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This report discusses FY2017 appropriations (discretionary budget authority) for the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau), which make up the Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA) in the U.S. Department of Commerce.
The report will not be updated.The Administration's FY2017 budget request for ESA (except the Census Bureau, whose budget justification is published separately from ESA's) iswas $114.6 million, $5.6 million (5.2%) above the $109.0 million FY2016-enacted funding level. Of the $114.6 million, the $110.7 million requested for BEA exceedsexceeded the $105.1 million FY2016-enacted amount by $5.6 million (5.3%); the $4.0 million requested to fund ESA's policy support and management oversight iswas $83,000 (2.1%) more than the $3.9 million approved for FY2016.
The FY2017 request for the Census Bureau iswas $1,633.6 million, $263.6 million (19.2%) above the $1,370.0 million FY2016-enacted amount. The FY2017 request iswas divided between the bureau's two major accounts: Current Surveys and Programs would receive $285.3 million, a $15.3 million (5.7%) increase over the $270.0 million enacted for FY2016; Periodic Censuses and Programs—which include the decennial census, American Community Survey, economic census, and census of governments—would receive $1,348.3 million, $248.3 million (22.6%) more than the $1,100.0 million approved for FY2016.
On April 21, 2016, the Senate Committee on Appropriations reported S. 2837, the Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2017 (CJS), with recommended funding of $109.0 million for ESA (showing no separate breakout for BEA). The recommendation isamount was identical to ESA's FY2016 funding levelappropriation and $5.6 million (4.9%) below the FY2017 request. S. 2837, as reported, recommendsrecommended $1,518.3 million for the Census Bureau in FY2017, $148.3 million (10.8%) above the FY2016 appropriation and $115.3 million (7.1%) below the FY2017 request. Current Surveys and Programs wouldwas to receive $270.0 million, the same as the FY2016-enacted amountin FY2016 and $15.3 million (5.4%) less than requested for FY2017. Periodic Censuses and Programs would be funded at $1,248.3 million, $148.3 million (13.5%) more than enacted for FY2016 andbelow the FY2017 request. The $1,248.3 million for Periodic Censuses and Programs would have exceeded FY2016 funding by $148.3 million (13.5%) and been $100.0 million (7.4%) less than the FY2017 requestrequested for FY2017.
The House Committee on Appropriations approved the House FY2017 CJS appropriations bill, H.R. 5393, on June 7, 2016. The bill recommends $107.0 million in funding for ESARecommended funding for ESA was $107.0 million (with no separate breakout for BEA), $2.0 million (1.8%) less than enacted for FY2016 and approved by the Senate committee, and $7.6 million (6.7%) below the FY2017 request. The Census Bureau wouldwas to receive $1,470.0 million, $100.0 million (7.3%) above the FY2016 funding levelmore than in FY2016, $163.6 million (10.0%) less than requested for FY2017, and $48.3 million (3.2%) below the Senate committee's recommendation. The $270.0 million approvedrecommended for Current Surveys and Programs equalsequaled the FY2016-enacted and FY2017 Senate -committee-recommended amounts, and is $15.3 million (5.4%) under the FY2017 request. Funding for Periodic Censuses and Programs would be $1,200.0 million,was $15.3 million (5.4%) less than requested. The $1,200.0 million for Periodic Censuses and Programs was $100.0 million (9.1%) above the FY2016-enacted level, $148.3 million (11.0%) less than requested for FY2017the FY2017 request, and $48.3 million (3.9%) below what the Senate committee approved.
FY2017 CJS appropriations legislation was not enacted by the end of FY2016. Division A of the Further Continuing and Security AssistanceThe Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017, H.R. 2028244, P.L. 115-31, became law on May 5, 2017. It provided ESA with $107.3 million (showing no separate amount for BEA), $1.7 million (1.6%) less than enacted for FY2016 and recommended by the Senate committee, $7.3 million (6.4%) below the FY2017 request, and $300,000 (0.3%) more than the House committee approved. The $1,470.0 million for the Census Bureau in FY2017, including $270.0 million for Current Surveys and Programs and $1,200.0 million for Periodic Censuses and Programs, matched the House committee's recommendations., P.L. 114-254, funds the Census Bureau, BEA, and the rest of ESA at the FY2016 level, minus a 0.1901% reduction, through April 28, 2017. Under Section 152, however, the bureau may draw on money from Periodic Censuses and Programs at the rate necessary for conducting operations to maintain the 2020 census schedule.
This report discusses the FY2017 budget request, related congressional actions, and appropriations (discretionary budget authority) for the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau). These entities make up the Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA) in the U.S. Department of Commerce, which is funded under annual appropriations for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, and science and related agencies (CJS). The report focuses primarily on the Census Bureau, whose budget justification is published separately from ESA's and whose budget is far larger. Table 1, below, shows the FY2016-enacted and FY2017-requested amounts for ESA, BEA, and the Census Bureau, with its two major accounts. Also shown are the amounts recommended by the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations for ESA (with no separate breakouts provided for BEA) and the Census Bureau, as well as the FY2017-enacted amounts.
Table 1. ESA, BEA, and Census Bureau Appropriations, FY2016 and FY2017
Budget authority in millions of dollars
Administration and Agencies |
FY2016 Enacted |
FY2017 Request |
FY2017 House CommitteeReported |
FY2017 Senate Committee Reported |
FY2017 Enacted |
Economics and Statistics Administration (Except Census Bureau) |
$109.0 |
$114.6 |
$107.0 |
$109.0 |
$107.3 |
Policy Support and Management Oversight |
(3.9) |
(4.0) |
__ |
__ |
__ |
BEA |
(105.1) |
(110.7) |
__ |
__ |
__ |
Census Bureau |
1,370.0 |
1,633.6 |
1,470.0 |
1,518.3 |
1,470.0 |
Current Surveys and Programs |
(270.0) |
(285.3) |
(270.0) |
(270.0) |
(270.0) |
Periodic Censuses and Programs |
(1,100.0) |
(1,348.3) |
(1,200.0) |
(1,248.3) |
(1,200.0) |
Sources: The FY2016-enacted amounts are from the joint explanatory statement to accompany the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, H.R. 2029, P.L. 114-113, Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 161 (December 17, 2015), p. H9732. The FY2017-requested amounts are from U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Budget Estimates, Fiscal Year 2017, p. ESA-9; and U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau's Budget, Fiscal Year 2017, pp. CEN-15 and CEN-63. The FY2017 committee-reported amounts are from U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2017, report to accompany S. 2837, 114th Cong., 2nd sess., S.Rept. 114-239 (Washington, DC: GPO), pp. 13-14; and U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2017, report to accompany H.R. 5393, 114th Cong., 2nd sess., H.Rept. 114-605 (Washington, DC: GPO, 2016), p. 7.
The FY2017-enacted amounts are from the joint explanatory statement to accompany the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017, H.R. 244, P.L. 115-31, Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 163 (May 3, 2017), p. H3379.Note: Because of rounding, the amounts shown in parentheses under ESA and the Census Bureau may not add to the totals for these two entities.
The Economics and Statistics Administration provides policy support and, through the Commerce Department's Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, management oversight for the Bureau of Economic Analysis and Census Bureau. ESA's policy support staff conducts economic research and analyses "in direct support of the Secretary of Commerce and the Administration." ESA "monitors and interprets economic developments," together with "domestic fiscal and monetary policies," and "analyzes economic conditions and policy initiatives of major trading partners."1
The Bureau of Economic Analysis,2 like the Census Bureau, is one of 13 principal federal statistical agencies, each of whose primary mission is statistical work.3 According to the Administration's budget justification for ESA, "BEA's national, industry, regional, and international economic accounts present valuable information on key issues such as U.S. economic growth, regional economic development, inter-industry relationships, and the Nation's position in the world economy."4 The statistical measures produced by BEA include "gross domestic product (GDP), personal income and outlays, corporate profits, GDP by state and by metropolitan area, balance of payments, and GDP by industry."5
The Census Bureau6 conducts the decennial census under Title 13 of the United States Code, which also authorizes the bureau to collect and compile a great variety of other demographic, economic, housing, and governmental data. The bureau's activities include the production of Current Economic Statistics that provide wide-ranging, detailed data about the U.S. economy; Current Demographic Statistics—among which are intercensal demographic estimates, population projections, and Current Population Reports; and, in addition to the decennial census, the American Community Survey and two quinquennial censuses, the economic census and the census of governments.
The Administration's FY2017 budget request for the Economics and Statistics Administration (including BEA but not the Census Bureau) iswas $114.6 million, $5.6 million (5.2%) above the $109.0 million enacted for FY2016.7
Of the $114.6 million, $4.0 million wouldwas to fund ESA's policy support and management oversight. The request exceedsexceeded the $3.9 million FY2016 appropriation by $83,000 (2.1%). The rest of the FY2017 request, $110.7 million, wouldwas to go to BEA and would behave been $5.6 million (5.3%) more than the agency's $105.1 million FY2016-enacted funding level.8
The FY2017 budget justification for BEA notesnoted that the Census Bureau's "economic indicators program provides the essential data building blocks" for measures like GDP, gross domestic income, corporate profits, and GDP by industry.9 The two agencies proposeproposed working together to improve the timeliness and accuracy of the key economic indicators and expand their coverage, such as by including the real estate, health care, accommodations and food services, and administrative and waste management sectors in the Census Bureau's Quarterly Financial Report.10
Another new initiative for FY2017 would involvehave involved BEA's development of a "regional economic dashboard" featuring county-level GDP measures.11
The Administration's FY2017 budget request for the Census Bureau iswas $1,633.6 million, $263.6 million (19.2%) more than the FY2016-enacted amount of $1,370.0 million.12 As discussed later in this report, the increase iswas largely due to heightened preparations for the 2020 Decennial Census. Requested funding for the decennial census, by far the bureau's most costly and visible endeavor, rises steadily throughout each decade, peaks in the census year, and decreases steeply thereafter.13
The FY2017 request iswas divided between the bureau's two major accounts:
Of the entire budget request for ESA—$1,748.2 million if the Census Bureau is included—fully 77.1% iswas for Periodic Censuses and Programs; another 16.3% iswas for Current Surveys and Programs. The amounts for BEA and ESA's policy support and management oversight constituteconstituted relatively small proportions of the whole request, 6.3% and 0.2%, respectively. Figure 1, below, shows the percentage allocations for all these components of ESA.
The Current Surveys and Programs account consists of Current Economic Statistics and Current Demographic Statistics.
The FY2017 request for Current Economic Statistics iswas $194.7 million, $10.5 million (5.7%) more than the $184.2 million approved for FY2016.15
These statistics, from the major sources noted below, provide wide-ranging, detailed data about the U.S. economy.
For Current Demographic Statistics in FY2017, the budget request iswas $90.6 million, $4.8 million (5.6%) above the $85.8 million FY2016 funding level.29
These statistics include the following collections and analyses of demographic data.
Under this account—with an FY2017 budget request that, as previously mentioned, constitutesconstituted 82.5% of the total for the Census Bureau and 77.1% of the entire amount for ESA—the bureau has identified certain programs that it considersconsidered critical for creating "a data-driven government." They includeincluded the 2020 Decennial Census, American Community Survey (ACS), 2017 Economic Census, and 2017 Census of Governments.43 Below is a discussion of each program, followed by information about the bureau's new IT initiative, the Census Enterprise Data Collection and Processing System (CEDCaP), which will affect multiple data collections.
The U.S. Constitution requires a population census every 10 years, to serve as the basis for apportioning seats in the House of Representatives.44 Decennial census data also are used for within-state redistricting and in certain formulas that determine the annual distribution of more than $450 billion in federal funds to states and localities.45 In addition, census numbers are the foundation for constructing intercensal demographic estimates and population projections.46
The Administration requestsrequested $778.3 million for the 2020 Decennial Census in FY2017, a $179.4 million (30.0%) increase from the $598.9 million enacted for FY2016.47 The 2020 census request, which amounts towas 57.7% of the total for the Periodic Censuses and Programs account and 47.6% of the total for the Census Bureau, reflectsreflected the cyclical "ramp-up" of preparations for the next census and its designation by the bureau as a major initiative for FY2017.48
In presenting this request, the budget justification also proposesproposed amending the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (BBEDCA), as amended,49 to "allow an adjustment to the discretionary spending limits for the cyclical increase in decennial census operations."50 The document notesnoted that "without adequate funding in the decade's middle years," the bureau "is less able to test and implement cost-saving innovations; the result is an increase in any potential costs that might occur in later years from operational failures due to lack of sufficient testing."51 With respect to the next census, a "cap adjustment" could avoid "either a large emergency appropriation for a predictable funding need in 2020" or "trade-offs in other discretionary programs as Census needs squeeze out other spending."52 Such an adjustment "would begin no later than 2018."53 It "is was "not included as an adjustment to the proposed 2017 Budget caps at this time in order to present its merits first."54
Mandate to Control the Cost of the Census. As directed by Congress,55 the Census Bureau is attempting to design and conduct the 2020 census at a lower inflation-adjusted cost per housing unit than in 2010. In April 2015 congressional testimony, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) stated that the cost to enumerate each housing unit "escalated from around $16 in 1970 to around $94 in 2010, in constant 2010 dollars (an increase of over 500 percent)."56 At a total life-cycle cost approaching $13 billion, the 2010 census was the most expensive in U.S. history. Its cost was about 56% greater than the 2000 census total of $8.1 billion, in constant 2010 dollars.57
The bureau is focusing on 2020 census cost-control innovations in four major areas:
The bureau estimates that these innovations could save more than $5 billion.63 Its current estimate of the cost to repeat the 2010 design in the 2020 census is $17.8 billion, compared with $12.5 billion for a reengineered census.64
FY2017 Activities in Preparation for the 2020 Census. Activities to be undertaken in FY2017 include the research and tests summarized belowSummarized below are activities the bureau intended to undertake in FY2017. The budget justification cautionscautioned that insufficient funding for these activities will jeopardizeprevent the bureau's ability to conduct from conducting the 2018 census end-to-end test "with planned systems and operations integration."65 The 2018 test will be the final one before "2020 production" begins.66 If—according to what the budget justification maintainsmaintained—the bureau cannot prepare adequately for this test and thus cannot reduce the risk inherent in redesigning 2020 census operations,67 especially the technology supporting field work,68 it will have to opt for a less innovative, more expensive census.69
79Taking another "significant" step in FY2017, as the budget justification statesstated, the bureau willwas to begin the "very long and arduous" process of leasing space for six regional centers to support 2020 census operations.79
In addition, the bureau willwas to start "planning the 2020 Census Communications and Partnership Programs" in FY2017.8081 The 2020 paid advertising campaign will be a major part of the communications strategy, and the partnership program will seek to engage census stakeholders in communicating the importance of the enumeration to the public.81
Also, as required under Title 13, Section 141 (f)(1), of the United States Code, the bureau is to deliverdelivered the 2020 census topics to Congress by April 1on March 28, 2017.82 The bureau's 2015 national content test could be considered a preview of the topics to be covered in 2020. Each test household was asked to provide a telephone number and email address for the household; to provide the number of people living in the housing unit; to give each household member's name, sex83 The topics include gender, age, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and relationshiprelationship of each household member to the person completing the test form; and to state filling out the census form, and whether the housing unit wasis owned or rented.83
The American Community Survey, which the Census Bureau implemented nationwide in 2005 and 2006, is the replacement for the decennial census long form. From 1940 to 2000, the bureau used the long form to collect detailed socioeconomic and housing data from a representative sample of U.S. residents in conjunction with the once-a-decade count of the whole resident population.8485 The ACS covers about 3.5 million households a year.8586 It is sent monthly to small samples of the population, and the results are aggregated to produce data at regular intervals, ranging from yearly for areas with at least 65,000 people to every five years for areas with fewer than 20,000 people. The survey is conducted in every county of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and all Puerto Rican municipios. The bureau releases more than 11 billion ACS estimates every year on more than 40 topics.8687 For rural areas and small groups within the population, the ACS is the sole source of data on many of these topics.87
The Administration's FY2017 request for the ACS iswas $251.1 million, $20.2 million (8.7%) above the FY2016-enacted amount of $230.9 million.88
According to the budget justification, the Census Bureau's planned use for part of the FY2017 ACS funding iswas to develop or restore several operations designed to enhance data quality and secure cooperation from those selected to fill out the survey.
92In addition, at congressional direction,9293 the bureau proposesproposed to
The economic census originated in the early 19th century, when "Congress responded to a rapid increase in industrial activity" by instructing 1810 census enumerators to "'take an account of the several manufactures within their several districts, territories and divisions.'"9596 As the budget justification statesstated, the modern economic census, conducted every five years, is "the primary source of facts about the structure and functioning of the U.S. economy."9697 Data from this census "provide the foundation for other key measures of economic performance," including GDP and the Bureau of Economic Analysis's national income and product accounts.9798 Indeed, "practically all major federal government economic statistical series are directly or indirectly dependent on the economic census."98
The Administration requestsrequested $127.3 million for economic census activities in FY2017, a $2.0 million (1.6%) increase over the $125.2 million enacted for FY2016.99
FY2017 will bewas the third year of the six-year funding cycle for the 2017 Economic Census,100101 which willwas to "collect data on over 29 million establishments."101102 FY2017 activities, building toward the 2017 census, willwere to center on implementing and testinga test of the CEDCaP system, to collect and process for collecting and processing data from all sectors of the economy, and atogether with a test of response tracking system.102.103 As a cost-control measure, the bureau has planned a 2017 census with "100% Internet" reporting.103104 The bureau's plans callcalled for using administrative records to supply information for establishments that dodid not respond electronically and to reduce the reporting burden on businesses.104
The census of governments is the Census Bureau's other major quinquennial census. It has been conducted since 1957 in conjunction with the economic census.105106 The budget justification statesstated that these two censuses "cover nearly all" of GDP.106107 The census of governments is the principal source of information about the structure and functioning of state and local governments.107108 It provides information about government organization and intergovernmental relationships; the number of full-time and part-time government employees; and finances, including revenues, expenditures, and assets of public pension systems.108109 In non-census years, the bureau compiles government statistics from a sample of state and local governments. The National Academy of Sciences' Committee on National StatisticsCommittee on National Statistics at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has "identified Census Bureau data on state and local governments as the only comprehensive source on the fiscal welfare" of these governments, which, the budget justification notesnoted, account for about 12% of GDP and 15% of the civilian labor force.109
The Administration's FY2017 request for the census of governments iswas $12.3 million, $3.4 million (38.1%) more than the FY2016-enacted amount of $8.9 million.110 The proposed increase reflects the current phase of this program, in which the bureau will begin collecting and processing111 The request reflected the collection and initial processing of 2017 census data. To control expenses and reduce the reporting burden on governments, the bureau plans to substituteproposed substituting administrative records and "central collection methods among the states" for field work, insofar as possible, and expandexpanding the use of electronic state-level data collection.111
FY2017 will bewas the third year for the Census Enterprise Data Collection and Processing initiative,112113 funded under the Periodic Censuses and Programs account. CEDCaP is an overarching IT system, encompassing such major data collections as the decennial census, ACS, economic census, and census of governments.
According to the budget justification, CEDCaP "will create an integrated and standardized system of systems that will offer shared data collection and processing across all censuses and surveys." This initiative is expected to "consolidate costs by retiring unique, survey-specific systems and redundant capabilities and bring a much greater portion of the Census Bureau's total IT expenditures under a single, integrated and centrally managed program." The bureau also will "halt the creation of program-specific systems and put in place a solution that will be mature and proven for the 2020 Census."113
In contrast to CEDCaP, the bureau currently has "six unique systems" to manage survey samples; "twenty unique systems to manage the different modes of data collection, data capture, and field control; and five major unique survey and census data processing systems."114
The Administration requestsrequested $104.0 million for CEDCaP in FY2017.115116 The budget justification doesdid not give the FY2016 funding level for this initiative.116
The bureau's FY2017 plans for CEDCaP includeincluded the delivery of several systems to support the 2017 Economic Census and the Company Organizational Survey/Annual Survey of Manufactures, as well as the 2017 test of the decennial census.117118
In April 2015 congressional testimony, the Government Accountability Office identified CEDCaP as "an IT investment in need of attention" and "projected to cost about $548 million through 2020."118119 Two months earlier, GAO had reported that CEDCaP
consists of 14 projects, 4 of which are related to the 2020 Decennial Census Internet response option. Particular attention to this area is warranted in order to avoid repeating the mistakes of the 2010 Decennial Census, in which the bureau had to abandon its plans for the use of handheld data collection devices, due in part to fundamental weaknesses in its implementation of key IT management practices.119
On April 21, 2016, the Senate Appropriations Committee reported S. 2837, the Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2017, with recommended funding of $109.0 million for the Economics and Statistics Administration (showing no separate breakout for BEA). The recommendation iswas identical to the FY2016 funding level for ESA and $5.6 million (4.9%) below the FY2017 request of $114.6 million.120
As reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee, S. 2837 recommendsrecommended $1,518.3 million for the Census Bureau in FY2017, $148.3 million (10.8%) above the FY2016 funding level of $1,370.0 million and $115.3 million (7.1%) below the $1,633.6 million requested for FY2017.121
Current Surveys and Programs would receivehave received $270.0 million, the same as the FY2016-enacted amount and $15.3 million (5.4%) below the FY2017 request of $285.3 million.122
Periodic Censuses and Programs would behave been funded at $1,248.3 million, $148.3 million (13.5%) more than the $1,100.0 million enacted for FY2016 and $100.0 million (7.4%) less than the $1,348.3 million FY2017 request.123124 The bill providesprovided that $2.6 million of the amount for Periodic Censuses and Programs iswas to be transferred to the Commerce Department's Office of Inspector General (OIG) for continued "oversight and audits of periodic censuses" and "independent recommendations" to improve 2020 census operations.124
The Senate committee directsdirected that the bureau should "continue to work to bring down the cost of the 2020 Decennial Census to a level less than the 2010 Census, not adjusting for inflation."125126 The committee further directsdirected the bureau to "work with Federal, State, tribal, local, and other partners" to obtain the administrative records necessary for conducting a less expensive, "more efficient" nonresponse follow-up in 2020;126127 maintain "cost estimates and implementation timelines" for the CEDCaP initiative; and make CEDCaP "fully secured against cyber attacks and intrusions" before putting any of it into operation.127
Expressing support for the ACS, the committee notesnoted that it "is often the primary or only source of data available to States, localities, and Federal agencies that need adequate information on a wide range of topics," but directsdirected the bureau to provide the committee with "an update" about efforts to reduce, if possible, the number of ACS questions and ensure that the survey "is conducted as efficiently and unobtrusively as possible."128
The House Committee on Appropriations approved the House version of the FY2017 CJS appropriations bill, H.R. 5393, on June 7, 2016. The bill recommendsrecommended $107.0 million in funding for ESA (with no separate breakout for BEA), $2.0 million (1.8%) less than the $109.0 million enacted for FY2016 and approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee for FY2017, and $7.6 million (6.7%) below the $114.6 million FY2017 request.129
H.R. 5393, as reported by the House Appropriations Committee, wouldwas to fund the Census Bureau at $1,470.0 million in FY2017, $100.0 million (7.3%) above the $1,370.0 million FY2016 funding level, $163.6 million (10.0%) less than the $1,633.6 million requested for FY2017,130131 and $48.3 million (3.2%) below the Senate committee's recommended $1,518.3 million.
The $270.0 million approved for Current Surveys and Programs, which equalsequaled the FY2016-enacted and FY2017 Senate committee-recommended amounts, iswas $15.3 million (5.4%) under the $285.3 million FY2017 request.131
Funding for Periodic Censuses and Programs wouldwas to be $1,200.0 million, $100.0 million (9.1%) above the $1,100.0 million FY2016-enacted level, $148.3 million (11.0%) less than the FY2017 request of $1,348.3 million,132133 and $48.3 million (3.9%) below the $1,248.3 million approved by the Senate committee. The House bill, like its Senate counterpart, would haveprovided that $2.6 million of the appropriation for this account was to be transferred to the Commerce Department's OIG for Census Bureau oversight.133134 In addition, H.R. 5393 would have withheld 50% of the funds for 2020 census IT work, including CEDCaP, withheld until the Secretary of Commerce gave the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and GAO an expenditure plan for CEDCaP. The House committee directsdirected the bureau to improve its estimate of the 2020 census life-cycle cost and, within 60 days of the bill's enactment, provide the committee and GAO with a report on the steps the bureau willwould take to meet this directive. The House committee also expressesexpressed concern about the "burdensome nature of the ACS" and directsdirected the bureau "to focus on its core, constitutionally mandated decennial Census activities."134
FY2017 CJS appropriations legislation was not enacted by the end of FY2016.
The Census Bureau, BEA, and rest of ESA were funded through December 9, 2016, at the FY2016 level, with a 0.496% reduction, under the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2017. The act iswas Division C of the Continuing Appropriations and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017, and Zika Response and Preparedness Act, H.R. 5325, P.L. 114-223, which was signed into law on September 29, 2016.
Division A of the Further Continuing and Security Assistance Appropriations Act, 2017, H.R. 2028, P.L. 114-254, enacted on December 10, 2016, providesprovided funding at the FY2016 level, minus a 0.1901% reduction, through April 28, 2017. Under Section 152 of the legislation, however, the Census Bureau maycould draw on money from Periodic Censuses and Programs—an account that includes the decennial census and other major programs discussed in this report, such as the economic census, the census of governments, and intercensal demographic estimates, together with geographic and data-processing support—at the rate necessary for conducting operations to maintain the 2020 census schedule.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017, H.R. 244, P.L. 115-31, became law on May 5, 2017. Division B of the legislation funded ESA at $107.3 million (with no separate amount shown for BEA), $1.7 million (1.6%) less than enacted for FY2016 and recommended by the Senate Appropriations Committee, $7.3 million (6.4%) below the FY2017 request, and $300,000 (0.3%) more than the House Appropriations Committee approved.
Census BureauThe $1,470.0 million provided for the Census Bureau in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017, included $270.0 million for Current Surveys and Programs and $1,200.0 million for Periodic Censuses and Programs. These amounts matched the House committee's recommendations. The act, like S. 2837 and H.R. 5393, stipulated that $2.6 million of the appropriation for Periodic Censuses and Programs would be transferred to the Commerce Department's OIG for Census Bureau oversight.
Author Contact Information
1. |
U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Budget Estimates, Fiscal Year 2017, p. ESA-2. The FY2017 budget justification for the Census Bureau was presented as a separate document. |
|
2. |
For BEA's statement of organization, see 45 Federal Register 85496, December 29, 1980. |
|
3. |
Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, Statistical Programs of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2016, September 30, 2015, pp. 4-5. |
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4. |
U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Budget Estimates, Fiscal Year 2017, p. ESA-2. |
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5. |
Ibid. |
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6. |
The Census Bureau was established as a permanent office on March 6, 1902. See 32 Stat. 51. |
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7. |
U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Budget Estimates, Fiscal Year 2017, p. ESA-9. |
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8. |
Ibid. |
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9. |
Ibid., p. ESA-34. |
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10. |
Ibid., pp. ESA-34 and ESA-35. |
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11. |
Ibid., p. ESA-6. |
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12. |
U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau's Budget, Fiscal Year 2017, pp. CEN-15 and CEN-63. |
|
13. |
For an illustration of how fluctuating funding levels for the decennial census affected total Census Bureau funding in FY2007 through FY2016 (building to a 2010 census peak in FY2010, dropping off sharply in FY2011, then starting to increase again in FY2014 through FY2016, with increased preparations for the 2020 census), see CRS Report R44409, Overview of FY2017 Appropriations for Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS), by [author name scrubbed], pp. |
|
14. |
U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau's Budget, Fiscal Year 2017, pp. CEN-15 and CEN-63. |
|
15. |
Ibid., p. CEN-15. |
|
16. |
Ibid., p. CEN-26. |
|
17. |
Ibid., p. CEN-23. |
|
18. |
Ibid., p. CEN-26. |
|
19. |
U.S. Census Bureau, "Value of Construction Put in Place," at https://www.census.gov/econ/overview/co0300.html. |
|
20. |
U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau's Budget, Fiscal Year 2017, p. CEN-23. |
|
21. |
Ibid., p. CEN-26. |
|
22. |
Ibid., p. CEN-23. |
|
23. |
Ibid., p. CEN-27. |
|
24. |
Ibid., p. CEN-23. |
|
25. |
Ibid., p. CEN-28. |
|
26. |
Ibid., p. CEN-23. |
|
27. |
Ibid., p. CEN-28. |
|
28. |
Ibid., p. CEN-23. |
|
29. |
Ibid., p. CEN-15. |
|
30. |
Ibid., p. CEN-45. |
|
31. |
U.S. Census Bureau, "About the Current Population Survey," at http://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/about.html. |
|
32. |
U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau's Budget, Fiscal Year 2017, p. CEN-45. |
|
33. |
Ibid., p. CEN-24. |
|
34. |
Ibid., p. CEN-46. |
|
35. |
Ibid., p. CEN-24. |
|
36. |
As explained in U.S. Census Bureau, "Geographic Terms and Concepts," at http://www.census.gov/geo/reference/gtc/gtc_pr.html#municipio, "The primary legal divisions of Puerto Rico are termed 'municipios.' For data presentation purposes, the Census Bureau treats a municipio as the equivalent of a county in the United States." |
|
37. |
U.S. Census Bureau, "About Population Estimates," at http://www.census.gov/popest/about/index.html. |
|
38. |
The FY2016 budget justification for the Census Bureau, at http://osec.doc.gov/bmi/budget/FY16CJ/Census_2016_CJ.pdf, p. CEN-39, |
|
39. |
U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau's Budget, Fiscal Year 2017, p. CEN-47. |
|
40. |
Ibid., p. CEN-24. |
|
41. |
Ibid., pp. CEN-47 and CEN-48. |
|
42. |
Ibid., p. CEN-24. |
|
43. |
Ibid., pp. CEN-70 and CEN-88. |
|
44. |
U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 2, clause 3, as modified by Section 2 of the 14th Amendment. |
|
45. |
CRS Report R40551, The 2010 Decennial Census: Background and Issues, by [author name scrubbed], p. 1. |
|
46. |
Ibid. |
|
47. |
U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau's Budget, Fiscal Year 2017, p. CEN-87. |
|
48. |
Ibid., p. CEN-3. |
|
49. |
Title 2, Sections 900-922, of the United States Code. BBEDCA establishes limits on discretionary spending and adjustments to these limits for certain purposes. The act was amended by the Budget Control Act of 2011, P.L. 112-25, to establish the current spending limits through FY2021. For more information on the Budget Control Act, see CRS Report R41965, The Budget Control Act of 2011, by [author name scrubbed], [author name scrubbed], and [author name scrubbed]. |
|
50. |
U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau's Budget, Fiscal Year 2017, p. CEN-9. |
|
51. |
Ibid., p. CEN-10 . |
|
52. |
Ibid., p. CEN-9. |
|
53. |
Ibid., p. CEN-10. |
|
54. |
Ibid., p. CEN-11. |
|
55. |
Testimony of then-Census Bureau Director John H. Thompson, in U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 2020 Census: Challenges Facing the Bureau for a Modern, Cost-Effective Survey, hearing, 114th Cong., 1st sess., April 20, 2015, p. 1, at http://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/2020-census-challenges-facing-the-bureau-for-a-modern-cost-effective-survey. |
|
56. |
U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2020 Census: Recommended Actions Need to Be Implemented before Potential Cost Savings Can Be Realized, GAO-15-546T, April 20, 2015, p. 2. |
|
57. |
Ibid., p. 1. |
|
58. |
U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau's Budget, Fiscal Year 2017, p. CEN-3. |
|
59. |
Ibid. |
|
60. |
Ibid. |
|
61. |
Ibid., p. CEN-95. |
|
62. |
Ibid., p. CEN-3. |
|
63. |
Testimony of then-Census Bureau Director John H. Thompson, in U.S. Congress, House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, Subcommittee on Government Operations and Subcommittee on Information Technology, Preparing for the 2020 Census: Will the Technology Be Ready?", hearing, 114th Cong., 1st sess., November 3, 2015, p. 2, at https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/preparing-for-the-2020-census-will-the-technology-be-ready/. |
|
64. |
Ibid. |
|
65. |
U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau's Budget, Fiscal Year 2017, p. CEN-109. |
|
66. |
Ibid., p. CEN-112. |
|
67. |
Ibid., p. CEN-91. |
|
68. |
For a discussion of the bureau's innovative, but partially failed, technology initiative in the 2010 census, see CRS Report R40551, The 2010 Decennial Census: Background and Issues, by [author name scrubbed]. |
|
69. |
U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau's Budget, Fiscal Year 2017, p. CEN-91. |
|
70. |
Ibid. |
|
71. |
Ibid. |
|
72. |
Ibid. |
|
73. |
Ibid., p. CEN-93. |
|
74. |
Ibid., p. CEN-96. |
|
75. |
Ibid., p. CEN-93. |
|
76. |
Ibid., p. CEN-107. |
|
77. |
Ibid., p. CEN-96. |
|
78. |
| |
79. |
|
|
80. |
Ibid., p. CEN- |
|
81. |
Ibid. , p. CEN-94. |
|
82. |
Ibid. |
|
83. |
Ibid. See also U.S. Census Bureau, "Census Bureau Submits Subjects for 2020 Census to Congress," press release CB17-47.
|
|
For more information about the ACS and the long form, see CRS Report R41532, The American Community Survey: Development, Implementation, and Issues for Congress, by [author name scrubbed]. |
||
U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau's Budget, Fiscal Year 2017, p. CEN-114. |
||
Ibid. |
||
Ibid. |
||
Ibid., p. CEN-87. |
||
Ibid., pp. CEN-117 and CEN-118. |
||
Ibid., p. CEN-118. |
||
Ibid. |
||
Ibid. |
||
Ibid. |
||
Ibid. |
||
U.S. Bureau of the Census, "History of the Economic Census: In Business Since 1810," at http://www.census.gov/econ/census/about/history.html. |
||
U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau's Budget, Fiscal Year 2017, p. CEN-4. |
||
Ibid., p. CEN-71. |
||
Ibid. |
||
Ibid., p. CEN-69. |
||
Ibid., p. CEN-72. |
||
Ibid., p. CEN-74. |
||
Ibid., p. CEN-72. |
||
Ibid., p. CEN-73. |
||
Ibid., p. CEN-74. |
||
Ibid., p. CEN-79. |
||
Ibid., p. CEN-70. |
||
Ibid., p. CEN-79. |
||
Ibid. |
||
Ibid. Italics in original. The report of the National |
||
U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau's Budget, Fiscal Year 2017, p. CEN-69. |
||
Ibid., p. CEN-81. |
||
Ibid., p. CEN-7. |
||
Ibid. |
||
Ibid., p. CEN-136. |
||
Ibid., p. CEN-108. |
||
According to information transmitted by the Census Bureau's budget office to the author, the FY2016 appropriation for CEDCaP was $77.6 million as of April 25, 2016, the |
||
U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau's Budget, Fiscal Year 2017, p. CEN-137. |
||
U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2020 Census; Recommended Actions Need to Be Implemented before Potential Cost Savings Can Be Realized, GAO-15-546T, April 20, 2015, pp. 12 and 14. |
||
U.S. Government Accountability Office, High-Risk Series: An Update, GAO-15-290, February 2015, p. 41. See also CRS Report R40551, The 2010 Decennial Census: Background and Issues, by [author name scrubbed]. |
||
U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2017, report to accompany S. 2837, 114th Cong., 2nd sess., S.Rept. 114-239 (Washington, DC: GPO, 2016), p. 13. |
||
Ibid., p. 14. |
||
Ibid. |
||
Ibid. |
||
Ibid. |
||
Ibid., pp. 14-15. |
||
Ibid., p. 15. |
||
Ibid. |
||
Ibid. |
||
U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2017, report to accompany H.R. 5393, 114th Cong., 2nd sess., H.Rept. 114-605 (Washington, DC: GPO, 2016), p. 7. |
||
Ibid. |
||
Ibid. |
||
Ibid. |
||
Ibid. |
||
Ibid., p. 8. |