NISTIR 8001

Seventeenth Annual Report on Federal 

Agency Use of Voluntary Consensus 

Standards and Conformity Assessment

Nathalie Rioux

http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.8001
NISTIR 8001

Seventeenth Annual Report on Federal 

Agency Use of Voluntary Consensus 

Standards and Conformity Assessment 

Nathalie Rioux

Standards Coordination Office

Laboratory Programs

http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.8001

April 2014

U.S. Department of Commerce 

Penny Pritzker, Secretary

National Institute of Standards and Technology 

Patrick D. Gallagher, Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and Director
1

Seventeenth Annual Report on Federal Agency Use of Voluntary 

Consensus Standards and Conformity Assessment 

The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) presents this summary report to the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) in compliance with OMB Circular A-119 and Public Law 104-113, the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA). As required by Section 9 of the Circular, this 

report, prepared by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), describes activities 

related to the use of voluntary consensus standards (VCS) reported by 24 federal agencies during fiscal 

year (FY) 2013. These federal agencies, listed in Appendix A, fulfilled the reporting requirements of 

both the OMB Circular A-119 and Section 12 (d) (3) of the NTTAA by providing information on their 

activities related to the use of voluntary consensus standards in regulation, procurement, and conformity 

assessment.

In FY 2013, no agencies reported issuing a government unique standard (GUS) in lieu of VCS. As 

noted in Appendix A, there was no change to the current total of 53 GUSs replacing VCS (not since the 

inception of this report in 1997). Federal agencies reported 206 new uses of VCS, down from the 424

reported in FY 2012. Department of Defense (DoD) accounted for the majority (44 %) of the reported 

new uses, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA) ranking next at about 12 % each. Federal agencies reported substituting 24 VCS for GUSs, all 

reported by DoD. 

The continued adoption of VCS, together with the review of opportunities to replace existing GUSs with

VCS, may indicate an awareness and acceptance of private sector standards by federal agencies. These 

general trends, along with the low rate of development of new GUSs in lieu of VCS, suggest that federal 

agencies are more apt to consider using VCS to meet their regulatory, procurement, and conformity 

assessment needs.

Agencies reported 3,182 personnel participating in a total of 526 standards organizations during FY 

2013. Figure 1 displays data 

describing the last five years of 

reported federal participation in

standards bodies. The 

continued high level of federal 

engagement reflects a sustained 

commitment of the U.S. 

government to the activities of 

the private sector led VCS 

system.
2

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of OMB Circular A-119

During FY 2013, the majority of reporting agencies either had no comment on the effectiveness of OMB 

Circular A-119, or indicated that they found the Circular effective. Presented below are a few individual 

agency comments and their recommended changes to the Circular.1

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) - During FY 2013, Commission staff efforts to enhance 

voluntary safety standards development were complemented by the overall Federal policy set forth in 

the Circular.

Department of Health and Human Service (HHS) – The guidance falls short of a benefit-cost analysis 

model for agency decision making about using VCS that impose a cost to the public and private sector 

users of the standard that is mandated by government regulation. There seems still to be no guidance on 

this issue.

Department of Transportation (DOT) - DOT believes that Circular A-119 is working effectively. The 

use of voluntary standards provides significant cost and implementation efficiencies for regulatory 

agencies, and for regulated entities and industries. There continues to be a low volume of governmentunique standards being used in lieu of voluntary consensus standards within DOT. 

DOT continues to recommend that OMB Circular A-119 be revised to require NTTAA reporting only 

on instances of government-unique standards being used in lieu of voluntary consensus standards, with 

the default position being that agencies use VCS for regulatory work. The Circular should continue the 

policy that there is no requirement to report on government-unique standards developed when a 

voluntary consensus standard is unavailable, per sections 6g and 9a of the Circular.

EPA – The fact that the Circular exists is helpful in getting the attention of management levels with 

regard to employee participation in standards activities as well as use of non-government standards in 

Agency programs. This reporting mechanism has not, in and of itself – at least for this Agency – proven 

to be a significant asset in trying to encourage strategic consideration of the voluntary standards and 

conformity assessment tools available here in the US and worldwide. In effect, the Circular does not 

seem to need revision but a reconsideration of the reporting might be helpful in providing the 

Administration, Congress, and the public with a better sense of the value of the standards system and 

how collaboration between the government and the system is to the benefit of all.

The full text of agency individual reports may be found at 

https://standards.gov/NTTAA/agency/index.cfm?fuseaction=agencyReports.main.

 1 It is within OMB’s purview to consider and respond to these comments as appropriate.
3

Summary

Over the past 17 years, federal agencies report a running total of only 53 GUSs used in lieu of existing 

VCS (either added a new GUS or subtracted a discontinued GUS). This small inventory reflects the 

success of the NTTAA in encouraging agencies to use VCS and to engage with the private sector 

standards system for solutions to government needs.

Guided by the NTTAA and OMB A-119, NIST continues to assist federal agencies and their 

stakeholders with standards and conformity assessment information, program support, guidance, and 

policy concerns. NIST hosts http://standards.gov, offering ongoing practical guidance, tools such as the 

searchable Standards Incorporated by Reference database, and information needed by agencies to 

implement the NTTAA successfully as well as a means to report standards activities as required by the 

NTTAA and OMB Circular A-119. This report fulfills the annual reporting requirements of both the 

NTTAA and OMB Circular.
4

Appendix A: FY 2013 Federal Agency Information on Participation/Adoption of Voluntary 

Standards Activities Required by OMB Circular A-119

Agency *** GUS used in 

lieu of VCS 

VCS 

substituted 

for GUS

New VCS 

used this 

year 

Employee 

participation 

in VCS bodies 

VCS bodies 

with agency 

participation 

USDA 1 0 0 70 40

DOC 0 0 1 571 137

DoD * 24 83 n/a 98

DOE 0 0 6 420 100

ED 0 0 0 22 4

HHS 1 0 12 944 166

DHS 0 0 23 216 37

HUD 2 0 0 9 8

DOI 0 0 5 166 87

DOJ 0 0 2 13 8

DOL 13 0 0 62 22

DOT 4 0 8 122 56

TRES 0 0 0 1 14

EPA 23 0 26 150 14

GSA 3 0 15 12 19

NARA 1 0 0 14 10

NASA * 0 0 115 20

CPSC 2 0 3 36 9

FCC 0 0 8 28 13

FTC 0 0 0 0 0

NRC 2 0 12 193 16

GPO 0 0 2 9 5

ACCESS 1 0 0 6 11

NSF 0 0 0 3 1

Totals 53 24 206 3,182 **

* Agencies reporting on a categorical basis per OMB Circular A-119, Section 12.

** Total not provided - a VCS body may have participation from more than one federal agency.

*** Access Board (ACCESS); Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC); Department of Agriculture (USDA); Department of 

Commerce (DOC); Department of Defense (DoD); Department of Education (ED); Department of Energy (DOE); Department of 

Health and Human Services (HHS); Department of Homeland Security (DHS); Department of Housing and Urban Development 

(HUD); Department of Justice (DOJ); Department of Labor (DOL); Department of the Interior (DOI); Department of the Treasury 

(TRES); Department of Transportation (DOT); Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Federal Communications Commission 

(FCC); Federal Trade Commission (FTC); General Services Administration (GSA); Government Printing Office (GPO); National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); National Science 

Foundation (NSF); Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).