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NIST Director Gallagher to Co-Chair White House Standards Committee

Whether it is to promote the development of a nationwide "Smart Grid" for electricity, optimize cyber security in federal information technology systems, or develop an effective and interoperable health IT system, technical standards play a major role, and federal agencies must work effectively with private-sector partners to ensure these efforts succeed. Toward these ends, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Director Patrick Gallagher and Department of Justice Deputy Assistant Attorney General Philip Weiser will co-chair a new Subcommittee on Standards that has been established at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).

Part of the OSTP National Science and Technology Council Committee on Technology, this interagency group will provide high-level leadership so federal agencies are strategically focused and actively engaged on critical standards-related issues. In turn, the improved coordination is intended to ensure that agencies can work in a responsive and timely fashion with the private sector so that effective standards are developed and put into practice to meet national needs. The group will reinforce the ability of the federal government to work in partnership with the private sector to address the standards needed to solve national problems.

This subcommittee will also work closely with the Interagency Committee on Standards Policy (ICSP), which is chaired by Belinda Collins of NIST. The Subcommittee on Standards will provide direction and guidance to the ICSP, and will rely on the ICSP to coordinate interagency implementation of standards policy, assess progress, and develop potential policy options or guidance with the goal of removing barriers to effective standards development or use.

For more information, see the blog post by U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra at www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/03/24/providing-leadership-standards-address-national-challenges.

Released March 30, 2010, Updated January 20, 2023