in Section 515 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (Public Law 106-554); section 515 is now commonly referred to as the Data Quality Act.
OMB published its guidelines in interim final form in the Federal Register on September 28, 2001, at 66
FR 49718-49725 and updated the guidelines on February 22, 2002, at 67 FR 8452-8460, and on March 4, 2002, at 67 FR 9797. Also, after reviewing initial agency draft guidelines, OMB issued supplementary guidance that discussed important issues, identified noteworthy approaches for consideration, and provided guidance on those provisions that need to be adopted uniformly in all agency guidelines (Memorandum from John D. Graham for the President's Management Council, "Agency Draft Information Quality Guidelines," June 10, 2002; and, Memorandum from John D. Graham for the President's Management Council, "Agency Final Information Quality Guidelines," September 5, 2002). This guidance is available from OMB's Information Policy, IT & E-Gov web page.
Peer Review
Based on the review it has conducted, RMA finds that at this time, it does not disseminate influential scientific information or highly influential scientific assessments as defined in OMB's Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review.
How to Submit Formal Requests for Correction
All requests for correction of RMA
information must be submitted by letter, fax, or email to:
RMA Quality of Information Officer
Vondie O'Connor
P.O. Box 419205
Kansas City, MO 64141-6205
FAX: 816-823-2763
Email: vondie@rma.usda.gov
Information That Should Be Submitted to RMA with a Request for Correction
Requests for correction of information should include the following elements:
Statement that the Request for Correction of Information is Submitted Under
USDA's Information Quality Guidelines
Requestor Contact Information
The name, mailing address, telephone number, fax number (if any), email address (if any),
and organizational affiliation (if any) of the person requesting the correction.
Description of Information to Correct
The name of the RMA publication, report, or data product; the date of issuance or other identifying
information such as the URL of the web page; and a detailed description that clearly identifies the
specific information contained in that publication, report, or data product for which a correction is
being sought.
Explanation of Noncompliance with OMB and/or USDA Information Quality Guidelines
An explanation that describes how the information fails to meet either the OMB or USDA Information
Quality Guidelines.
Explanation of the Effect of the Alleged Error
An explanation that describes the requestor's use of the information in question and how the requestor is
affected by the alleged error.
Recommendation and Justification for How the Information Should Be Corrected
The requestor should state specifically how the information should be corrected and explain why the
corrections should be made. A request for correction that is specific and provides evidence to support
the need for correction is likely to be more persuasive than a request that is general, unfocused, or
that simply indicates disagreement with the information in question.
This guidance for the content of requests for correction of information is not intended to constitute a set of legally binding requirements. Requestors bear the "burden of proof" with respect to the necessity for correction as well as with respect to the type of correction they seek. However, the Foreign Agricultural Service may be unable to process, in a timely fashion or at all, requests that omit one or more of the requested elements. The foreign Agricultural Service will base its decision on the merits of the information provided by the requestor.
Public Disclosure of Requests For Correction of Information Disseminated by RMA and
Requests for Reconsideration of RMA Decisions
Requests for Correction Received by RMA
None to date.
Requests for Reconsideration of RMA Decisions
None to date.
Privacy Act Statement
USDA is authorized to obtain certain information under Section 515 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (Public Law No. 106-554, codified at 44 U.S.C. 3516, note). Information is needed by USDA to process the request for correction and allow USDA to reply accordingly. This information is needed by USDA to respond to the requestor and initiate follow-up contact with the requestor if required. Requestors should not send USDA their Social Security Number. Requestors are advised that they do not have to furnish the information but failure to do so may prevent their request from being processed. The information requestors furnish is almost never used for any purpose other than to process and respond to their request. However, USDA may disclose information to a Congressional office in response to an inquiry made on behalf of the requestor, to the Department of Justice, a court, other tribunal when the information is relevant and necessary to litigation, or to a contractor or another Federal agency to help accomplish a function related to this process. | 
