Data Quality Act

It's the Law

To punish and protect

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The Data Quality Act (DQA) is a law that is not really an act, nor does it ensure "data quality." It's actually a two-sentence rider that was slipped into a 2001 appropriations bill by Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) and an industry lobbyist to, ostensibly, "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." Because of its vague wording, special interests have latched onto it to challenge the legitimacy of scientific studies on subjects relating to environmental and health risks, including global warming, deforestation, and pesticides.

Notably, it has also been used in an attempt to lift the ban on medical marijuana.

External links

• Data Quality Act, OMB Watch
• Catherine Campbell Meshkin. Unchecked Data: A Tool for Political Corruption? Engage Volume 11, Issue 3, December 2010 [1]
• Thanks to a little-known piece of legislation, scientists at the EPA and other agencies find their work questioned not only by industry, but by their own government, Chris Mooney
• Activist Enlists Unlikely Ally in Bid to Legalize Pot, LA Times

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