Risk Assessment
Federal Focus' involvement in risk assessment issues began largely in 1989 when it initiated a series of well-attended roundtables with federal officials, academics, public interest groups, and business entities to discuss the possible need for, and desirable contents of, a Presidential Executive Order on risk assessment and risk management in order to provide greater consistency, objectivity, and clarity in the use of this tool by various federal agencies.
Federal Focus published the results of that review in 1991 in Toward Common Measures: Recommendations for a Presidential Executive Order on Environmental Risk Assessment and Risk Management Policy. Although many of the Federal Focus recommendations were reportedly embraced enthusiastically by the Bush Administration, and it was reported in mid-1992 that an Executive Order on the subject had been drafted and would be soon presented to the President, the 1992 Campaign and Election intervened and the order was never finalized. (And the reported draft Executive Order was never made public.)
Subsequently, however, many of the principles recommended by Federal Focus gained the attention of federal, state, and local officials, and many have since been implemented to some degree by the Clinton Administration in E.O. 12866 and internal agency guidance documents. The Federal Focus recommendations also apparently contributed to greater congressional interest and involvement in risk assessment issues, including the extensive congressional debate over risk assessment legislation in the 103d and 104th Congresses.