In the report Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency (Martin, Straf, and Citro, 2001), one of the recommended practices is “a strong position of independence.” Each of the following parts gives one of the characteristics that is recommended to help accomplish this. In each case, explain how the recommendation would help ensure a position of independence for the agency.
a. “Authority for selection and promotion of professional, technical, and operational staff” (p. 6).
b. “Authority for statistical agency heads and qualified staff to speak about the agency’s statistics before Congress, with congressional staff, and before public bodies” (p. 6).