Feedback on Significant Guidance at DHS

On March 4, 2009, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a Memorandum providing that significant proposed or final agency actions, including significant policy and guidance documents, remain subject to review by OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) under Executive Order 12866. (Read the Memorandum from OMB Director Peter R. Orszag to Heads and Acting Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies (PDF, 1 page - 1.6 MB)).

In addition, OMB's Final Bulletin for Agency Good Guidance Practices (PDF, 1 page - 96 KB) is located on the OMB website.

Would You Like to Provide a Comment on a Significant Guidance Document?

The Department of Homeland Security will post significant guidance documents on the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) website at www.regulations.gov. This will provide a public forum for submission of comments and for requests to amend or issue significant guidance documents. To submit comments on significant guidance documents, please follow the instructions on the FDMS website using the docket number associated with the significant guidance document.

Guidance documents represent the Department's current thinking on a topic. They do not create or confer any rights for or on any person and do not operate to bind the Department or the public. You can use an alternative approach (other than an approach provided in any guidance) if the alternative approach satisfies the requirements of all applicable statutes and regulations.

Do You Have Feedback or a Complaint?

Members of the public who have feedback or complaints regarding significant guidance documents should contact the Department office or component that issued the guidance. If you have a complaint regarding a Department of Homeland Security significant guidance document or OMB's GGP Bulletin, please contact the point of contact identified on the guidance document.

If the issue is not resolved, please contact the Department's Office of the General Counsel, Regulatory Affairs at SignificantGuidance@dhs.gov. In order to ensure proper processing of your comment, please include the words "SIGNIFICANT GUIDANCE: [Insert name of significant guidance document]" in the subject line of your email message. Public comments under these procedures are for the benefit of the agency and do not require formal response by the agency.

The Department will review requests, complaints, and questions to determine whether any action is warranted and, if so, what action. The Department will determine whether it needs to take any action based on the nature and timeliness of the information submitted, the significance of any modifications requested, the magnitude of any modifications requested, and the resource requirements for any modifications requested.