Interest in improving awareness of the quality of federal statistics led to the formation of the Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. The committee selected and studied topics with a methodological impact on the quality of federal statistics. The reports of these groups were published as statistical policy working papers and have been discussed by federal statisticians, economists, managers, and private-sector persons interested in the quality of federal statistics. Most of the work of the committee has focused on surveys sponsored by federal agencies and is analyzed in terms of components of total survey error.