Scientific Review of the Proposed Risk Assessment Bulletin from the Office of Management and Budget
Committee to Review the OMB Risk Assessment Bulletin, National Research Council
In January 2006, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a draft bulletin that proposes technical guidance for risk assessments produced by the federal government. The bulletin defines risk assessment broadly, states several goals for risk assessment, and proposes general risk assessment and reporting standards and special standards for influential risk assessments. The stated intent of the bulletin is “to enhance the technical quality and objectivity of risk assessments prepared by federal agencies by establishing uniform, minimum standards,” and it follows several other influential documents issued by OMB, including the Information Quality Guidelines, the Information Quality Bulletin on Peer Review, and Circular A-4, which pertains primarily to benefit-cost analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis. Recognizing the potential impact on federal agencies, OMB – with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the Department of Labor (DOL), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) – asked the National Research Council (NRC) to conduct an independent review of the bulletin. In response to that request, NRC convened the Committee to Review the OMB Risk Assessment Bulletin, which prepared this report.
