Sponsors (2)
The bill increases transparency, public participation, and data access in federal rulemaking and standardizes agency practices, but it raises privacy and legal risks and imposes administrative costs and funding pressures on agencies and taxpayers.
Taxpayers, nonprofits, financial institutions, and the general public will get greater transparency and ability to scrutinize rulemaking because agencies must publish the critical factual material and citations used for rules, provide notice-and-comment opportunities on that material, and maximize public access to underlying data.
Federal employees and the public will see more consistent, predictable agency information-quality practices because OMB must lead a uniform timeline requiring agencies to update their Information Quality Act guidelines within one year.
Researchers and nonprofits will have improved access to government data for analysis and reuse because agencies are directed to maximize public access to open government data assets and critical factual material.
Individuals, businesses, and organizations could face privacy and confidentiality risks if sensitive information in underlying datasets is published without sufficient redaction.
Federal agencies and taxpayers may bear substantial administrative and compliance costs because preparing, redacting, and publishing critical factual material and updating dockets requires staff time and resources.
Financial institutions, nonprofits, and other third parties could face legal disputes or withheld information when agencies are required to disclose third-party-held material, raising trade secret or copyright challenges that could delay rulemaking.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires OMB and agencies to update information-quality guidance and to publish the critical factual material and citations used in rules and guidance with public notice and comment as allowed by law.
Requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to update federal information quality guidance within one year and to direct agencies to update their agency-specific guidelines within one year after OMB's update. Requires agencies to make available administrative correction mechanisms, include complaints about influential information in their Information Quality Act reports, and place the critical factual material and citations relied on for rules and guidance in rulemaking dockets (or agency guidance records) with public notice and opportunity to comment when notice-and-comment applies. Sets definitions for “evidence,” “influential information or evidence,” and the Information Quality Act; instructs agencies to maximize public access to critical factual material as allowed by FOIA, the Privacy Act, copyright, and trade-secret law; and prohibits any new appropriations for implementing the Act or its amendments.
Official title: Information Quality Assurance Act of 2025
Introduced December 1, 2025 by Lisa C. McClain · Last progress February 25, 2026