FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT ON

FEDERAL AGENCY USE OF 

VOLUNTARY CONSENSUS STANDARDS

IMPLEMENTATION OF 

PUBLIC LAW 104-113 AND OMB CIRCULAR A-119 

FOR THE PERIOD 

OCTOBER 1, 1999, THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2000 

United States Department of Commerce 

National Institute of Standards and Technology 

Technology Services 

Office of Standards Services 

Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-2100 

NISTIR 6846

2002
FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT ON FEDERAL AGENCY USE OF 

VOLUNTARY CONSENSUS STANDARDS 

IMPLEMENTATION OF PUBLIC LAW 104-113 AND OMB CIRCULAR A-119 

FOR THE PERIOD OCTOBER 1, 1999 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2000

Table of Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY............................................................................................................... vi 

1. SCOPE .......................................................................................................................................1 

 FEDERAL STATUTES.............................................................................................................1

2.1 National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA) .......................................1 

2.2 OMB Circular A-119 and P.L. 104-113 ..............................................................................1 

2.2.1 Agencies use of voluntary consensus standards versus government-unique standards.......1 

2.2.2 Guidance to agencies ...........................................................................................................1 

2.2.3 Other issues covered by the Circular ...................................................................................2

2.2.4 Role of Secretary of Commerce and NIST..........................................................................2 

2.2.5 Agency Standards Executives..............................................................................................2 

 INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE ON STANDARDS POLICY (ICSP)...................................2 

3.1 Purpose.................................................................................................................................2 

3.2 ICSP chair ............................................................................................................................2 

3.3 ICSP membership ................................................................................................................2 

 HIGHLIGHTS OF ICSP ACTIVITIES.....................................................................................2 

4.1 General.................................................................................................................................2 

4.2 Interaction with private-sector standards organizations ......................................................3 

4.3 ICSP working groups...........................................................................................................3 

 HIGHLIGHTS OF FEDERAL AGENCY ACTIVITIES..........................................................6 

5.1 Department of Agriculture (USDA) ...................................................................................6 

5.2 Department of Commerce (DOC)........................................................................................6 

5.3 Department of Defense (DOD)............................................................................................6 

5.4 Department of Education (DOED) ................................................................7 

5.5 Department of Energy (DOE)..............................................................................................7 

5.6 Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ............................................................................ 7 

5.7 Housing and Urban Development (HUD) ...........................................................................8 

5.8 Department of the Interior (DOI).........................................................................................8 

5.9 Veterans Affairs (VA)..........................................................................................................8 

5.10 Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)..................................................................8 

5.11 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)............................................................................9 

5.12 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) ............................................................9 

5.13 General Services Administration (GSA) ............................................................................9 

5.14 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) ..................................................9 

5.15 National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) .................................................10 

ii
5.16 Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)...........................................................................10 

6. AGENCY USE OF GOVERNMENT-UNIQUE STANDARDS IN LIEU OF 

VOLUNTARY CONSENSUS STANDARDS ....................................................................10 

6.1 Department of Defense (DOD)..........................................................................................10 

6.2 Department of Energy (DOE)............................................................................................10 

6.3 Housing and Urban Development (HUD) .........................................................................10 

6.4 Department of the Treasury (TREASURY) ......................................................................10 

6.5 Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)................................................................11 

6.6 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)..........................................................................11 

6.7 General Services Administration (GSA) ...........................................................................11 

6.8 Government Printing Office (GPO)...................................................................................11 

6.9 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) ................................................11 

6.10 National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) .................................................12 

7. CONCLUSIONS...................................................................................................................12 

8. RECOMMENDATIONS......................................................................................................17 

APPENDIX A: CABINET DEPARTMENT REPORTS.......................................................... A-1 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) .................................................................................. A-2 

Department of Commerce (DOC)...................................................................................... A-4 

Department of Defense (DOD)........................................................................................ A-15 

Department of Defense (DOD) 

National Communication System (NCS)...................................................................... A-30 

Department of Education (DOED) .................................................................................. A-32 

Department of Energy (DOE).......................................................................................... A-34 

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ......................................................................... A-42 

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) ............................................... A-49 

Department of the Interior (DOI)..................................................................................... A-52 

Department of Justice (DOJ) ........................................................................................... A-54 

Department of Labor (DOL)............................................................................................ A-56 

Department of State (STATE) ......................................................................................... A-57 

Department of Transportation (DOT).............................................................................. A-59 

Department of the Treasury (TREASURY) .................................................................... A-61 

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) ............................................................................. A-63 

APPENDIX B: OTHER AGENCY AND COMMISSION REPORTS .....................................B-1 

Agency for International Development (USAID)...............................................................B-2 

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).................................................................B-3 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)...........................................................................B-6 

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)..................................................................B-14 

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) .........................................................B-15 

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)....................................................................................B-16 

General Services Administration (GSA) ..........................................................................B-17 

Government Printing Office (GPO)..................................................................................B-20 

iii
International Trade Commission (ITC) ............................................................................B-22 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) ...............................................B-23 

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) ................................................B-26 

National Science Foundation (NSF) .................................................................................B-28 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)..........................................................................B-29 

APPENDIX C: CHARTER OF THE INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE ON STANDARDS 

 POLICY ............................................................................................................C-1 

APPENDIX D: MEMBERSHIP OF THE INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE ON STANDARDS 

 POLICY ........................................................................................................... D-1 

APPENDIX E: LIST OF NIST PUBLICATIONS RELATED TO P.L. 104-11 .................E-1

iv
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Introduction

Public Law (P.L.) 104-113, the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA), 

requires Federal agencies to use voluntary standards to the extent practicable, to report 

development of agency-unique standards, and to participate in the development of voluntary 

standards. To implement the legislation, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) revised 

Circular A-119, Federal Participation in the Development and Use of Voluntary Consensus 

Standards and in Conformity Assessment Activities. Circular A-119 requires the National 

Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to report annually to OMB on the progress that 

Federal agencies have made toward using voluntary standards rather than agency-unique 

standards, and participation and interaction with private-sector voluntary standards bodies. NIST 

relies on the Interagency Committee on Standards Policy (ICSP) as the primary means of 

fulfilling its responsibilities for coordinating Federal standards-related activities. 

On September 11, 2000, NIST, as chair of the ICSP, requested that each agency provide 

information on the status of its implementation activities: agency use of government-unique 

standards in lieu of voluntary consensus standards, the use of voluntary consensus standards, the 

number of voluntary standards substituted for government-unique standards, and the number of 

individual agency participants in voluntary standards bodies as well as an evaluation of the 

effectiveness of the policies promulgated in the Circular. Table 1 summarizes this information. 

This report covers fiscal year (FY) 2000, from October 1, 1999, through September 30, 2000. It 

also describes NIST’s coordination activities, with special emphasis on implementing the 

NTTAA, as well as information on ICSP activities and individual agencies’ reports on NTTAA 

implementation efforts, and suggestions for future courses of action. 

Conclusions

The FY 2000 report indicates that agencies have made significant progress in implementing the 

NTTAA, with double the number of standards reported used in FY 2000 as compared with 

FY 1999. In fact, since 1997, Federal agencies have increased their use of voluntary standards to 

a total of 8,759. This use is occurring across the Federal government, from the Department of 

Defense (DOD) to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for procurement, to the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Energy (DOE) for regulation and 

procurement, to name only a few agencies. 

The remarkable recent increase in private-sector consensus standards used by agencies appears to 

be due to increased visibility of the A-119 Program and increased agency attention to its 

implementation. In addition, the number of government-unique standards used in lieu of 

voluntary consensus standards dropped significantly from FY 1999 to FY 2000. While this is in 

part driven by the regulatory agenda for each agency, this drop also indicates greater reliance on 

voluntary consensus standards and compliance with the spirit of the NTTAA. While the decline 

in number of agency employees participating in standards development observed in all previous 

years of reporting on the implementation of the NTTAA continued in FY 2000, the rate of 

v
decline has definitely slowed to only 4 percent for FY 2000. However, this may not necessarily 

reflect a decline in agency effort. The work of some participants may have been added to 

existing standards participants. The number of standards bodies in which Federal agencies 

participated actually increased by about 7 percent. 

Totals for all Federal agencies are shown in the following table:

FY 2000 Statistics on Federal Agencies' Participation in Development of 

and Adoption of Voluntary Consensus Standards

Number of Agencies' 

Employees Participating in 

Voluntary Consensus 

Standards Bodies

Number of Voluntary 

Consensus Standards Used

Number of 

Voluntary 

Consensus 

Standards 

Bodies in 

Which the 

Agencies 

Reported 

Participation in 

FY 2000

FY 2000 Change from 

FY 1999 FY 2000 Change from FY 1999 

Number of 

Voluntary 

Consensus 

Standards 

Substituted in 

FY 2000 for 

GovernmentUnique 

Standards

Number of 

GovernmentUnique 

Standards 

Used in Lieu 

of Voluntary 

Consensus 

Standards in 

FY 2000

885 2,723 -110 5,453 +2,767 537 16

Highlights of FY 2000 include publication by NIST of Guidance on Federal Conformity 

Assessment Activities (15 CFR Part 287) in August 2000. This guidance was requested in 

Circular A-119 to provide direction and assistance to Federal agencies on their conformity 

assessment activities to facilitate coordination and exchange of information. In addition, this 

report contains examples reported by agencies of their success in using voluntary standards. 

During the reporting period, agencies continued to institute new procedures for identifying 

existing voluntary standards when proposing new regulations or in procurement activities. In 

particular, EPA provided additional guidance on the NTTAA to its rule writers for inclusion in 

the preamble of the Notices of proposed rulemaking. DoD and DOE continued to move Military 

Specifications and agency-unique standards into the private sector. Other agencies, notably the 

Department of Health and Human Services and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, convened 

agency-wide workshops with other agencies and invited key stakeholders to educate their 

standards personnel. Private-sector standards developing organizations instituted briefing 

sessions with Federal agencies to address the issue of references to out-of-date standards in 

regulations. This led the Coast Guard to adopt several National Fire Protection Association 

standards in lieu of its own agency-unique standards. 

Individual agency reports can be found in Appendices A and B, which contain the reports from 

14 Cabinet Departments and 12 other agencies and commissions. 

vi
Annual Report to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 

on Implementation of OMB Circular A-119 

1. SCOPE

This report, covering fiscal year (FY) 2000 from October 1, 1999, through September 30, 2000, 

describes the progress that federal agencies have made in implementing the National Technology 

Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA) through their use of voluntary consensus standards 

and participation in standardization activities. It highlights some examples of agencies’ 

interactions with private-sector voluntary consensus standards bodies, agencies’ use of 

government-unique standards, and the activities of the Interagency Committee on Standards 

Policy (ICSP). It discusses the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST’s) 

efforts in coordinating federal agencies’ standards-related activities, including interactions with 

key private-sector organizations. Appendices A and B provide copies of the reports that NIST 

received from 14 Cabinet Departments as well as 12 other agencies and commissions. 

Appendices C, D, and E, respectively, provide copies of the ICSP Charter, ICSP membership, 

and a list of NIST publications related to Public Law (P.L.) 104-113. 

2. FEDERAL STATUTES

2.1 NTTAA – P.L. 104-113, the NTTAA of 1995, codified existing policies of the OMB 

Circular A-119, established reporting requirements, and authorized NIST to coordinate standards 

and conformity assessment activities of Federal agencies, and with the private sector. 

2.2 OMB Circular A-119 and P.L. 104-113 – On February 19, 1998, OMB issued the revised 

Circular A-119, Federal Participation in the Development and Use of Voluntary Consensus 

Standards and in Conformity Assessment Activities. The purpose was “to make the terminology 

of the Circular consistent with P.L. 104-113, to issue guidance to agencies on making their 

reports to OMB, to direct the Secretary of Commerce to issue policy guidance for conformity 

assessment, and to make changes for clarity.” 

2.2.1 Agencies’ use of voluntary consensus standards versus government-unique 

standards – Consistent with section 12(d) of the NTTAA, the Circular directs agencies to use 

voluntary consensus standards in lieu of government-unique standards except where inconsistent 

with law or otherwise impractical. It also provides guidance for agencies participating in 

voluntary consensus standards bodies and describes procedures for satisfying the reporting 

requirements of the NTTAA. The policies in the Circular are intended to minimize reliance by 

agencies on government-unique standards. These policies do not create the basis for 

discrimination in agency procurement or regulatory activities among standards developed in the 

private sector, whether or not they are developed by voluntary consensus standards bodies. 

2.2.2 Guidance to agencies – Consistent with section 12(b) of the NTTAA, the Circular directs 

the Secretary of Commerce to issue guidance to agencies on ways to coordinate their conformity 

assessment activities. NIST published guidance on federal conformity assessment activities in 

the Federal Register, August 10, 2000, Volume 65, Number 155. The guidance focused on ways 

1 
for Federal agencies to eliminate unnecessary duplication and complexity in their conformity 

assessment activities. 

2.2.3 Other issues covered by the Circular – The Circular also describes policies regarding 

federal use of standards and federal participation in voluntary consensus standards bodies. It 

covers the use of standards in regulations and provides procedures for managing and reporting on 

agency use of standards in procurement and regulations. It also covers reporting requirements, 

including how an agency is to report on its development and use of standards. The Circular also 

specifies the responsibilities of the Secretary of Commerce and NIST, agency heads, and Agency 

Standards Executives. 

2.2.4 Role of Secretary of Commerce and NIST – The NTTAA and the Circular assign 

several policy coordination and implementation tasks to the Secretary of Commerce and 

specifically to NIST. NIST is responsible for chairing the ICSP and submitting an annual report 

to OMB on agency implementation activities. Compiling this report requires the full cooperation 

and assistance of all departments and agencies. In addition, as required by OMB every three 

years, the Secretary of Commerce re-chartered the ICSP on October 26, 2000, following review 

and comment by participating agencies. 

2.2.5 Agency Standards Executives – The Circular delineates the role of Agency Standards 

Executives, particularly regarding agency-wide compliance with the NTTAA’s legal 

requirements. The Standards Executive is responsible for coordinating agency-wide 

standards-related activities, coordinating the implementation of the Circular, and serving on the 

ICSP. 

3. INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE ON STANDARDS POLICY (ICSP)

3.1 Purpose – The ICSP was established in 1968 to encourage coordination and liaison among 

Federal agencies on matters related to standards. In October 2000, the Secretary of Commerce 

approved a new Charter, which included requirements of the NTTAA. A copy of the new 

Charter is provided as Appendix C. 

3.2 ICSP chair – The Director of the NIST Office of Standards Services chairs the ICSP on 

behalf of the NIST Director and the Secretary of Commerce. The ICSP is the primary vehicle 

for coordinating federal activities under NTTAA and the OMB Circular. 

3.3 ICSP membership – The ICSP is currently composed of representatives of 14 Federal 

Cabinet Departments, 12 other Federal agencies and commissions, and several offices in the 

Executive Office of the President. The composition of the ICSP is shown in figure 1 on page 6. 

The ICSP membership is provided as Appendix D.

4. HIGHLIGHTS OF ICSP ACTIVITIES

4.1 General – In FY 2000, the Secretary of Commerce issued the updated ICSP charter. 

Membership in the ICSP continued to be reaffirmed by agency heads as needed. During 

FY 2000, the ICSP met four times. The meetings focused on such topics as the NTTAA, agency 

2 
implementation of the OMB Circular A-119, the conformity assessment guidance finalization 

and implementation, the National Standards Strategy, and streamlining the reporting process by 

using electronic tools for the annual report to OMB. ICSP members also heard presentations 

from NIST and others regarding the congressional hearings on NTTAA, the National Standards 

Strategy, International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), and National Cooperation 

for Laboratory Accreditation (NACLA) activities. 

4.2 Interaction with private-sector standards organizations – Representatives from several 

private-sector standards developing organizations (SDOs) gave presentations to the ICSP on 

topics of interest. The speakers represented such organizations as Underwriters Laboratories. In 

addition, the ICSP coordinated its efforts more closely with the American National Standards 

Institute (ANSI) Government Member Council. 

4.3 ICSP working groups – During 2000, a major overhaul of the ICSP working groups took 

place. A number of working groups were made into virtual groups, a number were dispensed 

with and a number were created in order to improve the overall efficacy of the ICSP. The 

ICSP’s working groups are shown in figure 1 on page 6. 

Their activities are described as follows: 

• Regulatory Agencies Working Group (RAWG) – The ICSP RAWG helps to develop 

and implement standards policies of interest to regulatory entities of the Federal 

Government. Membership includes representatives from CPSC, DOE, EPA, FCC, FDA, 

FERC, HUD, NIST, NRC, OSHA, and USDA. The RAWG reports to the ICSP and 

serves as a forum for interagency information exchange and discussion of issues of 

mutual interest to regulatory agencies. During 2000, the RAWG focused on issues and 

activities related to: (a) the OMB Circular A-119, Federal Participation in the 

Development and Use of Voluntary Standards; (b) conformity assessment and conformity 

assessment guidance to Federal agencies; (c) a U.S. National Standards Strategy; 

(d) accreditation of standards developers using “essential requirements,” and 

(e) referencing voluntary standards in federal regulations. 

• Working Group on Strategic Standards Management – During 2000, the ICSP’s 

Standards Management Working Group was dissolved. 

• Working Group on Directory Databases – The ICSP working group on Directory 

Databases, chaired by NIST, undertook a major project in 2000 to connect agencies’ 

Web-based systems on standards committee participation. Four agencies--NIST, DoD, 

DOE, and NASA--have their information available on the Web. Three of the four are 

now connected to one another by a single search mechanism. Users can now search 

DoD, DOC, and NASA’s databases simultaneously and return combined sorted results. 

Users can also e-mail the Federal standards participants should they wish to contact them 

directly. In the future, this group will continue to add new agencies to the search 

mechanism as their information becomes available online. 

• Working Group on Quality Management (International Organization for 

3 
Standardization (ISO) 9000) – As in FY 1999, NIST continued to provide material on 

the proposed revisions to the ISO 9000 standards to the ICSP in FY 2000. NIST also 

responded to requests for assistance/information on this topic from individual agencies. 

However, there were no meetings of this working group in FY 2000. This working group 

will remain inactive until the ICSP determines that there is a need for reactivation, but 

NIST will continue to share information related to the revisions of ISO 9000 with ICSP 

members, thus treating this working group as a virtual group. 

• Interagency Working Group on Environmental Management Systems (EMS) 

(ISO 14000) – The Interagency Working Group on EMS/ISO 14000 was merged with 

the Executive Order 13148 group in FY 2000 to discuss items of mutual interest related 

to ISO 14000 and EMS. 

• Laboratory Accreditation Work Group – This working group was subsumed into the 

Federal Coordination Group of the National Cooperation for Laboratory Accreditation 

(NACLA) during FY 2000. 

• Standards Working Group of the CIO and of ICSP – This Working Group’s goal is to 

develop a unified government voice on standards and technology requirements. The 

Standards Working Group of the Enterprise Interoperability and Emerging Information 

Technology Committee of the Federal CIO Council provides a forum for Federal 

agencies to identify and define their common requirements so that they may be 

transmitted to the appropriate voluntary standards development committees or consortia 

for action. The intent of the working group, chaired by NIST, is to improve the 

bargaining power of federal agencies within voluntary standards committees through 

coordinated requirement statements. In FY 2000, the working group demonstrated the 

requirements Web site and database capabilities for submitting, reviewing, and tracking 

Government requirements into formal standards processes. The group also discussed 

possible requirements stemming from the Electronic Documents Conference held at 

NIST in March 2000. 

4 
Interagency Committee on Standards Policy

Agriculture

NIST

Commerce

Defense

Education

Energy

Health and Human Services

Housing and Urban Development

Interior

Justice

Labor

State

Transportation

Treasury

Veterans Affairs

Cabinet Departments

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Environmental Protection Agency

Federal Communications Commission

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Federal Trade Commission

General Services Administration

International Trade Commission

National Aeronautics and Space Adminstration

National Archives and Records Administration

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

National Science Foundation

Postal Service

Other Agencies

Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Office of Management and Budget

Executive Office of the President

Directory Database

Chair: NIST

Secretariat: NIST

ISO 14000

Merged with E.O. 13148 Workgroup

ISO 9000 (Virtual Workgroup)

Chair: NIST

Secretariat: NIST

CIO Interoperability Standards

Chair: NIST

Secretariat: NIST

Regulatory Agencies

Chair: CPSC

Secretariat: NIST

ICSP Working Groups

Department of Commerce

National Institute of Standards

and Technology

ICSP Convener, Chair and Secretariat

Figure 1 

5 
5. HIGHLIGHTS OF AGENCY ACTIVITIES 

5.1 Department of Agriculture (USDA) – USDA was involved in a number of standards and 

conformity assessment activities in FY 2000 including: (a) a United Nations/Economic 

Commission for Europe Committee meeting that finalized beef cutting and quality standards; (b) 

a Latin American standards group that initiated development of lamb and chicken cutting and 

quality standards; (c) International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee 

(TC) 176 for Quality Management and Quality Assurance with regard to livestock and seed 

quality; (d) ISO TC 34 for Food Products/Subcommittee 6 for Meat and Meat Products, which 

develops ISO standards in the field of meat and meat product foodstuffs, as well as sampling, 

methods of testing and analysis, product specifications and requirements for packaging, storage, 

and transportation of meat and meat products; and (e) NSF International and Underwriters 

Laboratories working together with USDA to develop their voluntary consensus standards for the 

hygienic inspection and certification of equipment used to process meat and poultry products. 

5.2 Department of Commerce (DOC) – Within DOC, NIST has responsibility for the primary 

activities for implementing P.L. 104-113 and OMB Circular A-119. This year, the most 

noteworthy accomplishment was NIST’s publication of the Guidance on Federal Conformity 

Assessment Activities, which was mandated by OMB Circular A-119. Other noteworthy 

activities included the creation of the online search mechanism for standards participants and the 

online data entry for the Annual Report to Congress, NIST’s cosponsoring and chairing the 

ILAC 2000 conference at which the ILAC Arrangement was signed, the signing of the NISTNACLA Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), and the NACLA Mutual Recognition 

Arrangement by the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program. During FY 2000, 

NIST chartered the Commerce Standards Committee, which has participants from six DOC 

agencies; each reported on its standards-related activities. NIST also continued its work assisting 

Federal agencies through the ICSP, the NIST Standards Advisory Committee, the Commerce 

Standards Committee, and through the National Center for Standards and Certification 

Information. 

5.3 Department of Defense (DOD) – The Department’s Military Specifications (MilSpecs) 

Reform initiative resulted in the review of all 40,000 military specifications and standards for 

potential replacement by voluntary consensus standards. In instances where replacement 

voluntary consensus standards were available, the Department acted quickly to cancel the 

military documents and began using voluntary consensus standards. In cases where voluntary 

consensus replacements were needed but not available, the DoD began working with standards 

developers to create appropriate standards. 

DOD has put into place a very stringent system to review every new requirement for a document 

to determine if a voluntary consensus document would be more appropriate. A member of the 

Senior Executive Service must approve every request for a new document. DOD activities are 

directed to review all available sources to locate an appropriate voluntary consensus document 

rather than create a military-unique document. The five-year review process identifies 

documents that did not have a voluntary consensus counterpart at one time, but for which an 

appropriate document may now have been created. The Department's initial review and 

correction procedures, coupled with oversight in the creation of new military documents and 

6 
periodic review of existing military documents, ensures very little proliferation of DoD 

government-unique documentation. 

5.4 Department of Education (DOED) – DOED continued to work with the American 

National Standards Institute (ANSI) on developing EDI transaction sets through their Accredited 

Standards Committee (ASC) X12 committee. This committee is charged with developing 

uniform standards for electronic interchange of business transactions and standards relating to 

student personnel and financial aid records. The work of this voluntary consensus building body 

has helped DOED forge ahead in developing standards and include the appropriate communities 

to help with transition to and adoption of new standards. 

5.5 Department of Energy (DOE) – DOE continues to take a “proactive” approach to 

standards and standards management. Within DOE, a number of programs and facilities have 

shifted their focus from production, research, and/or development to environmental remediation 

and restoration. DOE will literally be breaking new ground in these areas. In the face of a 

changing mission and a reduced workforce, DOE continues to actively use and support the 

development of voluntary consensus standards to meet its needs. DOE is also continuing its 

initiative to better define “candidate” DOE technical standards for conversion to voluntary 

consensus standards. 

DOE has an Integrated Safety Management System through which it implements the OMB 

Circular A-119 and P.L. 104-113. This system integrates management of DOE's worker, public, 

and environmental health and safety with its business management, using standards as one of its 

primary tools. The Directives System policy clearly states DOE's preference to “. . . adopt 

National Consensus Standards and other commercial and industry standards . . .” in the conduct 

of DOE's activities. Directives System documents reference appropriate voluntary consensus 

standards that are acceptable for meeting requirements. This policy also limits the use of 

mandated government-unique standards in DOE rulemaking, orders, and procurement processes. 

DOE has designated about 70 individuals to serve as technical standards managers throughout 

DOE; it also has convened 25 topical committees including several on standards and conformity 

assessment-related topics. 

5.6 Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Food and Drug Administration 

(FDA) – The central purpose for FDA involvement in the development and use of standards is to 

assist the agency in fulfilling its domestic public health and regulatory missions. The agency 

participates widely in the development of standards, both domestic and international, and adopts 

or uses standards when this action enhances its ability to protect consumers and increases the 

effectiveness or efficiency of its regulatory efforts. Further, using standards, especially 

international ones, is a means to facilitate the harmonization of FDA regulatory requirements 

with those of foreign governments, and thus to improve domestic and global public health 

protection. Therefore, FDA encourages participation in the development of standards as a useful 

adjunct to regulatory controls. FDA's development and use of voluntary consensus standards 

varies within each of the agency's centers, because of differing availability and applicability of 

such standards in each product area. Voluntary consensus standards are most relevant to medical 

devices, and consequently the majority of the agency's standards activities addressed by 

Circular A-119 are centered there. 

7 
5.7 Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – HUD had a number of successes in 

implementing the NTTAA in FY 2000. For example, in July 2000, the Standards Council of the 

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) approved the 2000 edition of NFPA 501. This 

document is the vehicle used by NFPA to process consensus-developed recommended changes 

to the Federal Manufactured-Home Construction and Safety Standards 24 CFR 3280. HUD, 

through an MOU with NFPA, is relying upon NFPA to develop and process recommendations 

for standards changes. While this does not totally replace a federal standard with a consensus 

one, it has transferred the development to a consensus ANSI-recognized process. HUD intends 

to review and submit a proposed rule to amend 24 CFR 3280 for public comment shortly. This 

will include roughly 110 changes. HUD received the recommendations in September 2000.

5.8 Department of the Interior (DOI) – The number of standards reported being used in this 

year’s report has dramatically increased from last year’s. This is due to improved reporting on 

behalf of the agency, particularly, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Water Standards Division. 

Previously, this Division had not reported. In FY 2000, they have now reported using 1,411 

standards. In addition to improved reporting, DOI has had a number of other standards successes 

in FY 2000. For example, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is the lead Federal agency in the 

National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP), with approximately five USGS employees 

actively participating in the organization. USGS representatives serve on the NADP Executive 

Committee and Network Operations Committee and a USGS representative serves as 

chairperson of the NADP Budget Committee. Representatives from approximately 100 federal, 

state, local, academic, and private-sector organizations participate in the NADP to establish 

uniform standards for the measurement of chemical constituents deposited to the earth via rain, 

snow, and sleet. In addition to setting standards, this organization conducts jointly funded 

monitoring of atmospheric deposition throughout the United States at over 250 locations using 

the common protocols and standards developed by the organization. Through the use of jointly 

developed common standards, the data collected is comparable and of known quality from all 

stations throughout the United States. The use of common standards, procedures, laboratories, 

instrumentation, and data management criteria enables the participating agencies to collect the 

information at significantly lower cost and with higher quality.

5.9 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) – The Veterans Health Administration accepts and 

conforms to standards developed by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare 

Organizations for Veterans Affairs' health care facilities. Voluntary consensus standards 

requirements are utilized in the regulatory, contractual, and grants determinations executed by 

the Veterans Health Administration. 

5.10 Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) – The Consumer Product Safety Act 

(CPSA), as amended, requires the Commission to defer to issued voluntary standards, rather than 

promulgate mandatory standards, when the voluntary standards will eliminate or adequately 

reduce the risk of injury addressed and it is likely that there will be substantial compliance with 

the voluntary standards. In addition, the Commission is required, after any notice or advance 

notice of proposed rulemaking, to provide technical and administrative assistance to persons or 

groups who propose to develop or modify an appropriate voluntary standard. Additionally, the 

Commission is encouraged to provide technical and administrative assistance to groups 

8 
developing product safety standards and test methods, taking into account Commission resources 

and priorities. 

5.11 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – EPA’s commitment to the letter and spirit of 

the NTTAA is evident in regulatory, contracting, and voluntary activities throughout the agency. 

EPA promulgated 600 final, proposed, and other rules. In the 585 final rule makings during 

FY 2000, EPA used voluntary consensus standards in 453, or 77 percent, of them. That is a 

42 percent increase from 1999. The success of EPA’s implementation is largely due to the 

efforts of the Agency’s Standards Program and the Office of General Counsel working 

cooperatively with the EPA regulatory Policy Steering Committee, the rule writers and standards 

coordinators throughout the Agency. In addition, a total of 122 EPA contracts, including 6 

ADP/IT, 37 construction, and 79 lab contracts included voluntary standards. 

5.12 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) – FEMA has long recognized the 

value of voluntary consensus organizations, and within the building science community, has 

been successfully working with these organizations since the early 1980s. By using these 

organizations for almost 20 years, FEMA has been able to get design and construction provisions 

that reduce the threat from natural hazards into the hands of the public in an effective and timely 

manner without the undue burden of additional Federal regulations. 

5.13 General Services Administration (GSA) – GSA continues to expand its emphasis on the 

procurement of commercial off-the-shelf products and services. Since 1994, GSA has replaced 

93 government standards with voluntary standards, and has adopted an additional 86 voluntary 

standards. 

5.14 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) – In FY 2000, the NASA 

Technical Standards Program initiated three new activities that will enhance its use and support 

of voluntary consensus standards. The agency-wide Full-Text Technical Standards System will 

provide full text on-line documents for NASA use for adopted and other non-Government 

standards products. For those standards products not available electronically, a hard copy will be 

made available. The Standards Update Notification (Alert) System will provide users with 

notice of updates to standards products that they have identified for use on their programs. The 

Lessons Learned/Best Practices/Application Notes system will provide links to internal 

recommendations for use of individual standards products. 

As an acquisition-oriented agency, conformity assessment is a major element of its policies and 

procedures to ensure the safety and mission success of NASA programs. NASA has a longstanding practice of working with other government agencies and the private sector to integrate 

best practices into its activities. NASA continues to work with DOD and the aerospace industry 

to adopt and define consistent quality practices. NASA also cooperates with DOD in the 

implementation of their Single Process Initiative which is used to identify and apply common 

standards and criteria at facilities that produce equipment for many end users within both DOD 

and NASA. The reduction of multiple quality requirements to a single set of quality 

requirements applicable to all programs eliminates the need for contractors to maintain duplicate 

or overlapping quality systems and permits more uniform conformity decision process. 

9 
5.15 National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) – NARA employees involved 

in standards-setting activities are cognizant of the importance of using voluntary technical 

consensus standards. Where possible, NARA has incorporated, by reference in its regulations, 

voluntary standards rather than government-unique standards. This has been especially 

important in its revised records storage standards regulation since private companies now have to 

comply with these standards if they plan to house Federal Government records in their facilities.

5.16 Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) – In FY 2000, NRC took several actions to 

increase the effectiveness and efficiency of their process for implementing the NTTAA and A119. NRC Management Directive 6.5, NRC Participation in the Development and Use of 

Consensus Standards, was issued on November 2, 1999. The Directive provides: (a) direction 

for implementing P.L. 104-113 and A-119; and (b) organizational responsibilities and guidance 

for NRC staff participating in the development of consensus standards and for NRC use of 

consensus standards. The NRC staff met with representatives from the SDOs that provide codes 

and standards for the nuclear industry twice during this reporting period (December 8, 1999, and 

July 27, 2000). The NRC has been hosting these meetings on a semiannual basis. The purpose 

of these meetings is to foster better communication and discuss standards under development, 

current needs, and priorities. These exchanges have proved to be very beneficial. 

6. AGENCY USE OF GOVERNMENT-UNIQUE STANDARDS IN LIEU OF 

 VOLUNTARY CONSENSUS STANDARDS

6.1 Department of Defense (DoD) – The Department relies on MilSpecs and standards in lieu 

of voluntary consensus documents when the requirement can be justified as truly militaryunique, when a voluntary standard does not exist and development is not imminent, or when 

there is no industry interest to develop an appropriate voluntary standard. Since the Department 

has a massive number of procurements, DoD has chosen to use the categorical basis as the means 

of conveying information on its voluntary consensus standards use. 

6.2 Department of Energy (DOE) – DOE uses categorical reporting and, therefore, is not 

required to report on the exact number of instances that a government-unique standard is used in 

lieu of an existing, appropriate voluntary consensus standard.

6.3 Housing and Urban Development Agency (HUD) – HUD used two government unique 

standards in lieu of voluntary consensus standards. HUD used 28 CFR 3280 in lieu of 

ANSI A119.1 and NFPA 501C (circa) 1975 and various state standards and mobile-homes 

standards circa 1976. These standards encompass HUD-Unique Manufactured-Home 

Construction and Safety Standards. CFR 200.93 5 was also used in lieu of ANSI A119.1 and 

NFPA 501C (circa) 1975 and various state standards and mobile-homes standards circa 1976. 

These standards are HUD Building-Product Standards and Certification Programs.

6.4 Department of the Treasury (TREASURY) – Treasury used two government-unique 

standards in lieu of voluntary consensus standards. The Customs and Trade Automated Interface 

Requirements (CATAIR) is used by the customs brokerage industry. The Customs Automated 

Manifest Interface Requirements (CAMIR) is used by some parties in the transportation sector. 

The maintenance of the government-unique standards within Customs applications, the CATAIR 

10 
and CAMIR formats, are at the request of the participating industry groups that use those 

standards.

6.5 Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) – In FY 2000, CPSC one governmentunique standard, its rule, CFR Parts 1213, 1500, and 1513, in lieu of American Society for 

Testing and Materials (ASTM) F1427-96. The CPSC rule goes beyond the provisions of the 

ASTM voluntary standard to provide increased protection to children from the risk of death and 

serious injury from entrapment. 

6.6 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – In FY 2000, EPA used two existing 

government standards, 40 CFR 89 & 92 and 40 CFR 90 in lieu of the voluntary consensus 

standard, ISO 8178, citing that procedures in 8178 would be impractical because they rely too 

heavily on reference testing conditions. The Agency decided instead to continue to rely on 

procedures outlined in 40 CFR Part 90. 

6.7 General Services Administration (GSA) – GSA used four government standards in lieu of 

voluntary consensus standards. Standard AA-D-600B, Door, Vault, Security, and AA-V-2737, 

Modular Vault Systems were used in lieu of UL 608. FF-L-2740, Locks, Combination, was used 

in lieu of UL 768. These government specifications cover products used for the protection of 

national security information. The standards were developed after government review and 

testing determined that the commercial standards did not provide the required level of protection, 

or those commercial products that did provide the level of protection significantly exceeded the 

price of products meeting the government standards. KKK-A-1822D, Ambulance, Emergency 

Medical Care Surface Vehicle, was used in lieu of ASTM F2020-00. This federal specification 

is referenced in an existing contract. The ASTM standard is currently being reviewed for 

possible use in future contracts.

6.8 Government Printing Office (GPO) – GPO used four government-unique standards in 

lieu of voluntary consensus standards. FED-STD 209 was used in lieu of ISO 14644-1 and 

ISO 14644-2. The reason cited was that the second ISO standard was not issued until the end of 

FY 2000. Three MIL standards were used, all with the same explanation: they were cited in a 

small number of contracts due to editing errors. These are being corrected. They were: 

MIL-STD 105 for ANSI/ASQC Z1.4; MIL-STD 1189 for ANSI/AIM X5-2 & ANSI X3.182; 

and MIL-STD 498 for IEEE/EIA 12207.0, IEEE/EIA 12207.1, & IEEE/EIA 12207.2.

6.9 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) – Because NASA uses the 

“categorical” method of reporting, “use” of government-unique standards is reported in terms of 

additions to the NASA Technical Standards Management System, as opposed to tracking 

individual procurement transactions. During 1999, NASA developed 11 NASA-unique technical 

standards in three categories, namely: information technology, engineering, and safety and 

mission assurance. There are four engineering standards, two of which are internal procedures 

for the application of voluntary consensus standards and two are unique applications based on 

spacecraft experiences with no current external interest. There are three safety and mission 

assurance standards, with two being internal procedures and one based on aerospace 

applications. The last four standards are from the information technology area and are all 

procedural documents for the application of commercial software. 

11 
6.10 National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) – NARA used a number of its 

own data standards because MARC, EAD, APPM, ISAD (G), and ISAAR (CPF) did not meet 

their needs. NARA did not use MARC or EAD as the underlying structure of their database 

because doing so would be too limiting. Both Machine Readable Cataloguing (MARC) and 

Encoded Archival Description (EAD) feature a "denormalized" data model that would make it 

impossible to use data captured in that format for other purposes, such as a lifecycle system (box 

label, bar coding, online ordering, etc.). In addition, because MARC and EAD are implemented 

nationally, the result is hard-wired outputs. NARA prefers a normalized database approach 

because the other approach would be too limiting. 

7. CONCLUSIONS

In FY 2000, Federal agencies continued to implement P.L. 104-113 and the OMB 

Circular A-119. Overall, agencies are improving their procedures to track use of standards in 

both their regulatory and procurement activities. 

This past year, NIST took steps to assist agencies with electronic submission of their annual 

reports. NIST created a Web-based data entry system that allows agencies to track how far along 

they and other agencies are in entering their data into the system. Sixty percent of agencies had 

all of their information in the system as of the November 30, 2000, deadline -- a significant 

increase over last year. NIST is also publishing the annual report both in hard copy and on the 

Web at <http://ts.nist.gov/icsp> so that agencies and the public have ready access. NIST will 

continue its efforts in this area. 

During FY 2000, agencies made significant progress in implementing the NTTAA, with double 

the number of standards being reported used in FY 2000 -- with an increase in the number of 

standards reported as used from 2,669 in FY 1999 to 5,453 in FY 2000, as shown in Table 1 and 

Chart 1. In fact, since 1997 Federal agencies have increased their use of voluntary standards by 

a total of 8,759 (see Chart 4). If one considers the base of standards used/adopted by DOD prior 

to 1997, that brings the total of voluntary consensus standards used/adopted by the Government 

to just over 16,000. This use is occurring across the Federal government, from DOD to NASA 

for procurement, to EPA and DOE for regulation and procurement, to name only a few agencies. 

NIST ascribes the improved use of standards to greater use of agency electronic information 

systems for collecting and reporting the data. The trend reflected in the data in Table 1 shows 

clearly that the intent of the NTTAA is being fulfilled. The Federal government is using more 

and more voluntary consensus standards. 

During FY 2000, voluntary consensus standards substituted for government-unique standards 

remained high at 537 (a slight decline from last year’s total of 542). Of importance, the number 

of government-unique standards used in lieu of voluntary consensus standards dropped 

significantly from FY 1999 to FY 2000. While this is in part driven by the regulatory agenda for 

each agency, this drop also indicates greater reliance on voluntary consensus standards and 

compliance with the spirit of the NTTAA. While the decline in standards participation observed 

in all previous years of reporting on the implementation of the NTTAA continued in FY 2000, 

the rate of decline has definitely slowed from the 12 percent reported for FY 1999 to 4 percent 

12 
for FY 2000 (see Chart 2). As has been conjectured in the past, this is most likely due to staff 

attrition, budget cuts, and streamlining of agency standards programs. The decline should level 

off even more in the next year as standards programs reach their steady state and reporting 

anomalies are reduced. On the positive side, agencies are reporting being involved in many 

more standards bodies, up 7 percent, over the FY 1999 data (See Chart 3). 

More details about individual agency activities can be found in Appendices A and B, which 

contain the reports from 14 Cabinet Departments and 12 other agencies and commissions. They 

are provided with minimal or no editing and reformatting. This report also contains copies of the 

ICSP Charter, the FY 2000 ICSP membership list, and a list of NIST publications related to 

P.L. 104-113 in Appendices C, D, and E, respectively.

13 
Table 1. FISCAL YEAR (FY) 2000 STATISTICS ON FEDERAL AGENCIES’ PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPMENT 

OF AND ADOPTION OF VOLUNTARY CONSENSUS STANDARDS 1

Agency 

Number of 

Voluntary 

Consensus 

Standards Bodies 

in Which the 

Agency 

Participates 2

Number of 

Agency 

Employees 

Participating

Change 

From 

FY 1999

Number of 

Voluntary 

Consensus 

Standards 

Used in 

FY 2000

Change 

From 

FY 1999

Number of 

Voluntary 

Consensus 

Standards 

Substituted for 

GovernmentUnique 

Standards

Number of 

GovernmentUnique 

Standards 

Used in Lieu 

of Voluntary 

Consensus 

Standards

USDA 39 59 20 95 +95 0 0 

DOC 176 444 62 5 +5 0 0 

DoD 71 446 26 347 -280 1 509 - 

NCS (DoD) 18 10 -5 0 0 0 0 

DOED 1 1 -6 17 0 0 0 

DOE 59 676 8 1,012 +96 1 - 

FDA (HHS) 46 241 -14 501 +411 1 0 

HUD 6 8 2 300 +298 1 2 

DOI 29 81 -3 1,569 +1,425 0 0 

DOJ 3 5 -3 59 0 0 0 

DOL 81 89 24 118 +103 0 0 

STATE 1 8 2 0 0 0 0 

DOT 146 211 -18 153 -85 11 0 

TREASURY 6 10 -9 8 +2 2 2 

VA 26 12 0 0 -36 0 0 

USAID 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

CPSC 8 28 3 1 -3 0 1 

EPA 15 23 -174 229 +195 0 2 

FCC 1 5 -45 0 0 0 0 

FEMA 4 7 +7 0 -1 0 0 

FTC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

GSA 81 47 -2 10 +10 10 4 

GPO 3 2 2 108 +108 0 4 

USITC 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 

NASA 38 156 11 860 +430 0 - 

NARA 5 9 1 25 +3 2 1 

NSF 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 

NRC 18 141 0 36 -9 0 0 

TOTAL 885 2,723 -110 5,453 +2,767 537 16 1

 Not reflected in the chart are the total number of voluntary consensus standards adopted by Federal agencies 

and those in the process of being adopted. For example, DoD reported that by FY 2000, it had adopted a total 

number of 8,965 voluntary consensus standards, an increase of 347 since FY 1999. 

2

 Each agency counts the number of voluntary consensus standards bodies in which it participates. Many of these 

bodies are reported by several agencies; e.g., EPA, DoD, DOC, etc., participate in ASTM. Thus, by simply adding 

up the number of bodies, some standards bodies in which several Federal agencies participate may be double 

counted. 

14 
15 

Chart 1: Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards

Substituted for Government-Unique Standards

146

537

542

187

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

1997 1998 1999 2000

Substituted Standards

Chart 2: Number of Agency Employees Participating

3242

2723

3276

2832

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

1997 1998 1999 2000
Chart 3: Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards 

Bodies in Which Agencies Participate

945

869

823

885

760

780

800

820

840

860

880

900

920

940

960

1997 1998 1999 2000

Chart 4: Number of Voluntary Standards "Used" by Federal Agencies

543

2669

5453

1876

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

1997 1998 1999 2000

16 
8. RECOMMENDATIONS

Most Federal agencies have continued to progress in their use of voluntary consensus standards 

for agency programs and missions for both procurement and regulatory activities. Increased use 

of appropriate strategic alliances and teaming arrangements between Federal agencies and SDOs 

may be beneficial in ensuring that this trend continues. 

All Federal agencies should continue to strengthen their efforts to plan and allocate resources and 

staff for participation in appropriate voluntary consensus standard activities that support agency 

missions and strategic plans. 

Federal agencies should continue to develop additional policies and systems needed for the most 

effective implementation of the NTTAA and OMB Circular A-119. Actions that should be 

considered include: (a) the establishment of an agency standards policy, (b) procedures for 

improving reporting, agency-wide coordination, and program effectiveness, and (c) monitoring 

standards activity participation and resource allocation. 

Changes in Federal resources and staff can lower the priorities for standards and conformity 

assessment activities within a department or agency. Some agencies are finding it difficult to 

participate actively in the ICSP or its working groups. As a result, NIST is making much greater 

use of virtual working groups and electronic means for sharing information. Changing resources 

for participation in standards activities also appear to be making it difficult for agencies to ensure 

adequate representation on appropriate standards committees. Federal agencies should make 

more effective use of today’s technology for coordinating standards participation across 

government, in positions on standards committee ballots, and in preparing reports on the status of 

standards activities including the annual report for OMB. 

Since the 1998 revision of the Circular, a number of reporting issues have arisen. In particular, 

agencies are having some difficulties categorizing standards that are not “new” adoptions but are 

in continued usage. The reporting system spelled out in the Circular is still somewhat confusing 

to agencies. The issue of intellectual property rights continues to be a concern for Federal 

agencies. Finally, how to report on standards that are adopted with significant technical 

modifications is a concern. 

These are just a few of the problems that agencies have reported in their implementation efforts. 

While most agencies are diligently trying to comply with both the law and circular, some are not. 

NIST plans to work with all agencies during FY 2001 to ensure that implementation of the 

NTTAA continues to increase. This includes development of means for assisting the Standards 

Executives in coordinating standards-related activities across federal agencies, improved 

electronic information and reporting tools, and greater use of ICSP working groups. 

In closing, over the past four years there has been a continued increase in the use of voluntary 

standards by federal agencies in both regulation and procurement, and conformity assessment 

activities are now receiving greater attention than before passage of the law.

17 

Appendix A:

Cabinet Department Reports

A-1 
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA)

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 39 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 59 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 95 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 0 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 0 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

 for Any Changes: 

USDA concurs that the standards policy stated in Circular A-119 is effective in reducing 

duplicate systems of standards. It effectively defines the role and coordinates the use of 

government-unique standards in the marketplace. 

7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

 N/A 

8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

a. United Nations/Economic Commission for Europe Committee for Trade Industry and 

Enterprise Development, Meeting of Experts for the Standardization of Meat, March 27-

29, 2000, Geneva, Switzerland (finalized beef cutting and quality standard). 

b. Meeting of Rapportuers for the Standardization of Meat, September 25-27, 2000, 

Campinas and Sao Paulo, Brazil (initiated development of lamb and chicken cutting and 

quality standards). 

c. International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee 176 for 

Quality Management and Quality Assurance. Livestock and Seed voted on numerous 

A-2 
draft standards before the committee related to standardization in the field of generic 

quality management, quality systems, quality assurance, generic supporting technologies, 

and the applied use of these standards. 

d. ISO Technical Committee 34 for Food Products/Subcommittee 6 for Meat and Meat 

Products. This committee is administered by the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to 

TC34/SC6, which develops ISO standards in the field of meat and meat product 

foodstuffs, as well as sampling, methods of test and analysis, product specifications and 

requirements for packaging, storage, and transportation of meat and meat products. 

e. Worked with NSF International and Underwriters Laboratories to develop their voluntary 

consensus standards for the hygienic inspection and certification of equipment used to 

process meat and poultry products. This work was cited along with OMB Circular A-119 

in the Livestock and Seed Program’s proposed rule for the equipment certification 

program that adopts the NSF standards as USDA standards. 

f. Participated in an International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) study to determine if 

large lots of grass seeds are sufficiently homogenous to be shipped in international trade. 

USDA served as a technical assessor for an ISTA accreditation audit of a government 

seed laboratory in the United Kingdom. 

a. Comments: 

 None. 

A-3 
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (DOC)

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 176 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 444 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 5 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 0 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 0 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

 Overall Circular A-119 is a very effective policy document. However, improvements should 

be made to clarify the reporting system. For example, the “transactional” versus 

“categorical” reporting typologies are not clearly understood by many agencies. 

7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

 a. Conformity Assessment Guidance – Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 

Circular A-119, revised February 19, 1998, recognized the conformity assessment 

requirements and obligations defined in the Act and the role of DOC in this area. The 

Circular directed the Secretary of Commerce to issue guidance to agencies to ensure 

effective coordination of Federal conformity assessment activities. On November 3, 

1999, NIST published proposed guidance on federal conformity assessment activities in 

the Federal Register. The proposed guidance focuses on ways for federal agencies to 

eliminate unnecessary duplication and complexity in their conformity assessment 

activities. The comment period on the proposed guidance ended January 18, 2000, and 

A-4 
 comments, including recommendations appearing in a recent Government Accounting 

Office report, were reviewed. The Final Guidance was published in the Federal Register, 

August 10, 2000, Volume 65, Number 155. 

b. Interagency Committee on Standards Policy (ICSP) Chair and Activities – The National 

Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) chairs the ICSP and continues to work 

with federal agencies to assist them in implementing the Conformity Assessment 

Guidance by providing them with information and one-on-one assistance. 

 c. Conformity Assessment Activities -- National Cooperation for Laboratory Accreditation 

(NACLA) – Section 12b of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act 

(NTTAA) of 1995 directed NIST to coordinate conformity assessment activities of 

Federal, state, and local entities to eliminate any unnecessary duplication of conformity 

assessment activities. In response, NIST has been a driving force behind the creation of 

NACLA. NACLA is composed of organizations in the United States, with observers 

from Mexico and Canada, that actively support development of a system for recognizing 

the competence of testing and calibration laboratories leading to worldwide acceptance of 

test and calibration reports from those laboratories. Concerned with costly, multiple, 

duplicate assessments, and the lack of domestic or international recognition of laboratory 

accreditations, the group has explored solutions that could lead the United States, and 

perhaps eventually its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners, toward 

the goal of having only one assessment of a laboratory in a given field of testing, based 

on internationally accepted procedures. The NACLA vision is for a U.S. laboratory 

accreditation system that achieves the following goals: 

 (1) for the testing laboratory, a single accreditation in a given field of testing, with 

worldwide recognition of the laboratory's competence. 

 (2) for the manufacturer/supplier, a test performed once, with worldwide 

acceptance. 

 (3) for the acceptance body (that is a government agency or an industry specifier), 

an accreditation based on uniform criteria and intended to ensure that a 

laboratory is qualified to provide data of consistent quality. 

 During FY 2000, NIST entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with 

NACLA that recognizes its program for recognizing the competence of laboratory 

accreditation bodies. Terms of the MOU call for NIST to encourage government 

agencies to use NACLA-recognized accreditation bodies and to encourage laboratory 

accreditors to seek NACLA recognition. In addition, NIST will treat NACLA 

recognition as a suitable alternative to its own laboratory-accreditor recognition program, 

which NIST established to support its role as a designating authority under international, 

government-to-government trade agreements. Signing of the NIST-NACLA MOU came 

A-5 
 after a public workshop on June 23, 2000, in which public feedback was overwhelmingly 

supportive. Three laboratory accreditation bodies have now signed a mutual recognition 

arrangement under NACLA thus supporting the goal of providing a U.S. system for 

recognizing laboratory accrediting bodies as competent under national and international 

guidelines. These same bodies are also members of the International Laboratory 

Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) Arrangement. 

d. Conformity Assessment Activities – ILAC - In FY 2000, NIST Technology 

Services/Office of Standards Services (OSS) chaired and hosted ILAC’s biennial 

conference in Washington, D.C. ILAC continues working to help develop and promote 

the use of international standards and guides and to establish mutual confidence among 

national and regional organizations and among participating accreditation bodies. 

Established in 1977, ILAC is the premier international forum for the harmonization of 

laboratory accreditation procedures and policies as a means of reducing technical barriers 

to trade and the promotion of laboratory accreditation as a mechanism to enhance 

confidence in testing and calibration facilities, both domestically and internationally. 

e. Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs) - The NIST National Voluntary Laboratory 

Accreditation Program (NVLAP) and 36 other laboratory accreditation bodies from 28 

economies on five continents signed the ILAC MRA on Thursday, November 2, 2000, in 

Washington, D.C., which was one of the highlights of the ILAC Conference. The text of 

the ILAC MRA can be found at http://www.ilac.org/downloads/ilacmra.pdf. 

 When the MRA takes effect on January 31, 2001, test and calibration reports produced by 

NVLAP-accredited laboratories will be accepted by all of the other signatories (and vice 

versa). This also means that products tested in one economy by a laboratory that is 

accredited by a signatory to the MRA will be more readily accepted in the economy of 

other signatories. This is a major step towards reducing or eliminating the need for 

retesting of products in the importing economy. 

 A cornerstone of the new MRA is the utilization of existing or developing regional 

arrangements established in the Americas {Interamerican Accreditation Cooperation 

(IAAC) and NACLA}, the Asia Pacific region {Asia-Pacific Laboratory Accreditation 

Cooperation (APLAC)}, and European Cooperation for Accreditation (EA). The 

regional arrangement bodies are responsible for maintaining the necessary confidence in 

accreditation bodies from their region that are signatories to the new ILAC MRA. ILAC 

and each of the regional bodies use the same international standards, including 

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)/International Electrotechnical 

Commission (IEC) Guide 58 and ISO/IEC 17025. 

A-6 
 f. International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and Other Conformity Assessment Committees 

 NIST serves on the IAF, an organization committed to assisting in the development of 

Multilateral MRAs among accreditation bodies. NIST is also represented on the ISO 

Council Committee on Conformity Assessment (CASCO), and has served on working 

groups involved in the development of international (ISO) guides/standards on 

conformity assessment. NIST participates in other ISO committees concerned with 

conformity assessment-related standards, such as ISO Technical Committee (TC) 176. 

NIST also participates on U.S. subcommittees of the IEC System for Conformity Testing 

to Standards for Safety of Electrical Equipment (IECEE) (CB Scheme). Finally, NIST’s 

NVLAP is updating its documents to make them consistent with ISO/IEC 17025. A 

notice of NVLAP’s intent can be found in the Federal Register 65, FR 66659, 

November 7, 2000. 

g. Conformity Assessment Activities – Other - During 2000, NIST published Special 

Publication (SP) 831, Directory of Professional/Trade Organization Laboratory 

Accreditation/Designation Programs. This directory is a guide to laboratory accreditation 

and similar types of programs conducted by professional and trade organizations. These 

programs accredit or designate laboratories or other entities to assist private sector 

professional societies, trade associations, related certification bodies, their membership, 

as well as Government agencies, in carrying out their responsibilities. This accreditation 

or designation is based on an assessment of the capability of the laboratory to conduct the 

testing. However, the nature of the assessment varies considerably by organization and 

program. NIST also published SP 951, Guide to EU Standards and Conformity 

Assessment, which is an introductory reference on the general principles and concepts 

behind the European Union’s (EU’s) “New Approach” laws and directives. It provides 

information on the EU’s approach. In addition to these two publications, NIST maintains 

an extensive Conformity Assessment Web site to provide more information on this topic. 

8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

a. Within the International Trade Administration's (ITA’s) Office of Consumer Goods, in 

collaboration with Toy Manufacturers of America, organized a U.S.-sponsored Asia 

Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ECOTECH seminar titled, "APEC 

Implementation of ISO 8124," which was held in Hong Kong from March 20-22, 2000. 

 (1) The seminar's purpose was to inform attendees about the technical aspects of, 

and to encourage APEC economies to align their toy safety standards with, ISO’s 

new standard titled, "ISO 8124-1: The Safety of Toys Part 1: Safety Aspects 

Related to Mechanical and Physical Properties." 

 (2) The APEC seminar attracted 254 participants from 14 economies. Seminar 

topics included a detailed discussion of the ISO standard and its relationship to 

the current U.S. and EU voluntary standards (ASTM F963a and EN 71-1: 1998) 

and the role of governments in ensuring toy safety. 

A-7 
 (3) Hands-on testing demonstrations highlighted technical methods of ensuring 

compliance with the ISO standard. Most economies expressed the desire and 

willingness to work toward toy standards harmonization. In those economies 

that currently lack a toy standard, full adoption of ISO 8124 was mentioned. 

However, global harmonization relies on current U.S. and EU efforts to align 

their standards with ISO 8124. 

b. Another success story in FY 2000 from the ITA occurred in the Office of Aerospace. 

This office worked with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on its 

Volume 1, Annex 16, Chapter 3, standard on civil aircraft noise. The standard was 

adopted in 1977 by all ICAO members and, with further work in FY 2000, the standard 

has been successfully implemented worldwide for manufacture of new aircraft. 

c. NIST has played a strong role in National Committee for Information Technology 

Standards (NCITS) Technical Committee T4, Security Techniques, since 1991. NIST 

has been the principal motivating force behind the successful development of the recently 

approved, three-part, ISO/IEC 15408, Common Criteria for Information Technology 

Security Evaluation, in both NCITS and ISO/IEC JTC 1. The three-part ISO/IEC 15408 

is arguably one of the largest and most complex of all ISO/IEC JTC 1 standards 

developed to date. 

During the development of ISO/IEC 15408, NIST was a Category “C” Liaison Officer 

between ISO/IEC JTC 1 SC 27 and the Common Criteria Editorial and Implementation 

Boards. Those boards were composed of representatives from six European and North 

American governments, gathered together specifically to develop standard language for 

expressing detailed information technology security requirements that could serve as a 

basis for evaluating and testing products asserted to be conformant to them. NIST’s 

representative was one of the governmental founders and major technical contributors to 

that groundbreaking intergovernmental project. 

ISO/IEC 15408, which was published in December 1999, has already been formally 

implemented by 15 national governments, a number that is rapidly growing. Even during 

the final stages of development, it had become the de-facto standard for the global 

information technology security community. ISO/IEC 15408 has already shown its 

ability to help global security in a very important way by providing a common basis for 

understanding, expressing and testing the security capabilities of computer and 

communications products. 

9. Comments: 

DOC

The DOC encourages its staff to participate in standards committee activities relating to the 

mission of the Department, subject to resource availability. Agency employees participate in 

the standards development activities of: (1) U.S. private sector standardization bodies; 

A-8 
 (2) local, state, and federal governments; and (3) both private and governmental (treaty and 

nontreaty) international standardization organizations. Standards of interest to the 

Department cover a broad range of technical areas including: (1) energy conservation, 

(2) information and computer technology, (3) telecommunications, (4) environmental safety 

and health, (5) meteorological work, and (6) a variety of other product sectors and fields of 

technology. 

 The Commerce Standards Committee (CSC) was formed in FY 2000 to improve 

communication and coordination on standards-related activities among DOC agencies. 

Representatives from each of the major units within Commerce were appointed by the 

Secretary of Commerce. At its first meeting, the Chair and Secretariat of the Committee, 

both from NIST’s OSS, disseminated information about the NTTAA, OMB A-119, strategic 

standards management, as well as other standards activities both national and international in 

nature. The reporting guidelines for the OMB Circular A-119 report to Congress were also 

distributed and discussed. The committee subsequently approved its charter. 

 The Standards Assistance and Management Information (SAMI) project in OSS, NIST, 

collects and disseminates information on DOC staff participation in standards development 

activities. NIST publishes an annual directory containing statistics on all DOC standards 

committee participation, alphabetical listings of staff participants and standards organizations 

and committees, and a list of acronyms and abbreviations. This year a new feature was 

added, which connects the data in the SAMI database with data from other federal agencies’ 

databases such as DOD and NASA. Other agencies will continue to be added to the system 

in the future, thereby increasing the ability of Federal agencies to share information on 

technical and other standards activities. 

 The DOC standards participant information contained in the SAMI database is divided into 

two parts -- NIST and other (non-NIST) DOC agencies. During FY 2000, 444 DOC staff 

participated in the standards writing activities of 176 (120 national and 55 international) 

standards developing organizations. NIST had 391 participants in the activities of 

141 standards organizations (98 national and 43 international). NIST participated on 

446 committees and held 1,330 memberships on these committees. Fourteen of the standards 

organizations in which NIST staff members participated had 20 or more NIST memberships. 

Fifty-three staff members of other DOC agencies participated in 55 committees of 

28 standards organizations (23 national and 12 international). They held 103 memberships 

on those committees. Seven of those standards organizations had five or more other DOC 

participants. 

A-9 
 The following organizations/agencies accounted for 59 percent (61) of the 103 other DOC 

committee memberships: 

 Organizations with Other DOC Members No. of Committee Memberships

 Department of State 15 

 American National Standards Institute 10 

 International Organization for Standardization 8 

 NCITS (National Committee for 

 Information Technology Standards) 8 

 Federal Committee for Meteorological 

 Service and Supporting Research 7 

 International Telecommunication 

 Union - Telegraph 7 

 Department of Defense/Federal Aviation 

 Administration/Department of Commerce 6

 Total 61 

 Listed below are 12 standards organizations and the American National Standards Institute 

(ANSI) in which NIST holds at least 20 committee memberships along with the exact 

number of committee memberships. The organizations/agencies accounted for 74 percent 

(983) of the 1,330 other DOC committee memberships: 

 Organizations with NIST Members No. of Committee Memberships

 American Society for Testing and Materials 539 

 American National Standards Institute 103 

 International Organization for Standardization 65 

 Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers 46 

 American Society of Mechanical Engineers 42 

 International Electrotechnical Commission 37 

 CIE (International Commission on Illumination) 30 

 NCITS (National Committee for 

 Information Technology Standards) 27 

 CGPM (Conférence Générale des 

 Poids et Mesures) 24 

 International Organization of Legal Metrology 24 

 Telecommunications Industry Association 23 

 American Concrete Institute 23 

 Telecommunications Industries of America 23

 Total 983 

A-10 
DOC AGENCIES (EXCLUDING NIST): SUMMARY OF STANDARDS-RELATED 

ACTIVITIES

 a. International Trade Administration (ITA) -- The ITA participates in 4 CODEX 

committees, 1 ICAO committee and one Committee of the U.S.-Russia Working 

Group Standards for Chemicals. This year, ITA’s work in standards furthered toy 

safety standardization and international civil aviation standards adoption and 

acceptance worldwide. 

 b. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) -- Standardization of 

data acquisition and data management practices is vital to the mission at NOAA. 

NOAA seeks to establish voluntary standards with selected industrial associations, 

academia, and national organizations of state and local governments (e.g., the 

American Association of State Climatologists), as well as through participation in 

professional societies (e.g., American Meteorological Society). All NOAA line 

organizations participate in standards development activities. In general, standards 

used in many NOAA activities are established in conjunction with other federal 

agencies (e.g., DOD, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture) either through joint participation in international organizations such as 

the World Meteorological Organization, or by means of bilateral and multilateral 

agreements with other nations. These standardization activities apply to all phases of 

environmental data acquisition, processing, and distribution. 

c. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) -- The NTIA 

contributes to the development and application of national and international 

telecommunication standards by participating and holding leadership roles in various 

voluntary standards committees at the national and international levels (e.g., 

Telecommunications Industry Association, International Telecommunication Union). 

These standards enhance the quality and reliability of the domestic 

telecommunications infrastructure, promote healthy competition in 

telecommunications products and services, and expand international trade 

opportunities for U.S. telecommunications firms. 

d. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) -- The PTO participates and contributes to the 

resolution of identified requirements for international standards, primarily through the 

Permanent Committee on Industrial Property Information of the World Intellectual 

Property Organization. PTO staff also participates in standardization activities of the 

International Patent Classification Union and the ANSI-Accredited Committee on 

Patent Standards. 

e. Bureau of the Census -- DOC’s Bureau of the Census is active in the development of 

standards and specifications for: (1) the capture and storage of geographic 

information in computer-readable formats along with metaoata documenting the 

characteristics of those data; and (2) the definitions of statistical, economic, and 

geographic terms. The Census Bureau participated in the following groups in 

FY2000: Federal Geograpic Data Committee -- various subcommittees and working 

A-11 
groups; ANSI/NCITS-L1 Geographic Information Systems; ISO Technical 

Committee 211; Ad hoc Baseline Committee on the U.S. International Boundary; 

U.S.G.S. Spatial Data Transfer Standards (SDTS) Technical Review Board; 

International Cartographic Association, Commission on National and Regional 

Atlases; U.S.G.S. National Atlas of the United States Steering Committee; and the 

Open GIS Consortium (OGC). 

NIST: SUMMARY OF STANDARDS RELATED ACTIVITIES

 This year, the most noteworthy accomplishment for NIST’s NTTAA work was the 

publication of the Guidance on Federal Conformity Assessment Activities, which was 

mandated by OMB Circular A-119. Other noteworthy activities included the ILAC 2000 

conference, the signing of the NIST-NACLA MOU and the ILAC MRA, the creation of 

the online search mechanism for standards participants and the online data entry for the 

Annual Report to Congress. NIST continued its work assisting Federal agencies through 

the ICSP, NIST Standards Advisory Committee, CSC, and National Center for Standards 

and Certification Information (NCSCI). See the Conformity Assessment Activities 

Section for more information on NIST’s conformity assessment activities. See the 

section on Activities of the ICSP for more information on the NIST’s ICSP work. 

 On an ongoing basis, NIST operates a number of standards-related programs and services 

to assist business, industry, and government in using and understanding standards, 

technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures affecting trade in the global 

marketplace. 

NATIONAL CENTER FOR STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION INFORMATION 

(NCSCI)

 NCSCI is the U.S. focal point for standards-related information at home and abroad; it 

provides information on U.S., foreign, regional, and international voluntary standards 

bodies, mandatory government regulations, and conformity assessment procedures for 

nonagricultural products. NCSCI is the U.S. member of the ISO Information Network, 

and serves as the U.S. inquiry point under the World Trade Organization Agreement on 

Technical Barriers to Trade, the NAFTA, and the APEC Subcommittee on Standards and 

Conformance. NCSCI maintains an extensive collection of reference materials, including 

U.S. military and other Federal Government specifications, U.S. industry and national 

standards, international standards, and selected foreign national standards. 

 a. Staff members respond to requests for specialized standards information, arrange 

for translations of foreign standards and regulations, and disseminate information 

to U.S. industry concerning proposed foreign regulations and general standards 

issues. 

 b. Two telephone hotlines provide weekly updates on draft European standards and 

on proposed foreign technical regulations that might significantly affect trade. 

A-12 
NIST STANDARDS ADVISORY COMMITTEE (SAC)

 To coordinate internal standards activities, NIST established the SAC. The SAC 

continued to work on the implementation of the NIST Voluntary Standards Policy, which 

was approved by NIST management in 1999. This policy directs NIST organizational 

units to review their standards-related activities to ensure that they are in-line with the 

agency’s mission and goals so that resources and participation are targeted most 

effectively. NIST currently has 391 employees participating in many standards 

committee activities. The policy is expected to assist in aligning this participation as 

closely as possible with applicable NIST and industry needs. Because NIST also 

coordinates standards activities within DOC, including publishing the Annual Directory 

and providing DOC input for the Annual Report, NIST chaired and staffed the CSC in 

2000 to improve communication and coordination on standards-related activities among 

DOC agencies. 

FEDERAL INFORMATION PROCESSING STANDARDS (FIPS) 

 Under the Information Technology Management Reform Act (Public Law (P.L.) 104-

106), the Secretary of Commerce approves standards and guidelines that are developed 

by NIST for Federal computer systems. Under section 513 of the Information 

Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 and the Computer Security Act of 1987, 

P.L. 104-106, NIST develops standards, guidelines, and associated methods and 

techniques for federal computer systems, including those needed to ensure the costeffective security and privacy of sensitive information in federal computer systems, when 

there are compelling federal requirements and there are no existing voluntary industry 

standards. These standards and guidelines are issued by NIST as FIPS for use 

Government-wide. FIPS address federal requirements for the interoperability of different 

systems, for the portability of data and software, and for computer security. When FIPS 

are considered necessary, NIST announces proposed FIPS in the Federal Register for 

public review and comment. No new FIPS were published in FY 2000, which required 

justification. 

 Federal Register notices published in 2000 regarding FIPS are: 

 a. Federal Register: February 25, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 38) -- This notice 

announced the approval of the withdrawal of 33 Federal Information Processing 

Standards (FIPS) Publications. These FIPS were withdrawn because the technical 

specifications that they adopted were obsolete and were no longer supported by 

industry. 

 b. Federal Register: February 15, 2000, (Volume 65, Number 31) -- This notice 

announced the approval of Federal Information Processing Standard 186-2, 

Digital Signature Standard. This FIPS adopts three techniques for the generation 

and verification of digital signatures. These are the Digital Signature Algorithm 

(DSA) and two techniques specified in industry standards (ANSI X9.31-1998, 

A-13 
 Digital Signatures Using Reversible Public Key Cryptography for the Financial 

Services Industry and ANSI 9.62, 1998, Public Key Cryptography for the 

Financial Services Industry: Elliptical Curve Digital Signature Algorithm). 

A-14 
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE (DOD)

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 71 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 446 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 347 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

509 

Voluntary Standard Government Standard

 UL32 A-A-1674 

 SAE-AS9529 MS9529 

 SAE-AMS-STD-2175 MIL-STD-2175 

 SAE-AS91691 MS91691 

 SAE-AS9467 MS9467 

 SAE-AS9482 MS9482 

 SAE-AS9480 MS9480 

 SAE-AS9492 MS9492 

 SAE-AS9494 MS9494 

 SAE-AS9501 MS9501 

 SAE-AS9502 MS9502 

 SAE-AS9505 MS9505 

 SAE-AS9517 MS9517 

 SAE-AS9518 MS9518 

 SAE-AS9457 MS9457 

 SAE-AS9554 MS9554 

 SAE-AS9556 MS9556 

 SAE-AS9573 MS9573 

 SAE-AS9895 MS9895 

 SAE-AS9902 MS9902 

 SAE-AS9918 MS9918 

 SAE-AS9928 MS9928 

 SAE-AS9944 MS9944 

 SAE-AS0058 MS9958 

 SAE-AS9964 MS9964 

 NASM 14156 MS14156 

A-15 
 NASM 14164 MS14164 

 NASM 14177 MS14177 

 NASM 14181 MS14181 

 NASM 14182 MS14182 

 NASM 14183 MS14183 

 NASM 14200 MS14200 

 NASM 14210 MS14210 

 ASME-B18.27.1 MS16524 

 SAE-AS5173 MS5173 

 ASME-B18.24.3 MS16633 

 SAE-J1231 MS21418 

 ASTM-D3951 PPP-H-1581 

 SAE-AS5379 MIL-V-5379 

 SAE-AS8581 MIL-E-8581 

 NASM 25027 MIL-DTL-25027 

 SAE-AS85720 MIL-F-85720 

 SAE-AS1442 MS21441 

 SAE-AS21900 MS21900 

 SAE-AS21904 MS21904 

 SAE-AS9385 MS9385 

 SAE-AS9466 MS9466 

 SAE-AS9468 MS9468 

 SAE-AS9489 MS9489 

 SAE-AS9491 MS9491 

 SAE-AS9493 MS9493 

 SAE-AS9496 MS9496 

 SAE-AS9403 MS9403 

 SAE-AS9503 MS9503 

 SAE-AS9516 MS9516 

 SAE-AS9523 MS9523 

 SAE-AS9520 MS9520 

 SAE-AS9521 MS9521 

 SAE-AS9522 MS9522 

 SAE-AS9524 MS9524 

 SAE-AS9525 MS9525 

 SAE-AS9526 MS9526 

 NASM 21068 MS21068 

 SAE-AS9528 MS9528 

 SAE-AS9432 MS9432 

 SAE-AS9433 MS9433 

 SAE-AS9434 MS9434 

 SAE-AS9440 MS9440 

 SAE-AS9441 MS9441 

 SAE-AS9442 MS9442 

 SAE-AS9444 MS9444 

 SAE-AS9449 MS9449 

A-16 
 NASM 21070 MS21070 

 SAE-AS9452 MS9452 

 SAE-AS9453 MS9453 

 SAE-AS9454 MS9454 

 ASTM-B166 QQ-W-390 

 SAE-AMS-S-5000 MIL-S-5000 

 SAE-AS54761 MIL-S-5676 

 SAE-AMS-DTL-23053 MIL-DTL-23053 

 SAE-AS85075 MIL-T-85075 

 SAE-AS21441 MS21441 

 SAE-AS21446 MS21446 

 SAE-AS21902 MS21902 

 SAE-AS21906 MS21906 

 SAE-AMS-C-27725 MIL-C-27725 

 ASTM-D2000 MIL-R-3065 

 NASM 85604 MIL-B-85604 

 SAE-AS9276 MS9276 

 SAE-AS9285 MS9285 

 SAE-AS9292 MS9292 

 SAE-AS9296 MS9296 

 SAE-AS9303 MS9303 

 SAE-AS9305 MS9305 

 SAE-AS9307 MS9307 

 SAE-AS9309 MS9309 

 SAE-AS9311 MS9311 

 SAE-AS9312 MS9312 

 SAE-AS9316 MS9316 

 SAE-AS9317 MS9317 

 SAE-AS9318 MS9318 

 SAE-AS9319 MS9319 

 SAE-AS9320 MS9320 

 SAE-AS9321 MS9321 

 SAE-AS9356 MS9356 

 SAE-AS9357 MS9357 

 SAE-AS9358 MS9358 

 SAE-AS9359 MS9359 

 SAE-AS9360 MS9360 

 SAE-AS9361 MS9361 

 SAE-AS9362 MS9362 

 SAE-AS9371 MS9371 

 SAE-AS9372 MS9372 

 SAE-AS9373 MS9373 

 SAE-AS9374 MS9374 

 SAE-AS9375 MS9375 

 SAE-AS21905 MS21905 

 SAE-AS21907 MS21907 

A-17 
 SAE-AS21908 MS21908 

 SAE-AS21909 MS21909 

 SAE-AS9398 MS9398 

 SAE-AS21910 MS21910 

 SAE-AS21911 MS21911 

 SAE-AS21912 MS21912 

 SAE-AS21913 MS21913 

 SAE-AS21914 MS21914 

 SAE-AS21915 MS21915 

 SAE-AS21916 MS21916 

 SAE-AS21921 MS21921 

 SAE-AS21922 MS21922 

 SAE-AS21923 MS21923 

 SAE-AS21925 MS21925 

 SAE-AS21924 MS21924 

 SAE-AS21926 MS21926 

 SAE-AS21937 MS21937 

 SAE-AS21939 MS21939 

 SAE-AS21940 MS21940 

 SAE-AS21941 MS21941 

 SAE-AS21942 MS21942 

 SAE-AS21943 MS21943 

 NASM 21074 MS21074 

 SAE-AS25064 MS25064 

 SAE-AS25281 MS25281 

 SAE-AS33515 MS33515 

 SAE-AS33566 MS33566 

 SAE-AS33559 MS33559 

 SAE-AS1933 MIL-STD-1523 

 ASTM-D6254 PPP-B-587 

 NASM 85353 MIL-N-85353 

 SAE-AS91721 MS91721 

 SAE-AS9208 MS9208 

 SAE-AS9209 MS9209 

 SAE-AS9210 MS9210 

 SAE-AS9212 MS9212 

 SAE-AS9216 MS9216 

 SAE-AS9218 MS9218 

 SAE-AMS-STD-183 FED-STD-183 

 ANSI-Z26.1 MIL-G-3787 

 NASM 559 MIL-F-559 

 NASM 5674 MIL-R-5674 

 SAE-AS60002 MIL-M-60002 

 SAE-AS6439 MIL-H-6439 

 NASM 7873 MIL-N-7873 

 NASM 7874 MIL-B-7874 

A-18 
 NASM 8906 MIL-B-8906 

 NASM 8907 MIL-B-8907 

 NASM 8922 MIL-N-8922 

 NASM 8975 MIL-F-8975 

 NASM 8984 MIL-N-8984 

 NASM 8985 MIL-N-8985 

 PIA-W-9049 MIL-W-9049 

 ASTM F696 MIL-G-10849 

 ASTM 10971 MIL-P-10971 

 NASM 16610 MIL-P-16610 

 NASM 20652 MIL-E-20652 

 NASM 21143 MIL-P-21143 

 NASM 23460 MIL-P-23460 

 NASM 23964 MIL-B-23964 

 NASM 24066 MIL-C-24066 

 SAE-AS38386 MIL-D-38386 

 SAE-AS38390 MIL-H-38390 

 SAE-AS38404 MIL-C-38404 

 PIA-T-43618 MIL-T-43618 

 ASTM-D1732 MIL-M-45202 

 NASM 45595 MIL-W-45595 

 SAE-AS5172 MS24397 

 NASM 45938 MIL-N-45938 

 ASTM-D5213 MIL-P-46112 

 ASME-B30.9 MIL-S-52432 

 NASM 63540 MIL-S-63540 

 ASME-B5.55M MIL-P-80052 

 NASM 81177 MIL-F-81177 

 NASM 82496 MIL-S-82496 

 NASM 35215 MS35215 

 NASM 83050 MIL-B-83050 

 ASME-18.27.2 MS16631 

 NASM 83459 MIL-R-83459 

 ASME-B18.27.1 MS16625 

 NASM 85730 MIL-N-85730 

 ASME-B18.27.2 MS3215 

 ASME-B 18.27.2 MS3217 

 SAE-AS3582 MS9068 

 SAE-AS9110 MS9110 

 SAE-AS9111 MS9111 

 SAE-AS9158 MS9158 

 SAE-AS91601 MS91601 

 SAE-AS91641 MS91641 

 SAE-AS91701 MS91701 

 SAE-AS9219 MS9219 

 SAE-AS9283 MS9283 

A-19 
 SAE-AS9286 MS9286 

 SAE-AS9294 MS9294 

 SAE-AS9297 MS9297 

 SAE-AS9304 MS9304 

 SAE-AS9306 MS9306 

 SAE-AS9308 MS9308 

 SAE-AS9310 MS9310 

 SAE-AS9376 MS9376 

 SAE-AS9386 MS9386 

 SAE-AS9397 MS9397 

 SAE AS9398 MS9398 

 SAE AS9403 MS9403 

 SAE AS9432 MS9432 

 ASME-B18.24.3 MS16626 

 SAE-AS9440 MS9440 

 SAE-AS9441 MS9441 

 ASME-B18.24.3 MS16628 

 SAE-AS9444 MS9444 

 SAE-AS9449 MS9449 

 SAE-AS9450 MS9450 

 ASME-B18.24.3 MS16630 

 SAE-AS933 MS24487 

 NASM 24627 MS24627 

 SAE-AS9459 MS9459 

 SAE-AS9460 MS9460 

 NASM 51605 MS51605 

 SAE-AS9464 MS9464 

 SAE-AS9465 MS9465 

 NASM 21060 MS21060 

 NASM 21062 MS21062 

 SAE-AS9463 MS9463 

 ASME-B18.24.1 MS16624 

 ASME-B18.24.1 MS16625 

 SAE-AS9466 MS9466 

 NASM 21063 MS21063 

 ASME-B18.24.3 MS16627 

 ASME-B18.24.3 MS16629 

 SAE-AS9490 MS9490 

 SAE-AS9491 MS9491 

 SAE-AS9492 MS9492 

 ASME-B18.27.4 MS16631 

 SAE-AS9494 MS9494 

 NASM 21064 MS21064 

 SAE-AS9500 MS9500 

 NASM 21066 MS21066 

 NASM 16535 MS16535 

A-20 
 NASM 16208 MS16208 

 NASM 15795 MS15795 

 NASM 14531 MS14531 

 NASM 14493 MS14493 

 NASM 14491 MS14491 

 SAE-AS9519 MS9519 

 NASM 14490 MS14490 

 SAE-AS14274 MS14274 

 NASM 21067 MS21067 

 SAE-AS9523 MS9523 

 NASM 14222 MS14222 

 NASM 14214 MS14214 

 NASM 14213 MS14213 

 SAE-AS9527 MS9527 

 SAE-AS9553 MS9553 

 SAE-AS9555 MS9555 

 SAE-AS9557 MS9557 

 SAE-AS9558 MS9558 

 SAE-AS9559 MS9559 

 SAE-AS9564 MS9564 

 SAE-AS9565 MS9565 

 SAE-AS9566 MS9566 

 SAE-AS9572 MS9572 

 SAE-AS9574 MS9574 

 SAE-AS9575 MS9575 

 SAE-AS9576 MS9576 

 SAE-AS9577 MS9577 

 SAE-AS9579 MS9579 

 SAE-AS9581 MS9581 

 SAE-AS9583 MS9583 

 SAE-AS9584 MS9584 

 SAE-AS9585 MS9585 

 SAE-AS9586 MS9586 

 SAE-AS9587 MS9587 

 SAE-AS9589 MS9589 

 SAE-AS9685 MS9685 

 SAE-AS9696 MS9696 

 SAE-AS9698 MS9698 

 SAE-AS9699 MS9699 

 SAE-AS9705 MS9705 

 SAE-AS9712 MS9712 

 SAE-AS9714 MS9714 

 SAE-AS9715 MS9715 

 SAE-AS9716 MS9716 

 SAE-AS9732 MS9732 

 SAE-AS9742 MS9742 

A-21 
 SAE-AS9750 MS9750 

 SAE-AS9751 MS9751 

 SAE-AS9759 MS9759 

 SAE-AS9760 MS9760 

 SAE-AS9761 MS9761 

 SAE-AS9770 MS9770 

 SAE-AS9783 MS9783 

 SAE-AS9784 MS9784 

 SAE-AS9785 MS9785 

 SAE-AS9786 MS9786 

 SAE-AS9788 MS9788 

 SAE-AS9790 MS9790 

 SAE-AS9841 MS9841 

 SAE-AS9844 MS9844 

 SAE-AS9880 MS9880 

 SAE-AS9887 MS9887 

 SAE-AS9894 MS9894 

 ASME-B18.24.3 MS17828 

 NASM 17829 MS17829 

 NASM 17830 MS17830 

 NASM 17988 MS17988 

 NASM 20002 MS20002 

 NASM 20073 MS20073 

 NASM 20074 MS20074 

 NASM 20230 MS20230 

 SAE-AS20253 MS20253 

 NASM 20501 MS20501 

 NASM 20600 MS20600 

 NASM 20601 MS20601 

 NASM 20613 MS20613 

 SAE-AS5176 MS20819 

 NASM 21025 MS21025 

 NASM 21043 MS21043 

 NASM 21045 MS21045 

 NASM 21046 MS21046 

 NASM 21049 MS21049 

 NASM 21051 MS21051 

 NASM 21055 MS21055 

 NASM 21058 MS21058 

 NASM 21076 MS21076 

 NASM 21077 MS21077 

 NASM 21081 MS21081 

 NASM 21083 MS21083 

 NASM 21085 MS21085 

 NASM 21090 MS21090 

 NASM 21096 MS21096 

A-22 
 NASM 21097 MS21097 

 NASM 21133 MS21133 

 NASM 21207 MS21207 

 NASM 21224 MS21224 

 NASM 21225 MS21225 

 NASM 21244 MS21244 

 NASM 21245 MS21245 

 NASM 21295 MS21295 

 NASM 21296 MS21296 

 NASM 21297 MS21297 

 NASM 21392 MS21392 

 SAE-AS5406 MS24393 

 NASM 24628 MS24628 

 NASM 24674 MS24674 

 NASM 24693 MS24693 

 NASM 24694 MS24694 

 NASM 25087 MS25087 

 NASM 27039 MS27039 

 SAE-AS4370 MS27073 

 NASM 27577 MS27577 

 NASM 27953 MS27953 

 NASM 27954 MS27954 

 SAE-AS28775 MS28775 

 NASM 33547 MS33547 

 NASM 33557 MS33557 

 NASM 33588 MS33588 

 NASM 33602 MS33602 

 SAE-AS5131 MS5131 

 NASM 33737 MS33737 

 NASM 33749 MS33749 

 NASM 35190 MS35190 

 NASM 35191 MS35191 

 NASM 35198 MS35198 

 NASM 35199 MS35199 

 NASM 35202 MS35202 

 NASM 35206 MS35206 

 NASM 35207 MS35207 

 NASM 35214 MS35214 

 NASM 35276 MS35276 

 NASM 35307 MS35307 

 NASM 35308 MS35308 

 NASM 35671 MS35671 

 NASM 35791 MS35791 

 NASM 35793 MS35793 

 NASM 51045 MS51045 

 NASM 51047 MS51047 

A-23 
 NASM 51095 MS51095 

 NASM 51096 MS51096 

 NASM 51105 MS51105 

 NASM 51106 MS51106 

 NASM 51400 MS51400 

 NASM 51474 MS51474 

 NASM 51576 MS51576 

 NASM 51838 MS51838 

 ASTM-B687 MS51846 

 NASM 51850 MS51850 

 NASM 51851 MS51851 

 SAE-AS172236-172270 AN172236-AN172270 

 SAE-AS116913-116924 AN116913-AN116924 

 SAE-AS123601-123750 AN123601-AN123750 

 NASM 51861 MS51861 

 NASM 51863 MS51863 

 NASM 51870 MS51870 

 ASTM-B687 MS51872 

 ASTM-A733 MS51873 

 NASM 51932 MS51932 

 ASTM-A733 MS51953 

 NASM 51959 MS51959 

 NASM 51965 MS51965 

 NASM 51955 MS51973 

 NASM 51974 MS51974 

 SAE-AS51989 MS51989 

 SAE-AS51992 MS51992 

 PIA-PS70086 MS70086 

 PIA-PS70087 MS70087 

 PIA-PS70102 MS70102 

 PIA-PS70104 MS70104 

 PIA-PS70105 MS70105 

 PIA-PS70107 MS70107 

 PIA-PS70108 MS70108 

 PIA-PS70113 MS70113 

 PIA-PS70114 MS70114 

 PIA-PS70115 MS70115 

 PIA-PS70116 MS70116 

 PIA-PS70118 MS70118 

 PIA-PS70119 MS70119 

 PIA-PS70120 MS70120 

 PIA-PS70121 MS70121 

 PIA-PS70123 MS70123 

 PIA-PS70124 MS70124 

 NASM 90353 MS90353 

 NASM 90354 MS90354 

A-24 
 NASM 90415 MS90415 

 NASM 90725 MS90725 

 NASM 90726 MS90726 

 SAE-AS126881-127192 AN126881-AN127192 

 SAE-AS122900-122939 AN122900-AN122939 

 NASM 171401-171900 MS171401-MS171900 

 NASM 124691-124730 MS124691-MS124730 

 NASM 124771-124810 MS124771-MS124810 

 SAE-AS172201-172235 AN172201-AN172235 

 SAE-AS172271-172320 AN172271-AN172320 

 SAE-AS172321-172370 AN172321-AN172370 

 ASTM-B227 QQ-W-345 

 QQ-W-428 QQ-W-428 

 SAE-AMS-QQ-S-700 QQ-S-700 

 NASM 3-20 AN3-AN30 

 NASM 21-37 AN21-AN37 

 NASM 386 AN386 

 NASM 525 AN525 

 NASM 565 AN565 

 SAE-AS5162 AN776 

 SAE-AS5164 AN778 

 SAE-AS5165 AN779 

 SAE-AS5194 AN816 

 SAE-AS5406 AN832 

 SAE-AS5181 AN838 

 SAE-AS5182 AN839 

 SAE-AS5185 AN842 

 SAE-AS5186 AN844 

 SAE-AS5187 AN846 

 SAE-AS5188 AN848 

 SAE-AS5172 AN893 

 SAE-AS5173 AN894 

 SAE-AS8991 AN899 

 SAE-AS5178 AN924 

 SAE-AS115451-115500 AN115451-AN115500 

 SAE-AS11580-115850 AN11580-AN11850 

 SAE-AS11585-115900 AN115585-AN115900 

 SAE-AS11650-116100 AN11650-AN116100 

 SAE-AS116901-116912 AN116901-AN116912 

 SAE-AS117001-117040 AN117001-AN117040 

 SAE-AS11704-117080 AN11704-AN117080 

 SAE-AS121601-121650 AN121601-AN121650 

 SAE-AS12175-121800 AN12175-AN121800 

 SAE-AS121801-121850 AN121801-AN121850 

 SAE-AS122676-122775 AN122676-AN122775 

 SAE-AS12351-123300 AN12351-AN123300 

A-25 
 SAE-AS123301-123450 AN123301-AN123450 

 SAE-AS123460-123600 AN123460-AN123600 

 SAE-AS124951-125100 AN124951-AN125100 

 SAE-AS125401-125550 AN125401-AN125550 

 SAE-AS125551-125700 AN125551-AN125700 

 SAE-AS126275-126586 AN126275-AN126586 

 SAE-AS126587-126652 AN126587-AN126652 

 SAE-AS127193-127492 AN127193-AN127492 

 SAE-AS128363-128686 AN128363-AN128686 

 SAE-AS129293-129604 AN129293-AN129604 

 SAE-AS150201-150300 AN150201-AN150300 

 SAE-AS150401-150425 AN150401-AN150425 

 SAE-AS150501-150800 AN150501-AN150800 

 SAE-AS150801-151100 AN150801-AN151100 

 SAE-AS152601-152900 AN152601-AN152900 

 SAE-AS152901-153200 AN152901-AN153200 

 SAE-AS15500-155300 AN15500-AN155300 

 SAE-AS155901-156200 AN155901-AN156200 

 SAE-AS158901-159200 AN158901-AN159200 

 SAE-AS162501-162800 AN162501-AN162800 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 N/A 

Government Standard Voluntary Standard Explanation

DoD reports voluntary consensus 

standards usage on a categorical 

basis; therefore, this information is 

not available. 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

The current OMB Circular A-119 provides clear guidance on using voluntary consensus 

standards and participating in voluntary consensus standards bodies. As written, this Circular 

reinforces our DoD policies regarding use of voluntary standards, reliance on performance 

documents, and encouragement of participation in voluntary standards bodies. We believe 

the Circular's plain language format greatly enhances its effectiveness. The Department does 

not believe additional changes are required at this time. 

7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

N/A 

A-26 
8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

Case Study Purpose: This study addresses the establishing of an alternative to the 

contractual application of military standard (MIL-STD) 100, Engineering Drawing Practices, 

for the purpose of the preparation and delivery of drawings that are of a level of maturity and 

detail of content as necessary to support full scale production. The alternative to the use of 

MIL-STD-100 for obtaining drawings involved interaction with non-Government Standards 

Bodies (NGSBs) and close cooperation with industry and other Government agencies in a 

manner that facilitated the process and the realization of the desired outcome. The replacing 

of MIL-STD-100 is an example of a very complex conversion process from DoD-unique 

requirements to non-Government Standards (NGS) involving a number of NGSBs, all of the 

military services, as well as a number of other Government agencies. In addition, the total 

conversion effort illustrates the advantages of partnering with industry in the process of 

seeking a solution as opposed to after the fact coordination and justification. 

Background: MIL-STD-100 is the cornerstone document for technical data packages 

throughout the DOD, as well as large segments of industry. In all cases where the use of 

commercial drawings or contractor format was not a viable option, MIL-STD-100 was 

invoked for the preparation of engineering drawings. Those program offices within DoD that 

required that major end items be supported through the DOD logistics system, required 

drawing preparation to MIL-STD-100. In order to provide consistent contractual application 

and insure proper interface with cataloging and logistics needs, the content of MIL-STD-100 

was quite detailed, invoking a multitude of somewhat rigid requirements unique to the DOD. 

The end result of invoking MIL-STD-100 would be the delivery of original drawings, hard 

copy or digital data, with a DOD activity identified on the drawing as the original design 

activity (that activity having change control authority over the drawing contents). 

Problem: With the advent of acquisition reform, MIL-STD-100 was identified on a number 

of separate studies, Willoughby 10, Blueprint for change, Coopers and Lybrand, etc., as 

excessively cost driving and considerably beyond basic commercial practices. Costs 

associated with the application of MIL-STD-100 involved virtually all major weapons 

development programs associated with the DOD. Delivery of drawings by other than the 

invoking of MIL-STD-100 would require a change in mindset DOD-wide including original 

equipment manufacturer's and parts suppliers. A hearing of the Defense Standardization 

Improvement Council (DSIC), in February 1995, reviewed the case of MIL-STD-100 and 

directed the initiation of program of conversion to NGS and subsequent cancellation on a 

schedule not to exceed 2 years. Fortunately, 3 years prior to the DSIC direction, a group that 

was chartered as the DOD Industry Drawing Practices Group had undertaken the conversion 

of MIL-STD-100 to a national standard under the sponsorship of the American Society of 

Mechanical Engineers (ASME). 

Outcomes: The initial result of the conversion effort was an NGS, ASME Y14.100M, 

replacing approximately 70 percent of MIL-STD-100 and a new MIL-STD-100G that 

detailed those engineering drawing practices for which there was no commercial equivalent. 

The two standards were to be used in combination in a manner that was dictated by the 

contractual or logistics intent. A follow-up effort initiated in November 1998, combined the 

A-27 
two standards by converting the still unique DOD practices to a set of nonmandatory 

Appendices. The resulting standard is to be identified as ASME Y14.100-2001. The effort 

to convert MIL-STD-100 to NGS was actually a series of conversions dictated by the diverse 

subject material of MIL-STD-100. The interaction with NGSBs involved close cooperation 

and coordination with 16 subject related subcommittees of ASME, and interface with the 

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the Society of Automotive Engineers, and the 

American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM). Private industry played a major role in 

the conversion of MIL-STD-100 to an NGS. The option for membership to the ASME 

Subcommittee 100 was offered to all industrial entities especially those that do business with 

the DoD. Although the numbers of individuals (30 plus) that would attend any given 

meeting often made for a cumbersome standards writing process, a significant return was 

realized in that those components of industry and Government agencies having the most 

interest or concerns involving the composition and contractual delivery of drawings had a 

direct role in composing the new NGS. Attendance in such numbers also facilitated the 

identification of appropriate numbers of subject matter experts for the purpose of addressing 

the great variety of subject material, ranging from printed wiring board technology to 

software issues to dimensioning and tolerancing, that is a basic feature of MIL-STD-100. 

Therefore, the follow-up coordination and comment resolution process became more of a 

mere formality rather than the time-consuming obstacle as is often so characteristic of a 

project of such wide impact and general interest. 

Investments and Payoffs: The primary investment associated with this effort was primarily 

that of the time spent by the various members of ASME Y14/SC100 in composing text, 

conducting draft reviews, and participating in comment resolution. Although it would be 

very difficult to make an actual calculation, the collective effort of Government and industry 

personnel certainly amounted to some number of man-years. Standards such as 

ASME Y14.100 affect drawing interpretation and content. Therefore, existing programs are 

discouraged from attempting application retroactively. The cost of drawing conversion 

would be prohibitive and not to the advantage of the Government. Application of 

ASME Y14.100 would essentially be restricted to new programs. The default condition for 

delivery of drawings to ASME Y14.100 will be acceptance of commercial drawings, 

contractor format. While it is not possible to forecast the manner, extent, or on what 

schedule new programs will apply the new standard, those programs that elect to accept 

commercial drawings will realize considerable savings. Programs that invoke the various 

appendices in lieu of commercial practice will incur essentially the same costs for drawing 

delivery as that associated with MIL-STD-100. One other benefit definable with the issue of 

ASME Y14.100 is that associated with the ongoing downsizing within the DOD. In the very 

near future standardization resources, in terms of both funding and personnel, will very 

probably not be able to maintain a drawing practices standard unique to the DOD. Therefore, 

with the exception of the need for at least a few Government representatives at SC100 

meetings, document maintenance and the need for subject matter experts is now the 

responsibility of ASME. 

Current Status: Documentation addressing drawing preparation is now exclusively the 

responsibility of the NGSB ASME, and associated industry supporters. However, the user, 

A-28 
 Government or industry, must remember that no NGS is to stand alone on the subject of 

drawing preparation. The equivalent to MIL-STD-100, especially early issues hereto, is 

realized with the application of ASME Y14.100, Engineering Drawing Practices, 

ASME Y14.24, Types and Application of Engineering Drawings, ASME Y14.34M, 

Associated Lists, and ASME Y14.35M, Revision of Engineering Drawings and Associated 

Documents in a combination that will be driven by the contractual and logistics intent. 

Although it can be stated that drawing preparation standards are now totally under the 

authority of an NGSB, the DOD must not discontinue involvement in ASME subcommittee 

activities. There remain some practices that, although detailed in the NGS, are specifically 

applicable to and in direct support of DOD interest. The Government must be a participant, 

even if on a relatively minor scale, in future NGS maintenance. 

Lessons Learned: Allowing industry to become an early and fully active partner in standards 

preparation can realize enormous advantages. If the industry user is actually allowed to 

assist in document preparation, time spent on resolving comments resulting from 

coordination of drafts is drastically reduced. A significant industry presence can also provide 

a good cross-section of expertise that facilitates text preparation and the inclusion of new 

technologies. 

9. Comments: 

 A major result of the Department's Military Specifications (Mil-Specs) Reform initiative was 

the review of 40,000 military specifications and standards for potential replacement by 

voluntary consensus standards. In instances where replacement voluntary consensus 

standards were available, the Department acted quickly to cancel the military documents and 

began using voluntary consensus standards. In cases where voluntary consensus 

replacements were needed but not available, DOD began working with standards developers 

to create appropriate standards. The Department has put into place a very stringent system to 

review every new requirement for a document to determine if a voluntary consensus 

document would be more appropriate. Every request for a new document must be approved 

by a member of the Senior Executive Service. DOD activities are directed to review all 

available sources to locate an appropriate voluntary consensus document rather than create a 

military-unique document. The five year review process identifies documents that did not 

have a voluntary consensus counterpart at one time, but for which an appropriate document 

may now have been created. The Department's initial review and correction procedures, 

coupled with oversight in the creation of new military documents, and periodic review of 

existing military documents, ensures very little proliferation of government-unique 

documentation. 

A-29 
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE (DOD) 

National Communications System (NCS)

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 18 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 10 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 0 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 0 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 0 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

 N/A 

7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

 N/A 

8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

N/A 

9. Comments: 

 Within the NCS, the Chief, Technology and Programs Division also chairs the Federal 

Telecommunications Standards Committee (FTSC). As part of these duties, the Chief is the 

focal point for telecommunications and related information system standards for the Office of 

the Manager, National Communications System (OMNCS). 

A-30 
 The FTSC prepares standards and recommendations on matters affecting national security 

and emergency preparedness (NS/EP) and in other areas of communications approved by the 

committee on the basis of requests from members. It also provides advice to members on 

how to best represent the Government's NS/EP interests in work in industry and international 

standards committee. 

 The FTSC and members of the OMNCS work extensively with voluntary standards 

organizations to ensure that Government requirements are considered as the standards are 

developed. The OMNCS has 10 employees who participate in industry voluntary standards 

activities. The following paragraph lists the committees in which they participate. 

 Staff of the OMNCS participate in the following voluntary standards related committees: 

 Organizations Accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI): 

 - Committee T1, Telecommunications, and its technical subcommittees 

 - Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) committees TR-41, TR-45, and 

TR-46 

 - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 

 Commercial and Multi-National Organizations Not Accredited by ANSI: 

 - ATM Forum 

 - Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) 

 - Network Interconnection Interoperability Forum (NIFF) 

 - Telecommunications and Internet Protocol Harmonization Over Networks 

(TIPHON) 

 - TeleManagement Forum 

 - Electronic Communications Implementation Committee (ECIC) Federal, State, 

and Local Committees 

 - Federal Telecommunication Standards Committee (OMNCS furnishes Chair and 

Executive Secretary) 

 - International Telecommunications Advisory Committee and its study groups 

(Department of State) 

 - Multiservice Switching Forum (MSF) 

 - Parlay Group Inc. (for Application Programming Interfaces) 

 - Mobile Wireless Internet Forum (MWIF) 

 - International Multimedia Telecommunications Consortium (IMTC) 

 - Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) 

 International Organizations: 

 - International Telecommunications Union-Telecommunications Sector (ITU-T) 

(OMNCS heads U.S. delegations to 3 study groups) 

 - International Telecommunications Union-Radio Sector (ITU-R) 

A-31 
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (DOED)

For the past several years, DOED has been working with the American National Standards 

Institute (ANSI) on developing EDI transaction sets through their Accredited Standards 

Committee (ASC) X12 committee. This committee is charged with developing uniform 

standards for electronic interchange of business transactions. The X12 Committee develops 

standards to facilitate electronic interchange relating to such business transactions as order 

placement and processing, shipping and receiving, invoicing, payment, and cash application data 

associated with the provision of products and services. 

DOED’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) sponsors the work of task groups to 

attend ANSI ASC X12 meetings. Information about the activities that NCES has been involved 

in can be obtained at <http://nces.ed.gov/edi>. In addition, the Department has been involved in 

developing EDI transaction sets for Student Financial Assistance. 

The work of this voluntary consensus building body has helped DOED forge ahead in 

developing standards. We include the necessary members of the affected communities to help 

with transition to and adoption of new standards. 

Transaction sets that DOED has promulgated for information about students (both at the 

elementary/secondary level and at the postsecondary level) and other aspects of education are the 

following: 

Transaction Sets Relating to Individual Student Records 

TS 130 - Student Educational Record (Transcript) 

TS 131 - Student Educational Record (Transcript) Acknowledgment 

TS 138 - Testing Results Request and Report 

TS 146 - Request for Student Educational Record (Transcript) 

TS 147 - Response to Request for Student Educational Record (Transcript) 

TS 189 - Application for Admission to Educational Institutions 

Implementation Guides 

Transaction Sets Relating to Personnel Records 

TS 132 - Personnel Information 

Transaction Sets Relating to Student Financial Aid Records 

TS 135 - Student Loan Application 

TS 139 - Student Loan Guarantee Result 

TS 144 - Student Loan Transfer and Status Verification 

TS 190 - Student Enrollment Verification 

TS 191 - Student Loan Pre-Claims and Claims 

TS 810 - Invoice 

TS 820 - Payment Order/Remittance Advice 

A-32 
Transaction Sets Relating to Institutional Records 

TS 133 - Educational Institutional Profile 

TS 152 - Statistical Government Information used to transmit CCD, IPEDS and Library 

surveys to NCES 

TS 188 - Educational Course Inventory 

Specific reporting questions: 

1. The number of government-unique standards used in lieu of a voluntary consensus 

standard and the reason why the agency decided to use the government unique 

standard. Agencies do not need to report the use of government unique standards if 

there is not a comparable private sector standard. 

Nothing to report for this period. 

2. The number of voluntary consensus standards bodies the agency participates in, and 

the number of employees. 

The Department had one representative who participated in one voluntary consensus 

standards body during this period. 

3. The number of voluntary consensus standards the agency has used since the last report. 

The Department used 17 voluntary consensus standards during this period. 

4. Identification of voluntary consensus standards that have been substituted for 

government unique standards. 

 Nothing to report for this period.

A-33 
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (DOE)

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 59 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 676 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 1,012 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 1 

 Voluntary Standard Government Standard

 ANSI/ISO/ASQ Z1.13-1998 DOE-ER-STD-6001-92 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 N/A 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

 The guidance in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-119 appears to be 

sufficient in terms of outlining the basic functions and responsibilities of Federal agency 

standards management and standards participation activities. It allows sufficient latitude for 

each Federal agency to develop its own approach tailored to specific agency needs, and 

places the emphasis on outcomes rather than processes. Some simplification and 

clarification of transactional and categorical reporting may be necessary. 

7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

 National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program; Department of Energy Laboratory 

Accreditation Program; National Cooperation for Laboratory Accreditation; DOE Voluntary 

Protection Program; and assessment, certification, and testing done under DOE Topical 

Committees (TCs), including the Metrology TC, Accreditation TC, Environmental 

Management Systems TC, Quality Assurance Special Interest Group/Topical Committee, 

High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) Filter Qualification Testing/HEPA TC, Biota Dose 

Assessment Topical Committee, and Meteorology TC. 

A-34 
8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

 Information on voluntary reporting on federal conformity assessment activities for the 

Department of Energy (DOE) Annual Report -- DOE is involved in several conformity 

assessment activities, including: 

 a. National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) – DOE facilities, 

including Sandia National Laboratories, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 

Honeywell Federal Manufacturing and Technologies, Bechtel BWXT Idaho, and Oak 

Ridge Metrology Center, are accredited under National Institute of Standards and 

Technology (NIST) NVLAP to perform calibrations in a variety of metrology parameters, 

including dimensional, radiation, physical, and electrical metrology. The scope of 

accreditation of each laboratory can be obtained from the NVLAP Web site located at 

http://ts.nist.gov/ts/htdocs/210/214/214.htm. 

 b. Department of Energy Laboratory Accreditation Program (DOELAP) – Through 

DOELAP, DOE establishes specific performance testing requirements and site 

assessment criteria for accreditation of DOE personnel dosimetry systems and 

radiobioassay. DOELAP incorporates standards (including International Organization 

for Standardization (ISO)/International Electrotechnical Commission Guide 25, General 

Requirements for the Competence of Calibration and Testing Laboratories, Health 

Physics Society Standards, and DOE Technical Standards), establishes DOE 

organizational responsibilities and accreditation processes, and establishes procedures for 

administering DOELAP and for acquiring accreditation. DOELAP evaluates the 

respective DOE personnel dosimetry or radiobioassay program's laboratory performance, 

based on performance testing criteria, and their operational competence, based on 

established "quality system" criteria regarding good laboratory practice. DOELAP is 

used for worker monitoring and protection at DOE and DOE contractor sites and 

facilities, as required in 10 CFR Part 835, "Occupational Radiation Protection." 

 c. National Cooperation for Laboratory Accreditation (NACLA) – DOE representatives 

have been active in founding and supporting NACLA, and are currently member 

organizations of NACLA and participate in managing NACLA activities. NACLA 

recently recognized its first three competent accreditation bodies and has signed an 

important Memorandum of Understanding with NIST. 

 d. DOE Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) – DOE has established VPP criteria for its 

facilities' occupational safety and health programs, based on the Occupational Safety and 

Health Administration's VPP. These criteria establish a baseline that denotes compliance 

with all occupational safety and health standards, rules, and regulations. DOE conducts 

onsite evaluations to establish how successful DOE applicants for VPP have exceeded the 

baseline criteria. 

 e. DOE Topical Committees (TCs) – The DOE Technical Standards Program (TSP), within 

DOE's Office of Environment, Safety and Health, has chartered a number of DOE TCs 

that directly and indirectly advocate and support conformity assessment activities across 

A-35 
DOE. These TCs are composed of DOE and DOE contractor subject matter experts, and 

generally include members and observers from other Federal agencies, industry, and 

standards developing organizations (SDOs). The TCs are chartered to coordinate with 

these groups on standards activities, including conformity assessment. DOE TCs 

involved in conformity assessment activities include the following: 

 - Metrology TC – Comprised of representatives from laboratories across the DOE 

complex, the Metrology TC coordinates the efforts of many DOE organizations 

involved in metrology and actively interacts with NIST, NASA, DoD, and other 

Federal agencies in its activities. The group has developed a Web site 

(http://www.sandia.gov/metrology/mchome.html) that contains information on 

metrology capabilities at the various DOE laboratories, past meeting minutes, 

committee members and contacts, white papers on metrology issues, and future 

meeting announcements. The group is in the process of developing information on 

calibration uncertainty analysis procedures and supplier certification programs used 

in the various DOE laboratories. 

 - Accreditation TC – Comprised of representatives from laboratories across the DOE 

complex, the Accreditation TC promotes unified laboratory accreditation activities 

across DOE and actively interacts with NACLA, American National Standards 

Institute, ISO, and other organizations to promote nationally and internationally 

recognized accreditation standards. The group has also developed a Web site 

(http://www.sandia.gov/accreditation) that contains information on past committee 

meetings, committee membership and contacts, and white papers on accreditation 

issues. 

 - Environmental Management Systems TC (EMS TC) – The EMS TC provides 

information and assistance to DOE organizations interested in establishing 

ISO 14000 certified environmental management programs. 

 - Quality and Safety Management Special Interest Group/Quality Assurance Topical 

Committee (QA TC) – The QA TC develops, improves, and provides management 

information related to quality and safety issues involving the U.S. DOE 

community, including information and assistance to DOE organizations interested 

in ISO 9000 criteria or a move from DOE specific standards to industry consensus 

standards. 

 - High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) Filter Qualification Testing/HEPA TC – 

The DOE conducts functional and quality testing of HEPA filters, used in critical 

applications at DOE facilities, at a designated facility for HEPA filters to ensure 

conformance with American Society for Testing and Materials standards and to 

help ensure adequate performance in safety applications. 

A-36 
 - Biota Dose Assessment Topical Committee (BDATC) – The BDATC has broad 

representation from DOE offices, national laboratories, universities, and the private 

sector. The BDATC brings together the expertise in health physics, radioecology, 

environmental monitoring, and risk assessment as a resource base for DOE on biota 

dose assessment. It coordinates these interests to establish common standards and 

processes for biota dose assessment across DOE, the United States, and 

internationally. Through its standard, the BDATC provides radiation dose 

evaluation methods that can be used to meet DOE requirements. The international 

community, including the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Atomic 

Energy Control Board of Canada, are interested in broader application of the DOE 

BDATC standard. 

 - Meteorology TC – The DOE Meteorology TC (MTC) works across DOE, with 

other Federal agencies, and with ANS to help promote the use of ANS 3.11 as a 

replacement for various agency standards. The MTC can also provide onsite 

evaluations of onsite meteorology programs to support implementation of the new 

ANS 3.11 standard. 

9. Comments: 

 DOE implements the Federal guidance and requirements of OMB Circular A-119 and the 

statutory requirements of Public Law (P.L.) 104-113 (15 U.S.C. 272) on the use of voluntary 

consensus standards through specific Departmental directives (policy, requirements, guides, 

and technical standards) and supporting management systems. 

Foremost is DOE's Integrated Safety Management System (ISMS). ISMS is a system that 

integrates management of DOE's worker, public, and environmental health and safety with 

its business management, using standards as one of its primary tools. 

DOE policies provide the top tier of requirements that implement standards-related Federal 

Law and Policy. DOE Policy 251.1, "Directives System," establishes a Directives System 

for managing DOE requirements and guidance documents. The Directives System focuses 

on DOE's environment, safety and health requirements, and guidance. Technical standards 

(i.e., as defined in P.L. 104-113) are a key element of this system. The Directives System 

Policy clearly states DOE's preference to ". . . adopt National Consensus Standards and other 

commercial and industry standards . . ." in the conduct of DOE's activities. Directives 

System documents reference appropriate voluntary consensus standards that are acceptable 

for meeting requirements. This Policy also limits the use of mandated government-unique 

standards in DOE rulemaking, Orders, and procurement processes. 

 Another policy, DOE Policy 410.1A, "Promulgating Nuclear Safety Requirements," requires 

notice and comment to promulgate new nuclear safety requirements. New nuclear safety 

requirements developed by DOE are "performance-based" rules and orders that promote the 

adoption of voluntary consensus standards as acceptable methods to implement requirements. 

A-37 
 DOE also specifies responsibilities for managers and organizations in managing and 

implementing P.L. 104-113 and OMB Circular A-119 requirements in its "Functions and 

Responsibilities (FAR) Manual." 

 These DOE policies, requirements, and responsibilities on the use of voluntary consensus 

standards are implemented at the working level through a DOE-wide management system 

and infrastructure established through DOE Order 252.1, "Technical Standards Program," an 

accompanying program Guide, DOE Guide 252.1-1, "Technical Standards Program Guide," 

and Technical Standards Program Procedures (TSPPs). 

 DOE Order 252.1 establishes the DOE Technical Standards Program (TSP), which 

implements most Federal and DOE technical standards requirements, and manages internal 

standards development activities across DOE. DOE Order 252.1 incorporates references to 

P.L. 104-113 and the February 1998 revision to OMB Circular A-119. This Order reinforces 

the Federal requirement for DOE elements to use voluntary consensus standards in 

preference to Federal and DOE (i.e., government-unique) standards, consistent with 

P.L. 104-113 and OMB Circular A-119. The TSP further encourages and supports staff 

participation in the planning, development, and coordination activities of national and 

international SDOs. 

 The TSP Guide and TSPPs provide information on the TSP functions and management, 

program resources and services, and the DOE processes and procedures for selecting, 

developing, and maintaining DOE Technical Standards and using voluntary consensus 

standards. The TSP Guide also provides basic information on reporting the use of 

government-unique standards in both regulation (DOE is nominally self-regulating in key 

areas such as nuclear safety) and procurement (where most reporting is category-based). The 

DOE TSP is developing additional reporting procedures to assist program officials 

conducting procurements. The DOE TSPPs incorporate working level processes that 

implement the technical standards provisions of P.L. 104-113 and OMB Circular A-119. 

DOE currently manages its technical standards activities in conformance with Federal policy 

and requirements. 

 Another function serving DOE implementation of P.L. 104-113 and OMB Circular A-119 

was the Department Standards Program, established to institute "standards" (in this 

application, "standards" include policy, laws, rules, guides, and technical standards) as the 

basis for work throughout the Department. Under this program, a DOE-wide process (the 

"Work Smart Standards" process) that enables DOE contractors to select voluntary consensus 

standards as the basis for their work was developed and implemented. Under the process, 

voluntary consensus standards can be selected and used in lieu of DOE-developed or other 

government-unique standards, when such standards are appropriate for the work and 

work-related hazards. This "Work Smart Standards" process now enables DOE laboratory 

and management and operating or integrating contractors, with DOE approval, to identify 

and apply the set of standards (including voluntary consensus standards) that best fit their 

activities and adequately address related hazards. This approach focuses on outcomes and 

A-38 
 performance, rather than detailing "how" things are to be done within DOE. The process is 

part of the DOE ISMS and is supported by a major contract reform effort designed to more 

closely link performance expectations with contractual obligations based on standards. 

Key DOE policy and requirements documents define the "Work Smart Standards" approach. 

These include DOE Policy 450.3, "Authorizing Use of the Necessary and Sufficient Process 

for Standards-Based Environment, Safety and Health Management," and DOE M 450.3-1, 

"The Department of Energy Closure Process for Necessary and Sufficient Sets of Standards." 

The "Work Smart Standards" approach is now applied across a broad range of DOE sites, 

facilities, and activities. During FY 2000, DOE developed updates of guidance and standards 

to support the "Work Smart" process. 

 The DOE Standards Executive, Richard L. Black, Director, Office of Nuclear and Facility 

Safety, is responsible for developing and implementing the DOE TSP through DOE's 

Technical Standards Program Manager and the TSP. Through Mr. Black's participation on 

the Interagency Committee on Standards Policy (ICSP), DOE supports ICSP activities and 

policy implementation, and provides "lessons-learned" information to other Federal agencies 

on DOE's approach to establishing a standards-based culture. 

 As noted above, DOE Order 252.1 emphasizes the use of voluntary consensus standards 

within the Department. DOE's Technical Standards Program Office (TSPO) operates under 

this Order to implement program policy, support the conversion of Department standards to 

voluntary consensus standards, identify voluntary consensus standards that can suit 

Department needs, develop and maintain databases to support the program and meet 

reporting requirements, and coordinate day-to-day Department technical standards activities. 

The TSPO has developed procedures, methods, and training approaches to implement the 

DOE TSP and communicate the policy to use voluntary consensus standards throughout 

DOE, and support participation in SDO activities related to DOE missions and functions. 

The TSPPs establish a five-year standards review cycle to check for continued applicability. 

The procedures also provide guidance on the conversion of Department standards to 

voluntary consensus standards. 

 Information on the TSP and the TSPO can be accessed at the following Internet address 

(Uniform Resource Locator): http://tis.eh.doe.gov/techstds/. 

 To coordinate consistent implementation of federal and DOE policy and requirements at the 

working level, DOE senior managers have designated Technical Standards Managers 

(approximately 70 individuals) representing the various Department headquarters, field, 

laboratory, and contractor organizations. Established in 1992, the Technical Standards 

Managers' Committee (comprised of these Technical Standards Managers) operates under the 

DOE TSP, supports the DOE sites in technical standards activities, facilitates 

communications on program implementation issues, and participates in establishing program 

goals and procedures. Databases documenting the voluntary consensus standards adopted by 

DOE and the personnel participating in the activities of SDOs are maintained by the TSPO. 

The information in these databases is compiled and provided to OMB annually. 

A-39 
 During FY 2000, the TSP continued the recognition of "topical" standards committees within 

DOE. TCs provide a venue for DOE-wide coordination with national and international 

SDOs and other federal agencies in such diverse areas as laboratory accreditation, metrology, 

fire protection, environmental management systems, meteorology, biota dose assessment, 

chemical safety, emergency management, and nuclear safety training. These committees are 

composed of subject matter experts from across the DOE community, and serve as a focal 

point for standards activities in specific technical areas. TCs provide a forum for all 

interested DOE parties to join and participate in reviewing technical standards produced by 

counterpart SDOs, address standards application issues within their area of technical 

expertise, and work to develop DOE and Federal positions on standards issues. As of 

November 2000, the TSP has recognized 25 DOE TCs. (These committees are listed at the 

Internet address provided above.) 

 DOE also has an Information Technology Standards Program (Internet address is 

http://www-it.hr.doe.gov/Standards/index.html) that is conducted in conjunction with the 

DOE TSP. The DOE Information Technology Standards Program is managed by staff from 

DOE's Office of the Chief Information Officer, with assistance from over 70 designated DOE 

and contractor information technology points of contact representing key programs and sites. 

It coordinates information technology standards activities Department-wide, including the 

identification, adoption, implementation, and retirement of nongovernment and government 

information technology standards in support of the DOE Information Architecture. This 

program has stressed the use of international and voluntary consensus information 

technology standards over development of internal standards in its adoption processes. 

 The Department also implements a legislatively mandated, multiyear effort to improve the 

energy efficiency in the Nation's buildings through energy efficiency standards, codes and 

guidelines for buildings, building equipment, and appliances through its Office of Energy 

Efficiency and Renewable Energy (Internet address is http://www.eren.doe.gov/). The 

Department's codes and standards development efforts in these areas are closely coordinated 

with SDOs and include early involvement of industry and state stakeholders and relevant 

Federal agencies. During FY 2000, DOE developed and issued new energy efficiency 

standards as part of an open, negotiated process with the lighting industry and energy 

efficiency advocates. These included standards for improvements in the energy efficiency of 

fluorescent lamp ballasts in commercial and industrial applications (to go into effect on 

April 1, 2005), and energy efficiency standards for residential central air conditioners and 

heat pumps (proposed October 3, 2000). 

DOE continues to take a "proactive" approach to standards and standards management even 

as its mission continues to evolve in response to the conclusion of the Cold War and 

shrinking congressional appropriations. Within DOE, a number of programs and facilities 

have shifted their focus from production, research, and/or development to environmental 

remediation and restoration, where DOE will literally be breaking new ground and setting 

standards for others to follow. In addition, Department staffing levels are declining to meet 

A-40 
 Congressional budget constraints. Still, in the face of a changing mission and a reduced 

workforce, DOE continues to actively use and support the development of voluntary 

consensus standards to meet its needs. 

 In FY 2000, the number of voluntary consensus standards adopted for use increased to 1,012 

(in comparison to 916 in 1999, 840 in 1998, and 809 in 1997). The number of individuals 

participating in voluntary consensus standards activities also increased to 676 in FY 2000 (in 

comparison to 668 in 1999, 681 in 1998, and 871 in 1997), and the number of documented 

participations by those individuals in standards developing groups increased to 1,385 (in 

comparison to 1,306 in 1999; 1,321 in 1998; and 1,540 in 1997). These increases occurred in 

spite of continued significant "downsizing" and budget cuts experienced by DOE, and 

reflects increased interest on the part of DOE organizations. 

Also, DOE (through the TSPO) is continuing its initiative with SDOs to convert DOE 

Technical Standards to voluntary consensus standards. 

 In accordance with the reporting requirements iterated in OMB Circular A-119, the above 

information has been developed for the OMB Annual Report and is being submitted to NIST 

to report use of voluntary consensus standards within DOE and DOE participation in 

standards development activities. The information includes both mandatory agency reporting 

requirements and voluntary conformity assessment reporting information. 

A-41 
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (HHS) 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 46 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 241 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 501 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 1 

 Voluntary Standard Government Standard

 ISO 17025 FDA Laboratory Guidelines 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 0 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

The policy and recommendations contained in Circular A-119 are consistent with FDA's 

framework for standards management as announced in the Federal Register on October 11, 

1995, and enhanced by the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act (FDAMA). 

Resource constraints oblige the agency to focus attention on the highest priority activities and 

to strive to make its participation in those activities very effective. The agency participates in 

542 standards development committees within the 46 voluntary consensus standards bodies 

reported in FY 2000. 

Voluntary consensus standards are most relevant for medical devices, where they are used 

extensively in the agency's regulatory work and where the majority of the agency's standards 

activities are centered. Voluntary consensus standards are less relevant in the areas of human 

and veterinary pharmaceuticals, biological products, and food, where such standards are 

generally not available and are not being developed, and where standards of other national or 

international organizations {U.S. Pharmacopoeia (USP), World Health 

A-42 
Organization (WHO), Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), International Conference 

on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human 

Use (ICH)} as well as regulatory standards predominate. 

The central purpose for FDA involvement in the development and use of standards is to 

assist the Agency in fulfilling its domestic public health and regulatory missions. The 

Agency participates widely in the development of standards, both domestic and international, 

and adopts or uses standards when this action enhances its ability to protect consumers and 

increases the effectiveness or efficiency of its regulatory efforts. Further, using standards, 

especially international ones, is a means to facilitate the harmonization of FDA regulatory 

requirements with those of foreign governments, and thus to improve domestic and global 

public health protection. Therefore, FDA encourages participation in the development of 

standards as a useful adjunct to regulatory controls. 

FDA has been involved in standards activities for more than 20 years. In January 1977, the 

Agency promulgated a final regulation, now found at 21 CFR 10.95, covering participation 

by FDA employees in standards development activities outside the Agency. This regulation 

encourages FDA participation in standards activities that are in the public interest, and 

specifies the circumstances under which FDA employees can participate in various types of 

standards bodies. The Agency built upon that rule with a final policy statement published in 

the Federal Register on October 11, 1995. Entitled “International Harmonization; Policy on 

Standards,” it provides the Agency's overall policy on development and use of standards for 

all product areas regulated by the Agency. 

 FDA's development and use of voluntary consensus standards varies within each of the 

Agency's centers, because of differing availability and applicability of such standards in each 

product area. Voluntary consensus standards are most relevant to medical devices, and 

consequently the majority of the Agency's standards activities addressed by Circular A-119 

are centered there. 

It is the intent of FDA's standards policy to: (1) enable the agency to participate in 

international standards activities that will assist it in implementing statutory provisions for 

safeguarding the public health; (2) increase its efforts to harmonize its regulatory 

requirements with those of foreign governments, including setting new standards that better 

serve the public health; and (3) respond to laws and policies that encourage agencies to use 

voluntary standards that provide the desired degree of protection. FDA conducts a 

comprehensive review of its existing regulations on an ongoing basis. As part of this review, 

the Agency considers the appropriateness of existing regulations and policies, as specified in 

Circular A-119. 

Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH)

 Section 204 of the FDAMA of 1997 (P.L 105-115) amended section 514 of the Federal 

Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 360d), allowing the Agency to recognize 

voluntary consensus standards established by international and national standards 

developing organizations that may be used to satisfy identified portions of device 

A-43 
 premarket review submissions or other requirements. In a Federal Register notice 

published on February 25, 1998, the Agency announced the availability of a guidance 

document entitled “Recognition and Use of Consensus Standards” describing how FDA 

planned to implement that part of FDAMA, and providing an initial list of recognized 

standards. CDRH has more recently made available two standards relevant documents 

on their Web site. The first, "Use of Standards in Substantial Equivalence 

Determinations," is intended to clarify for industry and Agency reviewers the ways in 

which standards may be used in demonstrating substantial equivalence in premarket 

notification (510(k)) submissions. Previous guidance discussed the use of declarations of 

conformity to standards recognized by FDA under the newly created Section 514(c) 

(Recognition of a Standard) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. This 

document expands upon that guidance by discussing the use of FDA-recognized 

standards in 510(k)s that do not contain a declaration of conformity, and the use of 

nonrecognized standards. The second document, "CDRH Standard Operating Procedures 

for the Identification and Evaluation of Candidate Consensus Standards for Recognition," 

establishes internal CDRH procedures for the identification and evaluation of consensus 

standards for recognition through publication of a notice in the Federal Register. 

 CDRH continues to maintain a database to track the standards activities of its employees 

and has established and uses searchable ROM databases of voluntary consensus standards 

to facilitate reference to current voluntary consensus standards by Agency reviewers. 

 CDRH continues to participate in Steering Committee and Study Group Activities of the 

Global Harmonization Task Force (GHTF), an intergovernmental consortium to foster 

medical device regulatory harmonization. During calendar year 1999, a CDRH official 

served as GHTF Chair. The GHTF has a Memorandum of Understanding with Technical 

Committee 210, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) committee 

responsible for many aspects of device standards. 

Center for Drugs Evaluation and Research (CDER)/Center for Biologics Evaluation and 

Research (CBER)

 Voluntary consensus standards are less applicable to pharmaceutical and biological 

products. CDER and CBER, therefore, have limited involvement in such activities, but 

do participate on relevant committees of four voluntary consensus standards bodies. 

While the Agency's involvement with voluntary consensus standards development is 

limited in these particular areas (mostly because such standards are not available and are 

not under development in these areas), it should be noted that the Centers do participate 

in many other types of standards development activities that are excluded from 

Circular A-119 reporting requirements. 

 Numerous employees are involved in the standards development activities of the USP, a 

private, voluntary, not-for-profit national standards setting body of more than 1,500 

health care professionals, recognized authorities in medicine, pharmacy, and allied 

sciences. USP publishes and revises the United States Pharmacopoeia and the National 

Formulary (NF), the legally recognized compendia of drug standards in the United States. 

A-44 
 Both CDER and the CBER participate in the ICH. This ongoing project, begun in 1989, 

has been undertaken by government agencies responsible for regulation of 

pharmaceuticals and by industry trade organizations. The European Union (EU), Japan, 

and the United States bring together regulatory authorities and experts from the 

pharmaceutical industry in the three regions to discuss scientific and technical aspects of 

new product registration. The work products, created in working groups of experts from 

the regulatory agencies and industry, consist of a series of consensus guideline 

documents to harmonize pharmaceutical testing guidelines. FDA officials also 

participate in a consensus standards development activity sponsored by the Council for 

International Organizations of Medical Sciences and implemented in ICH, that is aimed 

at standardizing the safety-related terminology used in adverse experience reporting. 

 FDA actively participates with WHO in developing international standards for ensuring 

the quality of pharmaceutical and biological products, and the Organization for Economic 

Cooperation and Development (OECD) on good laboratory practices for animal studies. 

In 1997, a new hemispheric initiative was launched on pharmaceutical harmonization in 

the Americas, with emphasis on relevant ICH and WHO standards. Work with this 

initiative is continuing. 

 Although FDA's work with USP is specifically excluded from reporting under 

Circular A-119, and ICH, OECD, and WHO do not meet the definition of voluntary 

consensus standard bodies under the Circular, substantial agency resources are devoted to 

the development of standards with these organizations. This work is the core part of 

FDA's overall standards activities for pharmaceutical and biological products. 

Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN)/Center for Veterinary Medicine 

(CVM)

 The principal international standards activities in the areas of food and veterinary 

medicine fall under the activities of the Codex Alimentarius Commission of the FAO, the 

WHO, and the Office of International Epizootics (for veterinary medicine). FDA experts 

from CFSAN, CVM, and other parts of the Agency are actively involved in Codex 

Alimentarius activities, and in activities of methods validation organizations on which 

Codex Alimentarius relies, such as ISO, AOAC International (formerly the Association 

of Official Analytical Chemists), and IDF/FIL (International Dairy Federation). CFSAN 

has provided the U.S. Delegate or Alternate Delegate to 80 percent (17 out of 21) of the 

technical committees and task forces and also provided technical experts to assist on the 

work of developing more that 90 Codex standards and guidelines. Voluntary consensus 

standards have limited relevance to food and veterinary medicine products. However, 

since the standards activities of multilateral organizations such as the WHO, FAO, WTO, 

and the OECD are important in these areas, CFSAN and CVM are actively engaged in 

standards and policy development with these organizations. CFSAN is also engaged in 

standards review in the International Organization for Standardization in Microbiology 

and the International Organization of Vines and Wines. 

A-45 
 CVM is very active in a harmonization initiative similar to the ICH for human 

pharmaceuticals, that is, developing harmonized requirements for the registration of 

veterinary pharmaceuticals and biological veterinary medicinal products. It is known as 

VICH, for Veterinary ICH. Agency employees participate on numerous committees that 

are drafting VICH guidelines. 

International/Treaty Standards-Related Activities

 FDA takes part in a variety of international standards activities that fall under treaty 

organizations, and thus are not reportable under the provisions of Circular A-119. These 

standards activities are nonetheless important to the Agency in fulfilling its public health 

regulatory mission. Some of these are referred to above; i.e., WHO, FAO, and OECD. 

 The agency participates in international trade discussions within the WTO, specifically 

with committees on the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), and the 

Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures; with the implementation and 

the counterpart committees of the North American Free Trade Agreement; and with the 

negotiation of an upcoming trade agreement by 2005 for the Free Trade Area of the 

Americas where sanitary and phytosanitary measures fall within the scope of the 

negotiations. This is done to ensure that FDA's requirements are preserved and its 

regulatory practices can remain focused on fulfilling the Agency's mission to protect the 

public health while being supportive of emerging, broader U.S. Government obligations 

and policies. FDA has participated in several initiatives that are part of the Asia-Pacific 

Economic Cooperation forum. FDA topics have included food safety, food labeling, bulk 

drugs, standards for latex gloves and condoms, and medical device regulation. 

7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

 The CDRH has liaison with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Accreditation 

Committee, ANSI International Conformity Assessment Committee, ANSI Board Committee 

on Conformity Assessment, and American Society for Testing and Materials Committee 

E-36 on Conformity Assessment. The Center uses suppliers' declaration of conformity as 

described in ISO/International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Guide 22 in its standards 

recognition program and has developed an Mutual Recognition Agreement with the EU on 

mutual recognition of each other's conformity assessment procedures related to manufacture 

and marketing of medical devices. 

 The Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) actively participates with the National Cooperation 

for Laboratory Accreditation (NACLA). An ORA official is a member of the NACLA 

Executive Board of Directors and has the role of participating in the NACLA Recognition 

Committee for Accrediting Bodies who apply for mutual recognition. Other FDA officials 

participate with NACLA in the evaluation of accrediting bodies under ISO/IEC 58 and 

ISO/IEC 17025 and sit on NACLA technical committees. FDA officials are also involved 

with Codex Alimentarius activities, especially in the area of pesticide and industrial residues, 

which relies on methods development by ISO and AOAC. Other activities include 

A-46 
 participation and the coordination of Federal-State conferences to develop uniformity in the 

reporting of food testing results. The ISO/IEC17025 standard is the foundation in this 

coordination effort. 

 As part of the Presidential Food Safety Initiative, FDA proposed regulations to establish 

requirements pertaining to sample collection and private laboratories. Consequently, ORA 

and CFSAN held two public meetings to gather comments concerning standards for private 

laboratories. FDA has drafted new regulations for public comment, which will be issued by 

the end of the calendar year for persons who use sampling services (services that collect 

samples for another party) and private laboratories used in connection with imported food. 

The proposal identifies standards for samples to be properly collected and maintained. 

Additionally, the proposal would require laboratories to use validated or recognized 

analytical methods. This proposal will help to ensure the integrity and scientific validity of 

data and results submitted to FDA. The draft proposed regulation will conform to both 

ISO/IEC and AOAC standards. 

Within ORA, the field laboratories are in the beginning phase to become ISO/IEC 17025 

accredited. The ORA has started its first series of staff training to conform to the 

ISO/IEC 17025 standard and quality assurance managers have been hired to coordinate the 

changeover to an ISO 17025-based quality system. 

 CDER supports the concept of working within our Agency, with other government agencies, 

the private sector, and other governments to avoid duplication in standards setting activities. 

Within FDA, they coordinate with other Centers in the development of "Guidance to 

Industry" documents. They also coordinate activities with other agencies, such as the 

Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Consumer Product 

Safety Commission, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the National Institute of Standards 

and Technology (NIST). Finally, a majority of standards-setting activities are focused on 

interactions with national and international standards-setting bodies such as USP, ICH, 

OECD, WHO, and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). An innovative approach 

to harmonizing international standards is being undertaken with PAHO. PAHO participating 

countries with whom FDA is working do not have established standards related to drug 

regulation. Therefore, FDA is providing them with training based on our current standards in 

hopes that they will elect to adopt our standards. 

 CFSAN coordinated and compiled over 100 foreign WTO notifications regarding food safety 

and trade. CFSAN comments are part of the interagency process creating the United States’ 

position on particular TBT and SPS issues through the WTO notification system. 

8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

 None. 

A-47 
9. Comments: 

 The number of voluntary consensus standards used in FY 2000 is reported as 501 with the 

type designation of "Not Applicable." For a regulatory agency such as FDA, neither a 

“categorical” nor a “transactional” designation correctly describes how we use these 

standards. 

Five hundred and one is the total number of voluntary consensus standards available as of the 

end of the current reporting period for market approval applicants to reference in their 

applications. Applicants can reference these standards in lieu of submitting data to meet 

approval requirements. At the end of FY 1999, FDA had a total of 460 voluntary consensus 

standards available for use but reported in the FY 1999 report only the net increase of 90 

from the FY 1998 report. This year the Agency is reporting the cumulative total because we 

believe this number more accurately reflects FDA's use of voluntary consensus standards in 

our regulatory processes. This number reflects a net increase of 41 (460 to 501) from 

FY 1999. 

A-48 
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT (HUD)

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 6 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 8 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 300 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 1 

 Voluntary Standard Government Standard

 NFPA 501 45 CFR 3280 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 2 

 Government Standard Voluntary Standard Explanation

 28 CFR 3280 ANSI A119.1 & HUD-Unique Manufactured 

 NFPA 501C Home Construction & Safety 

 Standards. 

 CFR 200.93 5 ANSI A119.1 & HUD Building-Product 

 NFPA 501C Standards & Certification 

 Programs. 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

This policy has been effective in replacing federal standards with public domain standards. 

This has resulted in more timely, up-to-date, and technically accurate standards. 

7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in which the Agency has been Involved: 

 All of HUD's 25 conformity assessment programs, under the HUD Building-Products 

Standards & Certification Programs, are in compliance with the International Organization 

A-49 
 for Standardization (ISO) guidelines and procedures. These are the same standards used by 

American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and other nationally recognized third-party 

certification agencies. 

8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

 a. In July 2000, the Standards Council of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 

approved the 2000 edition of NFPA 501. This document is the vehicle used by NFPA to 

process consensus-developed recommended changes to the Federal Manufactured-Home 

Construction and Safety Standards 24 CFR 3280. HUD, through a Memorandum of 

Understanding with NFPA, is relying upon NFPA to develop and process 

recommendations for standards changes. While this does not totally replace a Federal 

standard with a consensus one, it has transferred the development to a consensus 

ANSI-recognized one. HUD intends to review and submit a proposed rule to amend 

24 CFR 3280 for public comment shortly. This will include roughly 110 plus changes. 

HUD received the recommendations in September 2000. 

 b. HUD’s already considerable GIS resources are benefiting greatly from, and will continue 

to improve, thanks to standards. HUD is developing a GIS system that will consolidate 

HUD’s and some (of the Departments of the United States) census data and make it 

available to state and local governments and to other agencies. 

 Some standards links that make this possible are: Association of Computing Machinery, 

European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization Technical Committee 

(TC) 287 Geographic Information (GI), Digital Geographic Information Working Group 

(NATO), European Commission--GI 2000-GIS Standards Page, Federal Geographic Data 

Committee, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, International Organization 

for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) TC 211, 

Geographic Information/Geomatics, The Internet Engineering Task Force, ISO/IEC Joint 

TC 1, International Telecommunication Union, Information Technology Institute 

Council, National Committee on Information Technology Standards (NCITS) TCs L1 

(GIS) and K5 (Information Technology (IT) Vocabulary (see Millennial American 

National Standards Dictionary of IT {ANSDIT} below), National Institute of Standards 

and Technology, The Object Management Group, The Open Group, and World Wide 

Web Consortium. 

9. Comments: 

 HUD's eight participants in standards developing organizations (SDOs) are from HUD's: 

 Office of Policy, Research, and Development(R); Office of Healthy Homes & LeadHazard Control (L); Office of Administration Operations (AO); Office of HousingFederal Housing Commissioner (H); and the Office of the Chief Information Officer (Q). 

A-50 
 SDOs in which they participate: 

 American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society for Testing and Materials, 

Council of American Building Officials, Federal Geographic Data Committee, NCITS, 

and Underwriters Laboratories. 

 Questions regarding HUD's standards may be directed to Roy P. Mullinax, CCP at (202) 

708-0614, ext. 6075, or e-mail: Roy_P._Mullinax@hud.gov. IT terms/acronyms may be 

referenced by seeing ANSI's Millennium ANSDIT on the Web via http://www.ncits.org. 

A-51 
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (DOI)

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 29 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 81 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 1,569 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 0 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 0 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

 As a result of A-119, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) has increased its 

participation in voluntary standards groups, both domestic and international. 

7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

 Metadata standards development by the consensus standards committee under the American 

Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Section D 18.05, "Remote Sensing and GIS," 

chaired by a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Resources Division worker. To develop 

a consistent and uniform metadata standard for information about digital geospatial data so 

all agencies can facilitate data sharing. 

Currently, the MMS is working with the American Petroleum Institute (API) developing a 

series of best cementing practices standards. 

 MMS is also evaluating several existing API standards addressing the design and use of 

floating production systems in deepwater areas of the Gulf of Mexico, in lieu of developing 

unique MMS standards. 

A-52 
8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

 In 1998, the USGS Office of Water Quality (OWQ) published a Technical Memorandum 

entitled "Policy for the Approval of (USGS) Water Quality Analytical Methods." In addition 

to establishing procedures for the approval of new water quality analytical methods, this 

memorandum established that ASTM methods and methods published in "Standard 

Methods," both voluntary- and consensus-based standard methods, are also approved for use 

as water quality analytical methods. This memorandum also establishes that all methods 

published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are approved. The relevant ASTM 

standards are published in volumes 11.01 to 11.05, "Water and Environmental Technology." 

They contain 922 different standards. The 1995 edition of "Standard Methods," published by 

the American Public Health Association, the American Water Works Association, and the 

Water Environment Federation, contains 489 consensus-based standards, for a total of 1,411 

consensus-based standards adopted by OWQ in this technical memorandum. All of these 

methods are approved for use in water quality programs and do not have to be developed and 

validated by the USGS. 

The USGS is the lead federal agency in the National Atmospheric Deposition Program 

(NADP) with approximately five USGS employees actively participating in the organization. 

USGS representatives serve on the NADP Executive Committee and Network Operations 

Committee and a USGS representative serves as chairperson of the NADP Budget 

Committee. Representatives from approximately 100 federal, state, local, academic, and 

private sector organizations participate in the NADP to establish uniform standards for the 

measurement of chemical constituents deposited to the earth via rain, snow, and sleet. In 

addition to setting standards, this organization conducts jointly funded monitoring of 

atmospheric deposition throughout the United States at over 250 locations using the common 

protocols and standards developed by the organization. Through the use of jointly developed 

common standards, the data collected is comparable and of known quality from all stations 

throughout the United States. The use of common standards, procedures, laboratories, 

instrumentation, and data management criteria enables the participating agencies to collect 

the information at significantly lower cost and with higher quality. 

9. Comments: 

We believe that the use of voluntary standards is effective. To provide you with the highest 

quality data possible, it would be of value for you to explain the purpose and use of some of 

the data collected, specifically numbers one, two, and three on the Web page. (Explanatory 

Note: FY 2000 was the first year agencies entered their data via the Web for NIST’s use in 

compiling this report.) Interior manages a diverse set of assets and applications that include 

(but are not limited to) geologic, geographic, hydrometric, flora, fauna, land, mining, and 

mapping. With over 2,000 field locations across the country, it is impossible to know for 

sure exactly how many voluntary consensus standards organizations that we participate in. 

A-53 
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (DOJ)

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 3 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 5 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 59 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 0 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 0 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

Circular A-119 policy is appropriate and has increased the awareness, value, and usage of 

voluntary consensus standards. 

7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

 The Office of Science and Technology of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) sponsors the 

Office of Law Enforcement Standards (OLES) in collaboration with the National Institute of 

Standards and Technology (NIST). The mission of OLES is to apply science and technology 

to the needs of the criminal justice community, including law enforcement, corrections, 

forensic science, and the fire service. 

 To accomplish this mission, OLES (a) develops methods for testing equipment performance 

and for examining evidentiary materials, (b) develops standards for equipment and operating 

procedures, (c) develops standard reference materials, and (d) performs other scientific and 

engineering research as required by external sponsors. This interagency cooperative effort 

results in improvement in the quality and consistency of various conformity assessment 

requirements and processes at the federal and state levels. 

The areas of research investigated by this office include clothing, communication systems, 

emergency equipment, investigative aids, protective equipment, security systems, vehicles, 

A-54 
speed measuring equipment, weapons, and analytical techniques and standard reference 

materials used by the public safety community. The exact projects that comprise OLES' 

program are based upon the most recent recommendations of the Law Enforcement and 

Corrections Technology Advisory Council and vary depending upon the priorities of the 

criminal justice community. The results of this research are used to improve the ability of 

the law enforcement community to specify appropriate product/equipment requirements and 

to effectively test for conformance to those requirements. 

OLES ensures that the results of its work will be readily available to all interested parties by 

providing standards, technical reports, and nontechnical guides to NIJ (and its Law 

Enforcement and Corrections Standards and Testing Program) for dissemination to federal, 

state, and local law enforcement agencies, and in most cases, the general public. The 

majority of OLES/NIJ documents are announced through the National Criminal Justice 

Reference Service. 

8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

In collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), NIST has completed and 

published American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/NIST-ITL 1-2000 Data Format for 

the Interchange of Fingerprint, Facial, & Scar Mark & Tattoo (SMT) Information as an 

American National Standard. This is a revision, re-designation, and consolidation of 

ANSI/NIST-CSL 1-1993 and ANSI/NIST-ITL 1a-1997. 

This standard specifies a common format to be used to exchange fingerprint, facial, and SMT 

identification data effectively across jurisdictional lines or between dissimilar systems made 

by different manufacturers. It is the tool that establishes interoperability between federal, 

state, local, and international users of Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS). 

Nearly 200 Federal, State, local, and international law enforcement agencies; criminal justice 

administrations; vendors; and other organizations participated in the standards development. 

 NIST, in conjunction with the FBI, has created a publicly available database of latent 

fingerprints from crime scenes and their matching rolled fingerprint mates. Software and 

utilities are also provided to manipulate these files. This database can be used by researchers 

and commercial developers to create and test new fingerprint identification algorithms, test 

commercial and research AFIS systems, and assist in the training of latent fingerprint 

examiners. 

9. Comments: 

None. 

A-55 
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (DOL)

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 81 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 89 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 118 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 0 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 0 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

 None. 

7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

 N/A 

8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

N/A 

9. Comments: 

 None. 

A-56 
DEPARTMENT OF STATE (STATE)

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 1 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating In Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 8 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 0 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 0 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 0 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

Department of State (DoS) does not write standards within the meaning of Circular A-119. 

7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

 None. 

8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

 See comments below. 

9. Comments: 

 The DoS is not involved in the actual development of technical standards. The DoS has a 

major policy role in radiocommunication and telecommunication standardization as obligated 

by international treaty, and coordination roles in other areas. The Bureau of Economic and 

Business Affairs (EB) represents the DoS on the Interagency Committee on Standards 

Policy, the Government Member Council, as well as the Information Infrastructure 

Standardization Panel and its steering committee at the American National Standards 

Institute (ANSI). The Department represents the United States administration under the 

treaty obligations found in the Convention of the International Telecommunications Union 

A-57 
(ITU), Minneapolis, 1998. The DoS, through the EB Communications and Information 

Policy Deputate, provides the forum for development of positions and contributions for 

presentation at ITU Radiocommunication and Telecommunication Standardization study 

group meetings where international recommendations (voluntary standards) and 

standardization policies are written. The DoS coordinates, leads, and/or accredits U.S. 

delegations to ITU technical and policy meetings. The Department sponsors the 

International Telecommunication Advisory Committee, a public committee chartered under 

the Federal Advisory Committee Act, where advice on standardization and policy issues is 

offered by the private sector telecommunications industry and private sector standards 

developing organizations (SDOs) such as ANSI-accredited Committee T1, the 

Telecommunications Industry Association, and the Society of Cable Television Engineers. 

The Department also bases its decisions on advice from, and in coordination with, other 

public sector Agencies (Department of Defense, National Communications System, National 

Institute of Standards and Technology {NIST}, National Telecommunications and 

Information Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Federal 

Communications Commission). More than 100 U.S. corporations are participating members 

of the ITU, under the sponsorship of the DoS. Those companies and interested government 

agencies participate and play major roles in the ITU Study Groups and Working Parties that 

actually write the standards. Within that process, a great deal of interaction takes place with 

other international SDOs, such as the International Organization for Standardization. In 

addition to accrediting and supporting delegations to the ITU, the Department’s International 

Organization Affairs Bureau accredits and funds participation by relevant specialized 

agencies (Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, and Transportation, and NIST) and 

private sector groups in the deliberations of the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) 

Working Party on Standardization, especially where they have a direct bearing on U.S. 

commercial interests. While the standards developed in the ECE are not officially adopted 

for use in the United States they serve as guides for adjusting product design and are widely 

taken into account in manufacturing plans. 

A-58 
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (DOT)

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 146 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 211 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 153 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 11 

 Voluntary Standard Government Standard

 NFPA 59A Provisions 65 FR 10950 March 1, 2000 

 NFPA 59A Provisions 65 FR 10950 March 1, 2000 

 NFPA 59A Provisions 65 FR 10950 March 1, 2000 

 NFPA 59A Provisions 65 FR 10950 March 1, 2000 

 NFPA 59A Provisions 65 FR 10950 March 1, 2000 

 NFPA 59A Provisions 65 FR 10950 March 1, 2000 

 NFPA 59A Provisions 65 FR 10950 March 1, 2000 

 NFPA 59A Provisions 65 FR 10950 March 1, 2000 

 NFPA 59A Provisions 65 FR 10950 March 1, 2000 

 NFPA 59A Provisions 65 FR 10950 March 1, 2000 

 NFPA 59A Provisions 65 FR 10950 March 1, 2000 

 (11 DOT-unique standards in all) 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 0 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

The general consensus is that Circular A-119 is working effectively and that the use of 

voluntary standards can save both time and money for regulatory agencies. We have no 

recommendations to change OMB Circular A-119 at this time. 

A-59 
7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

 N/A 

8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

 N/A 

9. Comments: 

 None. 

A-60 
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (TREASURY)

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 6 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 10 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 8 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 2 

 Voluntary Standard Government Standard

 Common Criteria V2.1/ISO Military Standard 5200.28/Orange Book 

 15408:1999 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 2 

 Government Standard Voluntary Standard Explanation

 Customs and Trade CATAIR is used by the 

 Automated Interface Customs brokerage industry. 

 Requirements (CATAIR) The maintenance of the 

government-unique standards 

within Customs applications, 

the CATAIR and CAMIR 

formats, are at the request of 

the participating industry 

groups that use those 

standards. 

A-61 
 Customs Automated CAMIR is used by some 

 Manifest Interface parties in the transportation 

 Requirements (CAMIR) sector. The maintenance 

government-unique standards 

within Customs applications, 

the CATAIR and CAMIR 

formats, are at the request of 

the participating industry 

groups that use those 

standards. 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

 We believe that the guidelines prescribed in Circular A-119 are effective. Circular A-119 

has placed the focus on using voluntary consensus standards as opposed to the development 

of government-unique standards. Wide use of voluntary consensus standards promotes the 

development of an increased number of standard compliant products facilitating the use of 

new technology and increasing flexibility to meet new requirements. 

7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

 The standards the Department has adopted will involve conformity assessment activities, 

which include internal audit and eventual certification in conformance with acceptable 

practices. 

8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

 Between 1998 and 2000, the U.S. Customs, Office of Information Technology, Program 

Office, used these government-unique standards: Year 2000 Computing Crises, An 

Assessment Guide (GAO/AIMD-10.1.14); Year 2000 Computing Crisis, A Testing Guide 

(GAO/AIMD-10.1.21); and Year 2000 Computing Crisis, Business Continuity and 

Contingency Planning (GAO/AIMD-10.1.19). After a series of reviews, GAO issued the 

following report: Year 2000 Computing Crisis, Has Established Effective Year 2000 

Program Controls (GAO/AIMD-99-37), and testified before Congress on February 24, 1999, 

stating: Year 2000 Computing Crisis, Customs is Effectively Managing its Year 2000 

Program (GAO/T-AIMD-99-85) and again on June 29, 1999: Year 2000 Computing Crisis, 

Customs Is Making Good Progress (GAO/T AIMD-99-225). 

9. Comments: 

None. 

A-62 
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (VA)

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 26 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 12 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 0 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 0 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 0 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

The Veterans Health Administration accepts and conforms to standards developed by the 

Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) for Veterans 

Affairs’ (VA’s) health care facilities. Voluntary consensus standard requirements are utilized 

in the regulatory, contractual, and grants determinations executed by the Veterans Health 

Administration. 

7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

 The VA does not engage in conformity assessment activities. VA strives to use industrybased standards and commercial off-the-shelf products. 

8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

 N/A 

9. Comments: 

Federal regulations prescribe standards that must be used (e.g., Environmental Protection 

Agency laboratory standards and Occupational Safety and Health Administration 

monitoring/sampling standards). Regardless of what may be developed by conformity 

A-63 
assessment, VA is not relieved of it obligation to use standards prescribed by regulations. 

When not obligated to use a prescribed regulatory or other (e.g., JCAHO) standard, VA 

organizations must retain the flexibility to use the standard that best meets its programmatic 

needs. 

A-64 
Appendix B: 

Other Agency and Commission 

Reports 

B-1 
AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (USAID)

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 0 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 0 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 0 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 0 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 0 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

 USAID has no suggestions for changing Circular A-119. 

7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

USAID participates in the Contractor Performance System established by the National 

Institutes of Health, including participating as a member of the committee that determines 

information requirements. This may be considered a conformity assessment activity since it 

is standardizing the way that the participating agencies assess contractors' performance. 

8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

 Nothing to report. 

9. Comments: 

 None. 

B-2 
CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION (CPSC)

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 8 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 28 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 1 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 0 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 1 

 Government Standard Voluntary Standard Explanation

 CPSC CFR Parts 1213, ASTM F1427-96 The CPSC rule goes beyond 

 1500, and 1513 the provisions of the ASTM 

voluntary standard to provide 

increased protection to 

children from the risk of 

death and serious injury from 

entrapment. 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

 During FY 2000, the Commission's efforts to enhance voluntary safety standards 

development was complemented by the overall Federal policy set forth in the Circular. 

There are no recommendations for changes in the Circular at this time. 

7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

 N/A 

B-3 
8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

 The CPSC staff provided technical support to the development of over 20 new, revised, or 

reaffirmed voluntary safety standards that were completed in FY 2000. 

9. Comments: 

 The Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), as amended, requires the Commission to defer to 

issued voluntary standards, rather than promulgate mandatory standards, when the voluntary 

standards will eliminate or adequately reduce the risk of injury addressed and it is likely that 

there will be substantial compliance with the voluntary standards. In addition, the 

Commission is required, after any notice or advance notice of proposed rulemaking, to 

provide technical and administrative assistance to persons or groups who propose to develop 

or modify an appropriate voluntary standard. Additionally, the Commission is encouraged to 

provide technical and administrative assistance to groups developing product safety standards 

and test methods, taking into account Commission resources and priorities. 

Since its inception in 1973, the Commission has promoted the development of voluntary 

product safety standards. Policy statements in support of voluntary standards were published 

by the CPSC in 1975 and 1978. These policy statements were updated in 1988 (16 U.S.C. 

1031), and a staff directive on implementation of portions of these policy statements was 

promulgated in October 1989. 

Since the principles set forth in the Revised OMB Circular A-119 were published, the 

Commission has consistently supported them. The CPSC Voluntary Standards Coordinator, 

who also serves as CPSC's Standards Executive for the purpose of implementing the Revised 

OMB Circular A-119, provides general oversight for staff involvement in existing standards 

projects. The Voluntary Standards Coordinator establishes agency views on standards issues 

and decisions through Commission response to staff briefing packages and 

recommendations. These views are reflected in the Commission's Operating Plan and 

Budget. Coordinating participation within the Commission and with others in voluntary 

standards activities is a responsibility of the Voluntary Standards Coordinator. Likewise, the 

Voluntary Standards Coordinator is responsible for meeting reporting requirements 

applicable to voluntary standards involvement of Commission staff. 

 The Commission had 28 employees directly participating in 64 voluntary standards 

development projects during FY 2000. Since October 1, 1999, the Commission incorporated, 

by reference, portions of one voluntary standard in CPSC regulations. During FY 2000, the 

Commission's efforts to enhance voluntary standards development was complemented by the 

overall Federal policy set forth in the Circular. CPSC involvement in voluntary standards 

activities was consistent with Revised OMB Circular A-119. There are no recommendations 

for changes in the Circular at this time. 

B-4 
For further information, please contact CPSC’s Standards Executive: 

 Mr. Colin B. Church 

 Voluntary Standards and International 

 Activities Coordinator 

 U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission 

 Room 600C 

 Washington, D.C. 20207 

 Telephone: (301) 504-0554, ext. 2229 

 Fax: (301) 504-0407 

 E-mail: cchurch@cpsc.gov 

B-5 
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA)

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 15 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 23 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 229 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 0 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 2 

 Government Standard Voluntary Standard Explanation

 40 CFR 89 & 92 ISO 8178 Procedures would be 

impractical because they rely 

too heavily on reference 

testing conditions. Agency 

decides instead to continue to 

rely on procedures outlined in 

40 CFR Part 90. 

 40 CFR 90 ISO 8178

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

 a. EPA finds the Circular to be generally effective. However, as the last comment in 

section 9 of this report shows, the Agency believes that the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) should consider a revision of required elements to more accurately fit the 

manner in which at least this regulatory agency uses voluntary standards. As discussed in 

our comment, counting the "use" of standards is not always a meaningful representation 

of how the Law and Circular are actually being implemented. 

B-6 
 For example, in the regulatory process it is more meaningful to look at the relationship 

between regulatory actions involving technical standards and the reference of voluntary 

standards. In other words, counting standards outside the context of specific regulatory 

decisions is misleading at best and inaccurate at worst. 

 EPA would welcome the opportunity to work with OMB and the National Institute of 

Standards and Technology (NIST) to devise a method of reporting that could be more 

helpful both to the internal management of standards use and participation in their 

development, and also to the evaluation of Agency standards-related needs by standards 

organizations. 

 b. EPA would welcome clarification on the issue of whether or not Departments and 

Agencies may use appropriated funds for membership in voluntary standards bodies. 

While it is implied, particularly in section 7, it may be helpful to provide specific 

language in future revisions. 

7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

 National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Council. 

8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

EPA Supports Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards by State Agencies to Address Leaking 

Underground Storage Tanks (LUST)

Results of a nationwide study show that the American Society for Testing and Materials 

(ASTM) guidelines for risk-based corrective action have helped State environmental 

agencies manage environmental cleanups resulting from LUST sites more effectively through 

faster case-processing rates, reduced costs, and more effective targeting of resources toward 

higher-risk sites. 

Since the law regulating LUST sites is implemented at the State level rather than the Federal 

level, EPA's Office of Underground Storage Tanks, within the Office of Solid Waste and 

Emergency Response, funded this study and distributed the results to State environmental 

agencies and EPA Regional Offices with a memo noting the extent to which the standards 

were consistent with EPA's goals and guidance. Thus, this is a good example of how EPA 

uses voluntary consensus standards to influence positive results to difficult problems in a 

disjointed regulatory framework. 

EPA Helps Construct Green Building Standard Queries

EPA's Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) Program has been working to engage 

nongovernmental standards developing organizations in developing environmental standards 

for use in Federal procurement. In a major step forward for EPP in buildings, ASTM’s 

Buildings Performance Committee passed a standardized questionnaire on the environmental 

performance of building materials this past October. 

B-7 
 The standard questionnaire, officially titled "Standard Practice for Data Collection for 

Sustainability of Building Products," will be accessible through the ASTM Web site 

(www.astm.org) in spring 2001. The questionnaire provides 31 questions that are applicable 

to all building products. In the future, the committee plans to ballot revisions to the standard, 

adding questions that are specific to certain types of products, such as structural steel, wood 

products, and different types of floor coverings. The intended audience for the standard 

includes building industry professionals -- planners, developers, architects, engineers, 

contractors, and others -- who possess a broad, general understanding of sustainability issues 

relative to the performance of buildings, but who would benefit from additional data to 

inform their product choices. For more on the EPP program see: 

http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/epp. 

Performance Track

The Agency's flagship environmental performance partnership program, the National 

Environmental Performance Track, is based upon a voluntary consensus standard -- the 

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 environmental management 

system (EMS) standard. As part of its initial tier, the program requires that participating 

facilities have an operational EMS similar to, or based upon ISO 14001, with elements that: 

(a) demonstrate environmental achievements, (b) commit to continuous improvement of 

environmental performance, (c) demonstrate public outreach, (d) report on the facility's EMS 

and performance commitments, and (e) have a record of sustained compliance and a 

commitment to continuous compliance. With such EMS features and by meeting additional 

requirements of the program, facilities are eligible for Agency recognition and certain 

administrative incentives. Details on the program can be obtained at 

http://www.epa.gov/performancetrack. 

EPA/Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office's Activities on the National 

Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Technical Committee on Liquefied Petroleum Gas 

(NFPA-58)

In the final Risk Management Program (RMP) rule (40 CFR Part 68), EPA required 

hazardous chemical facilities to implement an accident prevention program. Among the 

original universe of regulated sources were thousands of fuel facilities, mostly LP-Gas 

(propane) distributors and large users. However, at the urging of the propane industry, in 

mid-1999 Congress enacted P.L. 106-40, the Chemical Safety Information, Site Security, and 

Fuels Regulatory Relief Act (CSISSFRRA). CSISSFRRA amended the Clean Air Act to, 

among other things, prohibit EPA from regulating flammable substances under the EPA 

RMP when used as fuel or when sold as fuel at a retail facility. This exempted most propane 

facilities from RMP coverage. However, in CSISSFRRA, Congress encouraged EPA to 

work with voluntary standards organizations to incorporate accident prevention measures in 

voluntary codes, and specifically called for changes to NFPA-58 (the Liquefied Petroleum 

Gas Code) to incorporate certain provisions of the RMP rule. 

B-8 
 This was important, because NFPA-58 is almost unique among voluntary standards, in that it 

serves as the basis for State propane regulations in all 50 States. So, by changing NFPA-58 

to incorporate additional accident prevention measures, such measures will likely eventually 

become State law. 

To initiate these code changes, EPA applied for membership on the LP-Gas Technical 

Committee, and NFPA granted that membership request. In June 1999, EPA submitted 

several proposals to modify NFPA-58 to incorporate additional accident prevention measures 

into the code. These proposals were vetted through the deliberative committee process over 

the course of the last 11⁄2 years, and barring any last-minute action to reverse the proposed 

changes at the final code-adoption meeting on November 15, they will be incorporated into 

the next edition of NFPA-58, to be published in early 2001. 

This is an example of EPA working with a voluntary standards organization to accomplish its 

public health and safety mission without using Federal regulations. 

Standards, Trade, and Environment

 EPA, like many agencies, is also active in the interagency trade policy development process 

with international trade agreements that govern the use of standards in regulations by 

agencies. Specifically, EPA participates in the development of U.S. positions in negotiations 

in review of the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement and in formulation of a 

potential TBT or chapter on standards-related measures in the Free Trade Area of the 

Americas (FTAA). The FTAA, in particular, represents a key opportunity as many 

stakeholders believe it retains important clarifications on the relationship of regulation, 

standards, and trade disciplines made in the North American Free Trade Agreement 

(NAFTA) and not necessarily explicit in the TBT. Similar to some of the NAFTA text, the 

recently signed U.S. Free Trade Area with the Kingdom of Jordan highlights the right of 

countries to establish their own levels of protection for health, safety, and the environment. 

International Work

In addition, EPA serves an important role in encouraging the use of international voluntary 

consensus standards in key organizations with which it works, including the Organization for 

Economic Cooperation and Development, United Nations Environmental Program, and 

United Nations Council for Trade and Development. This encouragement is not only 

important to achieving environmental goals, but means that U.S. business and industry 

stakeholders have a vested interest in, and opportunity to participate in, the international 

standards that reflect harmonization among governments as well as industry users. 

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

 Although OECD is not, strictly speaking, a standards developing body under the definition of 

the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-119, it has a Test Guidelines 

B-9 
 Program (TGP) that develops consensus documents to which the United States, as a member 

of OECD, subscribes. The Agency believes participation in the development of the Test 

Guidelines (TGs) to be consistent with the intent of the Circular. 

 The OECD is a formal intergovernmental organization that currently consists of 29 member 

countries with advanced market economies producing and using over 75 percent of the 

world’s chemicals. The OECD's TGP was established in 1981 with publication of 

51 consensus TGs for the conduct of a variety of test methods to assess the characteristics of 

chemicals (e.g., solubility in water, toxicity to rodents, to fish, etc.). The purpose of the 

OECD's TGs is to help minimize nontariff trade barriers between member countries, avoid 

the duplication of testing, and minimize the use of animals in testing. There are currently 

95 OECD TGs. 

 The U.S. National Coordinator has a contact list of about 60 groups, organizations, and/or 

individuals with expertise who have indicated an interest in providing expert comments on 

some or all of the OECD TGs distributed to the United States. This list includes distributions 

to expert contacts at several Federal and State agencies, industry associations, chemical 

industry and testing laboratories, and a variety of expert contacts at nongovernmental 

organizations such as academic institutions. 

 As a member of OECD, the United States comments on TGs when they are developed. The 

TGs are consensus documents and are likely to be among the most widely used in the 

industrialized world for testing chemicals. 

9. Comments: 

 This report and comments are submitted on behalf of EPA by Dr. Mary C. McKiel, EPA 

Standards Executive. 

EPA appreciates the Federal database format created by NIST to facilitate individual 

agency/department annual reporting under the National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act (NTTAA) and OMB Circular A-119. EPA information contained in 

Section 9 of the NIST database is intended to accompany the required reporting elements in 

order to provide a complete Agency report. The open format of Section 9, in combination 

with the more standardized elements, enables OMB, Congress, and any reader to get a 

comprehensive view of the Agency’s standards-related activities. In particular, this section 

allows each Agency the option to highlight achievements and activities in accordance with 

the priorities, mission, and goals of the individual Agency. 

HIGHLIGHTS

a. EPA’s commitment to the letter and spirit of the NTTAA is evident in regulatory, 

contracting, and voluntary activities throughout the Agency. EPA promulgated 600 final, 

proposed, and other rules. In the 585 final rule makings, EPA used voluntary consensus 

standards in 453 of them, or 77 percent. That is a 42-percent increase from 1999. The 

success of EPA’s implementation is largely due to the efforts of the Agency’s Standards 

B-10 
Program and the Office of General Counsel working cooperatively with the EPA 

regulatory Policy Steering Committee, the rule writers, and standards coordinators 

throughout the Agency. 

 b. A total of 122 contracts, including 6 ADP/IT, 37 construction, and 79 lab contracts 

included voluntary standards. 

c. The Agency refined its ability to track use of voluntary consensus standards in complex 

rulemakings, many of which reference use of voluntary standards from previous rule 

makings. The ability to sort a given year’s references as “newly used” versus “previously 

used” in the same regulation means the Agency can provide a more accurate and 

informative report. 

 Based on an inquiry from OMB, EPA undertook further analysis of the number of voluntary 

consensus standards rejected in lieu of government-unique standards shown in our FY 1999 

EPA Report on the Implementation of the NTTAA and OMB Circular A-119. The analysis 

supplements the 1999 Report and provides additional clarification to OMB, specifically 

identifying the voluntary consensus standards that EPA deemed impractical for regulatory 

purposes and providing an explanation for each impracticability determination. We also 

explained the discrepancy between the initial report and the results of this analysis and have 

confidence that the numbers resulting from the analysis are accurate. 

The Agency believes that the preparation of this information, and the insights we learned in 

the process about the application of the OMB Circular to EPA regulatory activities, will 

benefit the Interagency Committee on Standards Policy, and in particular, those members of 

the Regulatory Agencies Working Group. 

An important highlight of the analysis is that the number of EPA decisions made regarding 

use of government-unique standards in lieu of existing voluntary consensus standards does 

not necessarily equal the number of standards involved. EPA’s 1998 annual submission, 

based on review of preamble language to NTTAA-related rulemakings, reports the instances 

where we rejected a voluntary standard, but these cases did not involve multiple uses of the 

same standard. The 1999 report involved more than three times the number of rulemaking 

actions, many of which involved multiple standards decisions. Preamble information for 

final rules provided all the information to the public and the standards bodies, but there was 

no way to track considerations of the same standard, for the same use, in multiple rules. As 

the following shows, EPA has now identified the sources of “counting” discrepancy, 

determined the exact number of decisions and standards that amend our initial report, and 

taken necessary steps to ensure accuracy in subsequent annual reports. 

In order to respond to OMB’s request to review our FY 1999 report on voluntary consensus 

standards that the Agency found impractical in rulemaking, EPA rule writers retrieved the 

B-11 
documented information from their files and performed additional analysis in partnership 

with the Office of General Counsel and the EPA Standards Executive. In doing so, the 

Agency identified the following two major factors: 

 a. First, EPA found that the Agency had occasionally reported “rejected as impractical” 

some voluntary consensus standards that, upon more thorough examination, were not 

applicable to the rule in question even though they were flagged on a database search. 

However, these “rejections” were cited in preambles and, therefore, counted in the 

annual report. EPA has taken steps to ensure that our rule writers have more accurate 

guidance in the identification of applicable voluntary consensus standards that are 

covered by the NTTAA and OMB Circular. 

 b. Second, EPA found several cases where the same standard was found to be 

impractical for a number of different rules. In reporting on the number of voluntary 

consensus standards rejected in lieu of government-unique standards, however, the 

Agency counted each decision separately without recognizing that the same standard 

was involved multiple times. In the final analysis, we found 83 instances involving 

18 standards where the voluntary consensus standards were genuinely impractical for 

use in lieu of government-unique standards. 

The Agency has since provided additional guidance that expands and improves the NTTAA 

sections in the preamble of our rules. EPA believes this will clarify our reporting of 

identified standards that are impractical for use in Agency rules as well as improve the 

transparency of our impracticability determinations. 

As noted in a June 14 letter to OMB, the possible use of voluntary consensus standards and 

thereby the reported number of standards used or rejected, is partially a function of the 

number and nature of rules promulgated each year as published in our regulatory agenda. 

The number of standards used or rejected in a single rule also varies as individual 

rulemakings may consider “0,” “1,” or multiple voluntary consensus standards. 

Consequently, it is difficult to construct meaningful trends from year-to-year or rule-to-rule 

without assessing or considering more contextual information. 

The search for, and use of, standards are now part of EPA rule writers regular and best 

practices. EPA typically requests information concerning voluntary consensus standards in 

proposed rulemakings and engages in its own proactive searches for applicable voluntary 

consensus standards. In preambles to final rulemakings, EPA explains its decisions with 

respect to identified and applicable voluntary consensus standards that it found impractical 

for use in lieu of government-unique standards. EPA also publishes its responses to 

comments on any voluntary consensus standards-related determinations in final rulemakings. 

EPA gave OMB a matrix that highlights the multiplicity factor identified above. Although 

voluntary consensus standards were found to be impractical in 83 cases for 10 rules, only 

18 different standards were involved. A majority of the 10 rules that found voluntary 

B-12 
consensus standards to be impractical, sought to measure and regulate the same pollutants 

from different sources. Thus, the same voluntary consensus standards were considered and 

determined to be impractical several times over. 

EPA also explained the impracticability determination for each voluntary consensus standard 

in EPA’s 10 FY 1999 final rules. Over and above NTTAA reporting requirements, the 

Agency also analyzed voluntary consensus standards that were under development at the 

time of the rulemaking, noting that such voluntary consensus standards may be appropriate 

for future use. In many cases, EPA noted instances where no corresponding voluntary 

consensus standards were found to substitute for existing government-unique methods. 

Furthermore, some new rules and amended rules make use of existing government-unique 

methods when relevant and applicable voluntary consensus standards are not found. When 

the Agency finds that its use of a voluntary consensus standard may be impractical, EPA 

rarely expends public resources to develop a new government-unique method; instead, EPA 

relies on existing, previously developed methods. Voluntary standards organizations and 

their members have found this kind of information from EPA to be useful in planning their 

own work. 

In summary, EPA’s response for FY 1999, regarding the requirement of the Circular to report 

on our Agency’s decisions to use government standards in lieu of existing voluntary 

consensus standards, was corrected from “91” to “83.” The correct number of standards 

rejected is 18. EPA believes that both elements of information are needed in order to assess 

the Agency’s implementation of the Law and Circular. 

B-13 
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (FCC)

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 1 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 5 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 0 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 0 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 0 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

The policies of Circular A-119 are clearly stated for application to the activities of the FCC, 

and the Commission recognizes the benefit of using voluntary consensus standards when 

applicable. 

7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

 None. 

8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

 N/A 

9. Comments: 

This Web-based procedure for reporting works well. 

B-14 
FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION (FEMA)

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 4 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 7 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 0 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 N/A 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 0 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

FEMA does not have any recommendations as to the effectiveness of Circular A-119. 

7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

 Does not apply. 

8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

N/A 

9. Comments: 

 As described above, FEMA is one of the first Federal agencies to recognize the value of 

voluntary consensus organizations, and within the building science community, has been 

successfully working with these organizations since the early 1980s. By using these 

organizations for almost 20 years, FEMA has been able to get design and construction 

provisions that reduce the threat from natural hazards into the hands of the public in an 

effective and timely manner without the undue burden of additional Federal regulations. 

B-15 
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION (FTC) 

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 0 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 0 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 0 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 0 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 0 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

 See response to question 9. 

7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

 See response to question 9. 

8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

 See response to question 9. 

9. Comments: 

 FTC is an independent agency of the U.S. Government charged with enforcing competition 

and consumer protection laws. The Commission's only contact with voluntary consensus 

standards and the organizations that produce them is in connection with the enforcement of 

the Federal Trade Commission Act, which prohibits unfair methods of competition and 

unfair or deceptive acts or practices affecting commerce. The Commission does not 

promulgate its own standards, nor does it adopt standards promulgated by private voluntary 

consensus standards organizations, participate in developing private voluntary standards, or 

engage in other standards activities pertinent to OMB Circular A-119. 

B-16 
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (GSA)

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 81 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 47 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 10 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 10 

 Voluntary Standard Government Standard

 ANSI Z87.1 A-A-1994 

 ASME B107.11 A-A-2330 

 ASTM D6123 A-A-113 & A-A-883 

 ASTM D98 A-A-169 

 ASTM D632 A-A-1545 

 GPA 2140 A-A-2897 

 NFPA 1964 A-A-2279, 2280, & 2281 

 SAE AMS-C-22542 MIL-C-22542 

 UL 32 A-A-1674 

 UL 924 A-A-2085 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 4 

 Government Standard Voluntary Standard Explanation

 AA-V-2737 UL 608 See Section 9, Comments 

 KKK-A-1822D ASTM F2020-00 See Section 9, Comments 

 AA-D-600B UL 608 See Section 9, Comments 

 FF-L-2740 UL 768 See Section 9, Comments 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

 We have no comments or recommendations for change concerning OMB Circular A-119. 

B-17 
7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

 GSA has been very active in the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation 

Program. This involved identifying and verifying appropriate standards for critical aerospace 

sealants. We have conducted over 60 audits as a member of this group, in addition to 

providing and developing direction and guidelines. This partnership has eliminated the need 

for government testing of these sealants, while at the same time ensuring consistent product 

quality and faster delivery of these limited shelf-life products. The government-industry 

partnership currently has over 1,000 accredited suppliers, and the Air Force and GSA save 

over $300,000 per year on sealant testing. 

8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

 None. 

9. Comments: 

 GSA continues to expand its emphasis on the procurement of commercial off-the-shelf 

products and services. 

Since 1994, GSA has replaced 93 government standards with voluntary standards and 

adopted an additional 86 voluntary standards. 

 Acronyms: 

 ANSI - American National Standards Institute 

 ASME - American Society of Mechanical Engineers 

 ASTM - American Society for Testing and Materials 

 GPA - Gas Processors Association 

 NFPA - National Fire Protection Association 

 SAE - SAE International 

 UL - Underwriters Laboratories 

The following government-unique standards are being used in lieu of existing voluntary 

standards: 

 AA-D-600B, Door, Vault, Security, and AA-V-2737, Modular Vault Systems, in lieu of 

UL 608. 

 FF-L-2740, Locks, Combination, in lieu of UL 768. 

 These government specifications cover products used for the protection of national 

security information. The standards were developed after government review and testing 

determined that the commercial standards did not provide the required level of protection, 

or those commercial products that did provide the level of protection significantly 

exceeded the price of products meeting the government standards. 

B-18 
 KKK-A-1822D, Ambulance, Emergency Medical Care Surface Vehicle, in lieu of ASTM 

F2020-00. 

 This Federal specification is referenced in an existing contract. The ASTM standard is 

currently being reviewed for possible use in future contracts. 

B-19 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE (GPO)

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 3 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 2 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 108 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 0 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 4 

 Government Standard Voluntary Standard Explanation

 FED-STD 209 ISO 14644-1 & Second ISO standard not 

 ISO 14644-2 issued until end of FY 2000. 

 MIL-STD 105 ANSI/ASQC Z1.4 Cited in small number of 

contracts due to editing 

errors. These are being 

corrected. 

 MIL-STD 1189 ANSI/AIM X5-2 & Cited in small number of 

 ANSI X3.182 contracts due to editing 

errors. These are being 

corrected. 

 MIL-STD 498 IEEE/EIA 12207.0, Cited in small number of 

 IEEE/EIA 12207.1, & contracts due to editing 

 IEEE/EIA 12207.2 errors. These are being 

corrected. 

B-20 
6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

 The Circular provides effective procedures for the transition to use of voluntary consensus 

standards in government business. We have no recommendations for changes. 

7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

 N/A 

8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

 N/A 

9. Comments: 

 The number reported for No. 3 comprises standards mentioned explicitly in a contract or 

incorporated by reference to GPO Contract Terms documents. 

B-21 
INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION (ITC) 

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 1 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 1 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 0 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 0 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 0 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

Circular A-119 does not have a significant impact on our operations and we have no basis for 

an evaluation. 

7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

 We are nominal members of the National Institute of Standards and Technology standards 

group, but do not participate in a substantial way. We collect data for trade investigations 

using whatever standards that prevail in whatever industry we are studying. 

8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

 N/A 

9. Comments: 

 None. 

B-22 
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION (NASA)

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 38 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 156 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 860 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 0 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 N/A 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

 Office of Management and Budget Circular A-119 continues to provide stimulus for NASA's 

effort to improve its technical standards management system, enhance the use of voluntary 

consensus standards products, and challenge the need for NASA-unique technical standards 

requirements. However, there is a need to clarify the term “use” of standards and its 

interpretation for “categorical” reporting. Using the same basis as for “transactional” 

reporting could place an unreasonable burden on “procurement” (versus regulatory) agencies 

such as NASA. 

7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

As an acquisition-oriented agency, conformity assessment is a major element of our policies 

and procedures to ensure the safety and mission success of NASA programs. NASA has a 

long-standing practice of working with other government agencies and the public sector to 

integrate best practices into our activities. NASA continues to work with the Department of 

Defense (DOD) and the aerospace industry to adopt and define consistent quality practices. 

NASA also cooperates with DOD in the implementation of their Single Process Initiative that 

is used to identify and apply common standards and criteria at facilities that produce 

equipment for many end users within both DOD and NASA. The reduction of multiple 

B-23 
quality requirements to a single set of quality requirements applicable to all programs 

eliminates the need for contractors to maintain duplicate or overlapping quality systems and 

permits more uniform conformity decision process. 

NASA routinely utilizes other Government agencies to assist us with Contract 

Administration Services (CAS) including substantial conformity assessment activities. The 

Defense Contract and Audit Agency, Defense Contract Management Agency, Office of 

Naval Research, and other activities continue to provide conformity assessment services for 

NASA programs. These are ongoing relationships that utilize the expertise and infrastructure 

that are resident within these agencies and allow NASA to limit our unique conformity 

assessment activities. The management and monitoring processes established for these CAS 

activities provide a mechanism to continually exchange ideas and best practices related to 

conformity assessment. Additionally, in the past year NASA undertook a major step to 

include commercial entities as a significant element of our conformity assessment activities 

with the award of a comprehensive Agency-wide Supplier Assurance Contract (SAC). 

Complementing the award of the SAC, NASA conformity assessment policy, as contained 

within NASA Procedures and Guidelines 8735.2, was also updated this year to reflect use of 

contractors as an element of the potential sources of conformity assessment sources. 

 NASA extensively utilizes the DoD specification and standards system operated by the 

Defense Supply Center Columbus (DSCC) for ensuring compliance of its suppliers across the 

agency. DSCC performs audits, monitors, and assesses documentation and performance 

conformance to specifications and standards used to procure most of the electronic parts used 

for NASA spaceflight systems. NASA cooperates with the various arms of DoD to develop 

and maintain these joint-use specifications and standards. 

NASA has initiated a cooperative effort that includes representation from the Navy and Air 

Force to coordinate auditing and surveillance activities for electronic parts when such audits 

cannot be performed by DSCC or by DSCC alone. The objective of this initiative is to share 

conformance information and activities amongst the participants to avoid duplication of 

effort and to limit the number of audit teams encountered by suppliers. 

8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

 The NASA Technical Standards Program has initiated three new activities that will enhance 

its use and support of voluntary consensus standards. The agency-wide Full-Text Technical 

Standards System will provide full-text on-line documents for NASA use for adopted and 

other nongovernment standards products. For those standards products not available 

electronically, a hard copy will be made available. The Standards Update Notification 

(Alert) System will provide users with notices of updates to standards products that they have 

identified for use on their programs. The Lessons Learned/Best Practices/Application Notes 

system will provide links to internal recommendations for use of individual standards 

products. These Lessons Learned, Best Practices, or Application Notes will be of great 

benefit in adopting voluntary consensus standards to NASA use. The results of “pilot” 

B-24 
 actions on these three systems to date have been outstanding in terms of user interests and 

value to their activities on NASA Programs and Projects. This “case study” will be expanded 

to agency-wide involvement in FY 2001. 

 In collaboration with DOD, NASA prepared a paper entitled “Participation By Federal 

Agencies In Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies.” The paper was published by the 

Standards Engineering Society in their Journal and by the American Society for Testing and 

Materials (ASTM) in their ASTM Standardization News. It focuses on Federal employee 

participation responsibilities and encourages participation on standards developing 

organization (SDO) committees. 

 Use of the NASA Technical Standards System, and access to voluntary consensus standards, 

has grown significantly due to the availability of standards products online and supporting 

information programs. Brochures have been distributed within the Agency as well as at 

conferences and professional meetings. The Program has taken advantage of any Center's 

training opportunities to include short training courses on standards policy and the 

availability of voluntary consensus standards through the Program. We fully expect these 

awareness activities to increase the use of voluntary consensus standards to meet standards 

information needs, as well as eventually increasing participation on SDO committees. 

9. Comments: 

 None. 

B-25 
NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION (NARA)

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 5 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 9 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 25 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 2 

 Voluntary Standard Government Standard

 NFPA 231C MIL-M-17194C 

 NFPA 231 AS-S-271 or AA-S-1047 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 1 

 Government Standard Voluntary Standard Explanation

 NARA data standards. MARC, EAD, APPM, These voluntary standards 

 ISAD(G), ISAAR(CPF) did not meet the precise 

needs of the agency. 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

 NARA employees involved in standards-setting activities are cognizant of the importance of 

using technical voluntary consensus standards. Where possible, we have incorporated, by 

reference in our regulations, voluntary standards rather than government-unique standards. 

This has been especially important in our revised records storage standards regulation since 

private companies now have to comply with these standards if they plan to house Federal 

Government records in their facilities. 

B-26 
7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

 NARA has worked with the Department of Defense (DoD), Joint Interoperability Test 

Command (JITC), to evaluate DoD 5015.2-STD: Design Criteria for Records Management 

Application Software. NARA endorsed this standard as “one acceptable means of 

automating records management.” NARA has also certified JITC's software certification 

testing process, such that software certified by the JITC testing process could be recognized 

for use by civilian Federal agencies as one acceptable means of automating records 

management functions. While we recognize that this is a government-unique standard, there 

are no voluntary consensus standards that address this issue. 

NARA's records center facility standards (36 CFR Part 1228) became final in January 2000. 

As a requirement of this regulation, NARA reviews leased facilities (or facilities being 

considered for lease) for conformance with our standards. 

8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

 N/A 

9. Comments: 

While resource constraints limit the number of NARA staff involved in standards-setting 

activities, NARA will continue to actively participate in the setting of national and 

international standards that affect the mission of NARA. 

B-27 
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF) 

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 3 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 3 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 0 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 0 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 0 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

 A-119 allows effective agency participation in standards activities. No changes are 

recommended. 

7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

 N/A 

8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

 N/A 

9. Comments: 

None. 

B-28 
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (NRC)

1. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Bodies in Which There is Agency Participation: 

 18 

2. Number of Agency Employees Participating in Voluntary Consensus Standards Activities: 

 141 

3. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Used in FY 2000: 

 36 

4. Number of Voluntary Consensus Standards Substituted for Government-Unique Standards: 

 0 

5. Number of Government-Unique Standards Used in Lieu of Voluntary Standards: 

 0 

6. Provide an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Circular A-119 Policy and Recommendations 

for Any Changes: 

 The policy guidelines provided in Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-119, 

for participating in voluntary consensus standards bodies and using voluntary consensus 

standards, are generally consistent with longstanding NRC practices. The staff believes that 

these guidelines provide appropriate direction and encouragement for Federal agencies to 

develop internal agency-wide guidelines to implement Public Law (P.L.) 104-113 and OMB 

Circular A-119. These guidelines also provide sufficient and reasonable flexibility for each 

agency to make an independent case-by-case determination as to the usability of a particular 

standard within that agency's scope and responsibility. 

7. Provide the Conformity Assessment Activities in Which the Agency has been Involved: 

 No report for conformity assessment activities in FY 2000. 

8. Provide Any Examples or Case Studies of Standards Successes: 

 In FY 2000, NRC took several actions to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of our 

process for implementing P.L. 104-113 and OMB Circular A-119, Federal Participation in 

the Development and Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards and in Conformity Assessment 

Activities. NRC Management Directive 6.5, NRC Participation in the Development and Use 

B-29 
of Consensus Standards, was issued on November 2, 1999. The Directive provides: 

(a) direction for implementing P.L. 104-113 and OMB Circular A-119 and (b) organizational 

responsibilities and guidance for NRC staff participating in the development of consensus 

standards and for NRC use of consensus standards. The NRC staff met with representatives 

from the standards developing organizations who provide codes and standards for the nuclear 

industry twice during this reporting period (December 8, 1999, and July 27, 2000). The NRC 

has been hosting these meetings on a semiannual basis. The purpose of these meetings is to 

foster better communication and discuss standards under development, current needs, and 

priorities. These exchanges have proved to be very beneficial; the last meeting was held in 

January 2001. 

9. Comments: 

 None. 

B-30 
Appendix C: 

Charter of the 

Interagency Committee 

on 

Standards Policy

C-1 
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

CHARTER 

OF THE 

INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE ON STANDARDS POLICY

Establishment

1. The Interagency Committee on Standards Policy (herein after referred to as the Committee) 

is established to advise the Secretary of Commerce and the heads of other Federal agencies 

in matters relating to standards policy. 

2. The Committee fulfills the mandates set out in paragraph 13.b of the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) Circular No. A-119, “Federal Participation in the Development and Use 

of Voluntary Consensus Standards and in Conformity Assessment Activities,” in its revision 

of February 19, 1998. 

3. The Committee reports to the Secretary of Commerce through the Director of the National 

Institute of Standards and Technology. 

Purpose

The purpose of the Committee is to ensure effective participation by the Federal Government in 

domestic and international standards and conformity assessment activities and to promote the 

adherence to uniform policies by Federal agencies in the development and use of standards and 

in conformity assessment activities. Well-considered Federal policies reflecting the public 

interest can expedite the development and adoption of standards that stimulate competition, 

promote innovation, and protect the public safety and welfare. The establishment and 

application of appropriate standards for the characteristics or performance of goods, processes, 

and services can contribute significantly to national and international prosperity, economic 

growth, and public health and safety. The establishment of such standards can also further 

national goals for environmentally sound and energy efficient materials, products, systems, 

services, or practices. Heightened national and international awareness of the importance of 

standards activities, as reflected by enactment of the National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-113, signed into law March 7, 1996), and recommendations 

presented in the National Research Council’s report “Standards, Conformity Assessment, and 

Trade into the 21st Century” (National Academy Press, 1995) call for the Committee to intensify 

its efforts to identify the broad roles and appropriate interactions of agencies in exercising the 

Government’s authority. 

Objective

The objective of the Committee shall be to promote effective and consistent standards and 

conformity assessment policies in furtherance of U.S. domestic and foreign goals and, to this 

C-2 
end, to foster cooperative participation by the Federal Government and U.S. industry and other 

private organizations in standards activities, including the related activities of product testing, 

management system registration, certification, and accreditation programs. 

Functions

1. As appropriate, the Committee shall gather, analyze, and maintain current information about 

standards; product testing; management system registration; accreditation and certification; 

and related regulations, rules, policies, and activities: 

(a) conducted within or established by Federal agencies; 

(b) conducted by private domestic and foreign national standards bodies and by regional 

and international private and intergovernmental organizations engaged in such 

programs; and 

(c) pertaining to the relationships among agencies of the Federal Government with 

industry and the various national, regional, and international organizations engaged in 

such programs. 

2. On the basis of such information and when appropriate with respect to the activities named 

in paragraph one above, the Committee shall make recommendations to the Secretary of 

Commerce to: 

(a) strengthen coordination of standards-related and conformity assessment-related 

policies and activities among the Federal agencies; 

(b) improve the efficiency within the Federal Government of standardization efforts with 

the U.S. private sector, as well as with regional and international organizations, both 

private and governmental; 

(c) promote standards-related policies, including directories of personnel participating in 

standards activities, within the Federal Government consistent with statutory 

obligations in regard to interactions with non-Federal Government organizations; 

(d) ensure effective representation of the Federal Government at significant regional and 

international standards-related meetings and conferences; 

(e) promote the use of internationally acceptable standards and related activities with a 

view to increasing trade and economic integration and development; 

(f) monitor U.S. technical obligations as a signatory to the World Trade Organization, 

the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement, the North American Free Trade Agreement, 

and other treaties encompassing standards-related trade issues; 

(g) encourage the development of agency strategic plans for managing and monitoring 

use of voluntary standards and participation in standards-related activities; 

(h) promote the use of standards that serve national goals related to increased use of the 

metric system of measurement and environmentally sound and energy efficient 

materials, products, systems, services, and practices; and 

(i) assess and improve the adequacy of such agency plans and activities. 

C-3 
Membership

1. Together with the Department of Commerce the following agencies constitute the 

membership of the Committee: 

Department of Agriculture 

Department of Defense 

Department of Education 

Department of Energy 

Department of Health and Human Services 

Department of Housing and Urban Development 

Department of the Interior 

Department of Justice 

Department of Labor 

Department of State 

Department of Transportation 

Department of the Treasury 

Department of Veterans Affairs 

Consumer Product Safety Commission 

Environmental Protection Agency 

Federal Communications Commission 

Federal Emergency Management Agency 

Federal Trade Commission 

General Services Administration 

International Trade Commission 

Office of Management and Budget 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

National Archives and Records Administration 

National Communications Systems (Dept. of Defense) (non-voting member) 

National Science Foundation 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

U.S. Agency for International Development 

U.S. Government Printing Office (legislative liaison - non-voting member) 

U.S. Postal Service 

Office of the U.S. Trade Representative 

The head of each member agency shall ensure representation by a responsible high level 

policy official (Senior Executive Service or higher) who serves as the agency representative 

on the Committee. Such agency representative shall also serve as the “Standards 

Executive” as defined in section 15 of OMB Circular No. A-119. Appointments to the 

Committee shall be for an indefinite term. 

2. Agency representatives may designate alternates of equivalent senior status to serve in their 

absence. 

C-4 
3. Experts from organizations within the member agency may be designated by agency 

representatives to serve on task groups established by the Committee. 

4. Other Federal agencies may become members of the Committee upon application to or 

invitation by the Secretary of Commerce. 

Administrative Provisions

1. The Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) or the Director’s 

designee shall chair the Committee. 

2. NIST shall provide administrative arrangements for the Committee including secretarial 

services, calling of meetings, arranging for a meeting place, and preparation of an agenda, 

discussion material, and reports. 

3. The Committee shall meet at least three times each year. Other meetings may be called at 

the discretion of the Chair or at the written request of five (5) members of the Committee. 

4. The Committee may establish task groups as appropriate. 

5. Attendance at Committee meetings by at least one half of the designated members of the 

Committee shall constitute a quorum. Decisions internal to the Committee’s operations, 

such as formation of a task group, shall be made by a majority of those present and voting. 

Voting on Committee business and proposals shall be limited to designated agency 

members. Decisions concerning Committee recommendations to the Secretary of 

Commerce on governmental policy or other matters set out in paragraph two of the section 

entitled “Functions” shall require ratification by two-thirds of the members present and 

voting. Dissenting positions of the decision may be made a matter of record. The Chair 

shall not vote except in the case of a tie vote. 

6. The annual cost of operating the Committee is estimated at $25,000 (with overhead) which 

includes 0.10 staff year for staff support. 

7. The Committee shall submit an annual report to the Secretary of Commerce so that the 

Secretary may satisfy the reporting requirements set forth in OMB Circular No. A-119, as 

applicable to the Secretary, and in P.L. 104-113, as applicable to the head of each agency. 

Each such report shall also summarize the Committee’s activity during the period covered 

and shall include a listing of all recommendations formulated by the Committee during that 

period. 

C-5 
Duration

The need and mission of the Committee shall be reexamined three years after the date of this 

Charter to determine the need for the Committee’s continuation. 

 /signed/ 

 Secretary of Commerce 

Dated: October 26, 2000

C-6 
Appendix D: 

Membership of the 

Interagency Committee on 

Standards Policy ------

Fiscal Year 2000

D-1 
AGENCY MEMBER REPRESENTATIVE

Agency for International Development, U.S. (USAID) Ms. Kathleen O'Hara 

Acting Deputy Director, Office of Procurement 

U. S. Agency for International Development 

Ronald Reagan Building 

Washington, D.C. 20523-7804 

 Phone: 202-712-5040 

 Fax: 202-216-3136 

Email: kohara@usaid.gov 

Agriculture, Department of (USDA) Dr. Greg Parham 

Associate Chief Information Officer 

 Department of Agriculture 

Jamie L. Whitten Federal Building 

1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 432-W 

Washington, D.C. 20250-7603 

 Phone: 202-720-2525 

 Fax: 202-720-3793 

Email: greg.parham@usda.gov 

Alternate: Ms. Sandra Ginyard 

 Program Manager 

Office of the Chief Information Officer for IRM 

 Department of Agriculture 

Jamie L. Whitten Federal Building 

1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 411-W 

Washington, D.C. 20250-7603 

 Phone: 202-720-8478 

 Fax: 202-720-3793 

Email: sandra.ginyard@usda.gov 

Commerce, Department of (DOC) Dr. Belinda L. Collins 

Director, Office of Standards Services 

National Institute of Standards and Technology 

 Department of Commerce 

100 Bureau Drive, Stop 2100 

Gaithersburg, MD 20899-2100 

 Phone: 301-975-4000 

 Fax: 301-963-2871 

Email: belinda.collins@nist.gov 

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Mr. Colin B. Church 

Voluntary Standards & International Activities 

 Coordinator 

Consumer Product Safety Commission 

4340 East-West Highway 

 Room 604-C 

Bethesda, MD 20207 

Phone: 301-504-0554, x-2229 

 Fax: 301-504-0407 

Email: cchurch@cpsc.gov 

D-2 
Alternate: Ms. Jacquie Elder 

Deputy Assistant Executive Director 

Consumer Product Safety Commission 

4340 East-West Highway 

 Room 702 

Bethesda, MD 20207 

Phone: 301-504-0554, x-2254 

 Fax: 301-504-0407 

Email: jelder@cpsc.gov 

Defense, Department of (DoD) Mr. Gregory E. Saunders 

 Director, Defense Standardization Program Office 

 Department of Defense 

 ATTN: DLSC-LM 

8725 John J. Kingman Road, Suite 4235 

Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6221 

 Phone: 703-767-6880 

 Fax: 703-767-6876 

Email: gregory_saunders@hq.dla.mil 

Alternate: Ms. Trudie Williams 

Defense Standardization Program Office 

 Department of Defense 

 ATTN: DLSC-LM 

8725 John J. Kingman Road, Suite 4235 

Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6221 

 Phone: 703-767-6875 

 Fax: 703-767-6876 

Email: trudie_williams@hq.dla.mil 

Education, Department of (DOEd) Mr. Gerald Malitz 

National Center for Education Statistics 

 Department of Education 

1990 K Street, N.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20006 

 Phone: 202-502-7386 

 Fax: 202-502-7475 

Email: gerald_malitz@ed.gov 

Energy, Department of (DOE) Mr. Richard L. Black 

Director, Office of Nuclear and 

 Facility Safety Policy (EH-53) 

 Department of Energy 

 Room A-430, GTN 

Washington, D.C. 20854 

 Phone: 301-903-3465 

 Fax: 301-903-6172 

Email: richard.black@eh.doe.gov 

D-3 
Alternate: Mr. Richard Serbu 

Manager, DOE Technical Standards 

 Program (EH-53) 

 Department of Energy 

19901 Germantown Road 

Germantown, MD 20874-1290 

 Phone: 301-903-2856 

 Fax: 301-903-6172 

Email: richard.serbu@eh.doe.gov 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Dr. Mary McKiel 

Director, EPA Standards Program 

Environmental Protection Agency 

Office of Prevention, Pesticides 

 & Toxic Substances 

Ariel Rios Building, MC 7101 

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20460 

 Phone: 202-260-3584 

 Fax: 202-260-6906 

 Email: mckiel.mary@epa.gov 

Alternate: Mr. Craig Annear 

Office of General Counsel (232A) 

Environmental Protection Agency 

Ariel Rios Building, MC 7101 

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20460 

 Phone: 202-564-5538 

 Fax: 202-564-5541 

Email: annear.craig@epa.gov 

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Mr. Julius P. Knapp 

Chief, Office of Engineering and Technology 

Federal Communications Commission 

1919 M Street, N.W. 

Mail Stop Code 1300 

Washington, D.C. 20554 

 Phone: 202-418-2468 

 Fax: 202-418-1944 

Email: jknapp@fcc.gov 

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Mr. Edward Kernan 

Director, Management Division 

 Information Technology Services Directorate 

Federal Emergency Management Agency 

500 C Street S.W., Room 251 FCP 

Washington, D.C. 20472 

 Phone: 202-646-2986 

 Fax: 202-646-3074 

Email: edward.kernan@fema.gov 

D-4 
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Mr. Alain Sheer 

Director of Marketing Practices 

 Federal Trade Commission 

Bureau of Consumer Protection 

6th and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. 

 Room 4200 

Washington, D.C. 20580 

 Phone: 202-326-3321 

 Fax: 202-326-3392 

Email: asheer@ftc.gov 

General Services Administration (GSA) Ms. Carolyn Alston 

 Assistant Commissioner 

Office of Acquisition, Federal Supply Service (FC) 

General Services Administration 

1941 Jefferson Davis Highway, Room 710 

Arlington, VA 22202 

 Phone: 703-305-7901 

 Fax: 703-305-6851 

Email: carolyn.alston@gsa.gov 

Alternate: Mr. Charles P. Gallagher 

 Director, Environmental and 

 Engineering Policy (FCOE) 

General Services Administration 

1941 Jefferson Davis Highway, Room 703 

Arlington, VA 22202 

 Phone: 703-305-6930 

 Fax: 703-305-6731 

Email: charles.gallagher@gsa.gov 

Government Printing Office, U.S. (GPO) Mr. Robert H. Thomas 

Manager, Quality Control and Technical Department 

U. S. Government Printing Office 

North Capitol and H Street, N.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20401 

 Phone: 202-512-0766 

 Fax: 202-512-0015 

Email: rthomas@gpo.gov 

Health and Human Services, Department of (HHS) Ms. Janet J. Showalter 

Director, International Scientific Activities 

 and Standards Staff 

Department of Health and Human Services 

Food and Drug Administration, HHS 

5600 Fishers Lane, Room 8-56, HFY-20 

Rockville, MD 20857 

 Phone: 301-827-0865 

 Fax: 301-443-0232 

Email: jshowalt@oc.fda.gov 

D-5 
Alternate: Dr. John P. Lucas 

Associate Director for Standards 

Office of International Programs 

Food and Drug Administration 

Department of Health and Human Services 

5600 Fishers Lane, Room 15A16, HFG-1 

Rockville, MD 20857 

 Phone: 301-827-0917 

 Fax: 301-443-0235 

Email: jlucas@oc.fda.gov 

Housing and Urban Development, Department of (HUD) Ms. Ayse Can Talen 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office 

 of Research Evaluation and Monitoring 

Office of Policy Development & Research 

Department of Housing and Urban Development 

451 7th Street, S.W., Suite 8146 

Washington, D.C. 20410-6000 

Phone: 202-708-4230, x3666 

 Fax: 202-708-3141 

Email: Ayse_Can_Talen@hud.gov 

Alternate: Roy Mullinax, CCP 

 Computer Specialist 

Departmental Policy & Oversight Support (AOD) 

Department of Housing and Urban Development 

451 7th Street, S.W., Suite 3182 

Washington, D.C. 20410-3600 

Phone: 202-708-0614, x6075 

 Fax: 202-708-1559 

Email: Roy_p._mullinax@hud.gov 

Interior, Department of the (DOI) Mr. David Shearer 

Chief, IRM Program Policy Review, 

 and Standards Division 

Department of the Interior 

1849 C Street, N.W., Mail Stop-5312 

Washington, D.C. 20240 

 Phone: 202-208-4281 

 Fax: 202-501-2360 

Email: david_shearer@ios.doi.gov 

International Trade Commission (ITC) Mr. Stephen A. McLaughlin 

Director, Office of Administration 

International Trade Commission 

500 E Street, S.W., Room 414 

Washington, D.C. 20436 

 Phone: 202-205-3131 

 Fax: 202-205-2034 

D-6 
Justice, Department of (DOJ) Mr. William R. Burdett 

Information Management and Security Staff 

Department of Justice, NPB 

1331 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 1220 

Washington, D.C. 20530 

 Phone: 202-305-9639 

 Fax: 202-514-1534 

Email: bill.burdett@usdoj.gov 

Labor, Department of (DOL) Ms. Marthe B. Kent 

Director, Safety Standards Program 

Occupational Safety and Health Administration 

 Department of Labor 

200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room N-3609 

Washington, D.C. 20210 

 Phone: 202-693-2054 

 Fax: 202-693-1663 

 Email: marthe.kent@osha.gov 

Alternate: Ms. Barbara Bielaski 

 Safety Specialist 

Occupational Safety and Health Administration 

 Department of Labor 

200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room N-3609 

Washington, D.C. 20210 

 Phone: 202-693-1954 

 Fax: 202-693-1663 

Email: barbara.bielaski@osha.gov 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Mr. W. Brian Keegan 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

 Mail Code AE 

 NASA Headquarters 

300 E Street, S.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20546-0001 

 Phone: 202-358-1823 

 Fax: 202-358-3296 

Email: brian.keegan@hq.nasa.gov 

Alternate: Mr. Richard H. Weinstein 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

 Mail Code AE 

 NASA Headquarters 

300 E Street, S.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20546-0001 

 Phone: 202-358-0538 

 Fax: 202-358-3296 

Email: richard.weinstein@hq.nasa.gov 

D-7 
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Ms. Mary Ann Hadyka 

National Archives and Records Administration 

Policy and Communication Staff 

8601 Adelphi Road, Suite 4100 

College Park, MD 20740-6001 

Phone: 301-713-7360, x222 

 Fax: 301-713-7270 

 Email: maryann.hadyka@arch2.nara.gov 

National Communications System (NCS) Mr. Dale Barr 

Chief, Technology and Standards Division 

National Communications System 

Office of the Manager 

701 South Court House Road 

Arlington, VA 22204-2198 

 Phone: 703-607-6200 

 Fax: 703-607-4830 

Email: barrd@ncs.gov 

National Science Foundation (NSF) Dr. William S. Butcher 

 Senior Engineering Advisor 

Engineering Education and Centers Division 

 National Science Foundation 

4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 585 

Arlington, VA 22230 

 Phone: 703-292-8380 

 Fax: 703-292-9051 

Email: wbutcher@nsf.gov 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Mr. Michael E. Mayfield 

Director, Engineering Technology Division 

Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research 

Mail Stop T-10D20 

Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 

 Phone: 301-415-5678 

 Fax: 301-415-5074 

 Email: mem2@nrc.gov 

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Liaison Ms. Kamela G. White 

Policy Analyst, Information Policy and Technology 

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs 

Office of Management and Budget 

NEOB, Room 10236 

Washington, DC 20503 

 Phone: 202-395-3630 

 Fax: 202-395-5167 

Email: kgwhite@omb.eop.gov 

D-8 
Postal Service, U.S. (USPS) Mr. Charles W. Newman 

Manager, Configuration Management 

U.S. Postal Service 

Engineering Research and Development 

Merrifield, VA 22082-8149 

 Phone: 703-280-7649 

 Fax: 703-280-8414 

Email: cnewman@email.usps.gov 

Alternate: Mr. Bill Griggs 

Acting Manager, Configuration Management 

U.S. Postal Service 

Engineering Research and Development 

Merrifield, VA 22082-8149 

 Phone: 703-280-7276 

 Fax: 703-280-8414 

Email: wgriggs@email.usps.gov 

State, Department of (STATE) Ms. Marian Gordon 

 Director for Telecommunications 

 and Information Standards 

 Department of State 

2201 C Street, N.W., Room 2529 

Washington, D.C. 20520 

 Phone: 202-647-0197 

 Fax: 202-647-7407 

Email: gordonmr@state.gov 

Alternate: Mr. Julian Minard 

 Department of State 

 EB/CIP/MA 

2201 C Street, N.W., Room 2529 

Washington, D.C. 20520 

 Phone: 202-647-0965 

 Fax: 202-647-7407 

 Email: minardje@state.gov 

Transportation, Department of (DOT) Ms. Linda Lawson 

Office of Transportation Policy 

Office of the Secretary of Transportation 

 Department of Transportation 

400 Seventh Street, S.W. 

 Suite 10200 

Washington, D.C. 20590 

 Phone: 202-366-4416 

 Fax: 202-366-7202 

Email: linda.lawson@ost.dot.gov 

D-9 
Alternate: Ms. Julie Abraham 

Director of International Harmonization 

 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

 Department of Transportation 

400 Seventh Street, S.W. 

 Suite 5208 

Washington, D.C. 20590 

 Phone: 202-366-2114 

 Fax: 202-366-2559 

Email: jabraham@nhtsa.dot.gov 

Treasury, Department of the (Treasury) Mr. James J. Flyzik 

Acting Assistant Secretary for 

 Management and Chief Information 

 Officer 

Department of the Treasury 

1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. 

 Room 2423 

Washington, D.C. 20220 

 Phone: 202-622-1200 

 Fax: 202-622-2224 

Email: jim.flyzik@cio.treas.gov 

Meeting Correspondence to: Mrs. Helen W. Whatley 

Office of Information Resources Management 

Department of the Treasury 

1425 New York Avenue, N.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20220 

 Phone: 202-622-1541 

 Fax: 202-622-1595 

Email: helen.whatley@cio.treas.gov 

U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ms. Suzanne Troje 

Director, Technical Trade Barriers 

U.S. Trade Representative 

600 17th Street, N.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20508 

 Phone: 202-395-9444 

 Fax: 202-395-5674 

Email: stroje@ustr.gov 

Veterans Affairs, Department of (VA) Mr. Gary J. Krump 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition 

 & Material Management (90) 

Department of Veterans Affairs 

810 Vermont Avenue, N.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20420 

 Phone: 202-273-6029 

 Fax: 202-273-6163 

Email: gary.krump@mail.va.gov 

D-10 
Alternate: Mr. Pierre Lundy 

Materiel Management, Policy, 

 Training & Operations 

Department of Veterans Affairs 

810 Vermont Avenue, N.W., 92A 

Washington, D.C. 20420 

 Phone: 202-273-6102 

 Fax: 202-273-6236 

Email: pierre.lundy@mail.va.gov 

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Mr. David Alderman 

National Institute of Standards and Technology 

 Department of Commerce 

100 Bureau Drive, Stop 2140 

Gaithersburg, MD 20899-2140 

 Phone: 301-975-4171 

 Fax: 301-926-2884 

Email: david.alderman@nist.gov 

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Ms. Maureen Breitenberg 

National Institute of Standards and Technology 

 Department of Commerce 

100 Bureau Drive, Stop 2100 

Gaithersburg, MD 20899-2100 

 Phone: 301-975-4031 

 Fax: 301-963-2871 

 Email: maureen.breitenberg@nist.gov 

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Ms. Mary Jo DiBernardo 

National Institute of Standards and Technology 

 Department of Commerce 

100 Bureau Drive, Stop 2100 

Gaithersburg, MD 20899-2100 

 Phone: 301-975-5503 

 Fax: 301-963-2871 

 Email: maryjo.dibernardo@nist.gov 

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Dr. Charles Ehrlich 

National Institute of Standards and Technology 

 Department of Commerce 

100 Bureau Drive, Stop 2150 

Gaithersburg, MD 20899-2150 

 Phone: 301-975-4834 

 Fax: 301-926-1559 

Email: charles.ehrlich@nist.gov 

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Ms. Krista Johnsen 

National Institute of Standards and Technology 

 Department of Commerce 

100 Bureau Drive, Stop 2150 

Gaithersburg, MD 20899-2150 

 Phone: 301-975-5104 

 Fax: 301-963-2871 

Email: krista.johnsen@nist.gov 

D-11 
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Mr. Kevin McIntyre 

National Institute of Standards and Technology 

 Department of Commerce 

100 Bureau Drive, Stop 2150 

Gaithersburg, MD 20899-2150 

 Phone: 301-975-4907 

 Fax: 301-963-2871 

Email: kevin.mcintyre@nist.gov 

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Ms. JoAnne Overman 

National Institute of Standards and Technology 

 Department of Commerce 

100 Bureau Drive, Stop 2150 

Gaithersburg, MD 20899-2150 

 Phone: 301-975-4037 

 Fax: 301-926-1559 

Email: joanne.overman@nist.gov 

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Mr. Edward Roback 

National Institute of Standards and Technology 

 Department of Commerce 

100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8930 

Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8930 

 Phone: 301-975-3696 

 Fax: 301-926-2733 

Email: edward.roback@nist.gov 

D-12 
Appendix E:

List of National Institute of Standards 

and Technology Publications

Related to Public Law 104-113

E-1 
STANDARDS AND CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT RELATED 

PUBLICATIONS

Office of Standards Services 

National Institute of Standards and Technology 

Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-2100 

NTTAA PUBLICATIONS:

The National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act - Plan for Implementation 

(NISTIR 5967) 

Toward a National Standards Strategy - Conference Report (NISTIR 6290) 

Toward A National Standards Strategy: Conference Summary Report (NISTIR 6259) by 

Walter G. Leight and Krista J. Johnsen Leuteritz, published September 23, 1998 

Towards Strategic Management of Standards Activities at NIST (NISTIR 6292) 

Conference on Using Voluntary Standards in the Federal Government - September 8, 1997 

Using Voluntary Standards in the Federal Government (NISTIR 6086) 

1998 Federal Standards Workshop: Standards Management - A World of Change and 

Opportunities – Conference Handbook -- A joint DOE, NIST, EPA, NASA, Partnership in 

RMS, FDA publication 

1998 Federal Technical Standards Workshop Proceedings (CONF-980822) – A joint DOE, 

NIST, EPA, NASA, Partnership in RMS, FDA publication 

1998 Annual Report on the Implementation of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 

Circular A-119 and P.L. 104-113, March 16, 2000 (NISTIR 6493) 

1997 Annual Report on the Implementation of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 

Circular A-119 and P.L. 104-113, October, 1999 (NISTIR 6412) 

INTRODUCTORY PUBLICATIONS ON STANDARDS AND CONFORMITY 

ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES:

The ABC's of Standards-Related Activities in the United States (NBSIR 87-3576) 

The ABC's of Certification Activities in the United States (NBSIR 88-3821) 

The ABC's of the U.S. Conformity Assessment System (NISTIR 6014) 

E-2 
Laboratory Accreditation Activities in the United States (NISTIR 4576) 

Questions and Answers on Quality, the ISO 9000 Standard Series, Quality System Registration, 

and Related Issues (NISTIR 4721) 

More Questions and Answers on the ISO 9000 Standard Series and Related Issues 

(NISTIR 5122) 

The U.S. Certification System from a Governmental Perspective (NISTIR 6077) 

ISO Environmental Management Standardization Efforts (NISTIR 5638-1) 

NACLA PUBLICATIONS:

Report on NIST-NACLA MOU Workshop, July 6, 2000 (NISTIR 6540) 

Report on the Open Forum on Establishment of the National Council for Laboratory 

Accreditation (NACLA) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 

January 7, 1997 (NISTIR 6008) 

Examination of Laboratory Accreditation Programs in the United States and the Potential Role 

for a National Laboratory Accreditation System (NIST GCR 97-714) 

Proceedings of the Open Forum on Laboratory Accreditation at the National Institute of 

Standards and Technology, October 13, 1995 (NIST SP 902) 

DIRECTORIES:

Directory of International and Regional Organizations Conducting Standards-Related Activities 

(NIST SP 767) 

Directory of European Regional Standards-Related Organizations (NIST SP 795) 

Standards Activities of Organizations in the United States (NIST SP 806, 1996 Edition) 

Directory of Federal Government Certification and Related Programs (NIST SP 739, 

1999 Edition) 

Directory of U.S. Private Sector Product Certification Programs (NIST SP 903) 

Directory of Federal Government Laboratory Accreditation/Designation Programs 

(NIST SP 808) 

E-3 
Directory of State and Local Government Laboratory Accreditation/Designation Programs 

(NIST SP 815) 

Directory of Professional/Trade Organization Laboratory Accreditation/Designation Programs 

(NIST SP 831) 

Standards Setting in the European Union - Standards Organizations and Officials in EU 

Standards Activities (NIST SP 891, 1997 Edition) 

Profiles of National Standards-Related Activities (NIST SP 912) 

An Overview of the Development of Technical Infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific Region: The 

Work of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Sub-committee on Standards and 

Conformance (SCSC) and the Specialist Regional Bodies (SRBs) (NISTIR 6325) 

Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) Conformity Assessment Infrastructure (NIST SP 941) 

Semi-Annual Listing of North American Quality System Registration Organizations (NAQSRO) 

Annual Directory of DOC Memberships on Outside Standards Committees 

NVLAP PUBLICATIONS:

NIST Handbook 150: NVLAP Procedures and General Requirements 

Directory of Accredited Laboratories 

NVLAP Program-Specific Handbooks 

NVLAP Policy Guides: 

 PG-1-1998: NVLAP Traceability Policy (March 1998) 

PG-2-1998: Accreditation Documents for Laboratories Whose Accreditation Has Been 

Suspended, Revoked, or Otherwise Terminated (May 1998) 

PG-3-1999: Delegation of Authority from the Director of NIST to the Chief of NVLAP 

(November 1999) 

MISCELLANEOUS PUBLICATIONS:

TBT Agreement Activities of the National Institute of Standards and Technology 

Environmental Management Systems Voluntary Project Evaluation Guidance (NISTIR 6120) 

A Selective Review of Testing Laboratory Accreditation Movements in the United States 

(NIST GCR 98-740) 

E-4 
Survey on the Implementation of ISO/IEC Guide 25 by National Laboratory Accreditation 

Programs (NISTIR 5473) 

Government’s Role in Standards-Related Activities: Analysis of Comments (NISTIR 4367) 

MAGAZINE ARTICLES:

Collins, B.L., A Standards Infrastructure for the Future. Mechanical Engineering, 122, No. 4, 

April 2000, pp. 86-92, and Enjeuex, 200, January 2000, pp. 63-74. 

Leight, W.G., Collins, B.L., Setting the Standards. Mechanical Engineering, 122, No. 2, 

February 2000, pp. 46-52. 

Leight, W.G., Preserving the Miracle. Partnership in RMS Standards: A Newsletter for 

Professionals, January 2000, pp. 1-6. 

Collins, B.L., Federal Government Coordination on Standards - The Role of NIST and the 

Interagency Committee on Standards Policy. The Standards Forum, 7, No. 3, 

December 1999, pp. 1, 15-16. 

Collins, B.L., Standards and Government Regulations in the United States. Warnings and Risk 

Communications, Chapter 12. Taylor and Francis Ltd., 1999. 

Collins, B.L., Federal Government Coordination on Standards - The Role of NIST and the 

Interagency Committee on Standards Policy. ASTM Standardization News, 27, May 1999, 

pp. 20-21. 

Collins, B.L., Update on the activities of the National Cooperation for Laboratory Accreditation. 

Accreditation and Quality Assurance: Journal for Quality, Comparability and Reliability in 

Chemical Measurement, 3, September 1998, pp. 351-355. 

Collins, B.L., National Cooperation of Laboratory Accreditation. Radioactivity & 

Radiochemistry, A Journal of Applied Radioactivity Measurements, 8, No. 4, 1997. 

Collins, B.L., NIST to Lead in NTTAA Implementation. ANSI Reporter, April 1997, p. 3. 

Collins, B.L., The National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act - Plan for 

Implementation. NISTIR 5967, January 1997. 

Collins, B.L., National Cooperation of Laboratory Accreditation. CIRMS Annual Meeting 

Abstracts, Radioactivity & Radiochemistry, 8, 1997, pp. 16-17. 

Collins, B.L., Laboratory Accreditation: The Need for a National Infrastructure. Cal Lab, 

November-December 1996, pp. 18-22. 

E-5 
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