# OMB Memorandum M-19-23 The Office of Management and Budget memorandum of **10 July 2019** that told federal agencies how to implement Title I of the [[Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act]]. It is the document that created the practical shape of three agency roles the Act names but barely describes: the Chief Data Officer, the Evaluation Officer, and the **Statistical Official**. Its importance is out of proportion to its form. 5 U.S.C. § 314 gives the Statistical Official two sentences and no authority; M-19-23's Appendix C supplies the job — agency champion for data quality, agency champion for confidentiality protection and appropriate data access, a seat on the agency's data governance body, and the requirement that the official hold "the standing and authority to perform the functions" with "sufficient independence." A footnote adds that OMB expects these to be full-time positions. None of that is statutory, which means none of it requires an act of Congress to withdraw. Set the memo's expectations against what the roster actually looks like in [[Statistical Officials Crosswalk]]. ## See also - [[Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act]] - [[Statistical Officials Crosswalk]] - [[Statistical Policy Directive No. 1]] - [[Office of Management and Budget]] - [[Federal Statistical System Tree]]