Introduction
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.
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 |
|
|
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 |
|
|
Current Surveys and Programs |
(270.0) |
(285.3) |
(270.0) |
(270.0) |
|
|
Periodic Censuses and Programs |
(1,100.0) |
(1,348.3) |
(1,200.0) |
(1,248.3) |
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.
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.
Economics and Statistics Administration
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
Bureau of Economic Analysis
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
Census Bureau
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 FY2017 Budget Request
Economics and Statistics Administration (Except the Census Bureau)
The Administration's FY2017 budget request for the Economics and Statistics Administration (including BEA but not the Census Bureau) is $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 would fund ESA's policy support and management oversight. The request exceeds the $3.9 million FY2016 appropriation by $83,000 (2.1%). The rest of the FY2017 request, $110.7 million, would go to BEA and would be $5.6 million (5.3%) more than the agency's $105.1 million FY2016-enacted funding level.8
The FY2017 budget justification for BEA notes 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 propose 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 involve BEA's development of a "regional economic dashboard" featuring county-level GDP measures.11
Census Bureau
The Administration's FY2017 budget request for the Census Bureau is $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 is 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 is 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, and 17.5% of the total requested for the bureau;
- Periodic Censuses and Programs—the account that funds the decennial census—would receive $1,348.3 million, $248.3 million (22.6%) more than the $1,100.0 million approved for FY2016, and 82.5% of the bureau's total request.14
Of the entire budget request for ESA—$1,748.2 million if the Census Bureau is included—fully 77.1% is for Periodic Censuses and Programs; another 16.3% is for Current Surveys and Programs. The amounts for BEA and ESA's policy support and management oversight constitute 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.
Current Surveys and Programs
The Current Surveys and Programs account consists of Current Economic Statistics and Current Demographic Statistics.
Current Economic Statistics
The FY2017 request for Current Economic Statistics is $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.
- Business statistics come from sources including current retail, wholesale, and service trade reports and "are important inputs" to BEA's estimates of gross domestic output and to "the Federal Reserve Board and Council of Economic Advisers for the formulation of monetary and fiscal policies and analysis of economic policies."16
The budget request for business statistics in FY2017 is $44.0 million, $1.4 million (3.4%) more than the $42.6 million enacted for FY2016.17 - Construction statistics "provide national performance indicators for the construction sector of the economy." They are derived from data on building permits, housing starts, and "construction put in place,"18 which refers to the estimated total dollar value of construction work done in the nation each month.19
The FY2017 request for construction statistics is $16.8 million, $4.0 million (31.6%) above the $12.7 million enacted for FY2016.20 - Manufacturing statistics come from sources such as the Annual Survey of Manufactures and the Annual Capital Expenditures Survey of capital investments by private nonfarm businesses. They supplement data from the economic census and, by measuring "the overall performance of the U.S. manufacturing sector," provide a "critical economic benchmark."21
The $21.3 million requested for manufacturing statistics in FY2017 is $2.1 million (10.9%) more than the FY2016-enacted amount of $19.2 million.22 - General economic statistics originate with certain administrative records of, for example, the Internal Revenue Service, as well as surveys conducted by the Census Bureau, including the Quarterly Financial Report survey on the finances of U.S. corporations. General economic statistics, according to the Administration's budget justification for the Census Bureau, "are essential to understanding the changing economic structure of the United States."23
The FY2017 request for general economic statistics is $64.0 million, $1.1 million (1.7%) above the $62.9 million enacted for FY2016.24 - Foreign trade statistics, from sources such as U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Canadian agencies, "provide official monthly statistics on imports, exports, and balance of trade for all types of merchandise moving between the United States and its international trading partners."25
The amount requested for foreign trade statistics in FY2017 is $34.9 million, $110,000 (0.3%) more than the $34.8 million enacted for FY2016.26 - Government statistics are compiled from surveys of state and local governments. They cover the "revenues, expenditures, debt, and financial assets" of these governments, as well as government employment.27
The $13.8 million FY2017 request for government statistics is $1.8 million (14.6%) above the FY2016-enacted amount of $12.0 million.28
Current Demographic Statistics
For Current Demographic Statistics in FY2017, the budget request is $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.
- Foremost among the household surveys under Current Demographic Statistics is the monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) of about 58,000 U.S. households that the Census Bureau has conducted for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) "for more than 50 years," with about two-thirds of the funding supplied by BLS. Although the CPS's primary purpose is "to provide detailed labor force characteristics of the civilian non-institutional population and the monthly unemployment rate, a leading economic indicator," the survey also produces housing vacancy data and includes regular supplements that gather additional data.30 As examples, the CPS conducts the Annual Social and Economic Supplement every March, a Fertility Supplement every other June, a School Enrollment Supplement every October, and a Voting and Registration Supplement every other November.31 Further, "other agencies sponsor supplements to the CPS in other months." These supplements cover topics such as "child support and alimony, tobacco use, volunteers, and food security."32
The FY2017 request for household surveys is $57.8 million, $1.2 million (2.1%) more than the FY2016-enacted amount of $56.6 million.33 - The bureau's population and housing analyses include the Current Population Reports on various characteristics of the U.S. population; research concerning income, poverty, and wealth in the United States; and housing statistics compiled from the Housing Vacancy Survey.34
To fund population and housing analyses in FY2017, the request is $10.4 million, $991,000 (10.6%) more than the $9.4 million enacted for FY2016.35 - The bureau's intercensal demographic estimates provide, between the decennial censuses, a series of population estimates by age, sex, race, and Hispanic ethnicity for the total United States, states, and counties; estimated population totals for sub-county areas and metropolitan areas; estimates by age and sex for Puerto Rico and the municipios;36 and national-, state-, and county-level estimates of housing units.37 For FY2017, the bureau proposes combining under intercensal estimates the production of population projections as well as estimates.38 Projections analyze administrative data and population trends to indicate the future sizes of the U.S. and state populations.39
The FY2017 request for intercensal demographic estimates, perhaps reflecting their proposed broader scope, is $11.9 million, $1.8 million (18.0%) above the $10.1 million FY2016-enacted amount.40 - The bureau's demographic surveys sample redesign provides improved sampling methods, sample designs, and data processing systems "essential to maintain the relevance, accuracy, and quality" of "the major household surveys" that the bureau conducts under the sponsorship of other federal agencies.41
The FY2017 request for demographic surveys sample redesign is $10.5 million, $796,000 (8.2%) above the $9.7 million enacted for FY2016.42
Periodic Censuses and Programs
Under this account—with an FY2017 budget request that, as previously mentioned, constitutes 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 considers critical for creating "a data-driven government." They include 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 2020 Decennial Census
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 requests $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 to 57.7% of the total for the Periodic Censuses and Programs account and 47.6% of the total for the Census Bureau, reflects 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 proposes 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 notes 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 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:
- Before past censuses, the bureau conducted address canvassing to try to ensure that it had the correct addresses and map locations of all U.S. residences. For the 2020 census, the bureau proposes canvassing the whole nation, as in previous censuses, but, insofar as possible, adding new addresses to the "address frame using geographic information systems and aerial imagery instead of sending Census employees to walk and physically check 11 million census blocks."58
- The 1970 through 2010 censuses were primarily mail-out, mail-back operations. The bureau proposes replacing as much of the mail phase of the 2020 census as possible by offering the public an online response option.59
- In past censuses, the bureau generally followed up with nonrespondents by telephoning them or visiting their homes. The bureau proposes using administrative records, "data the public has already provided to the government,"60 as well as "information from commercial sources,"61 to reduce the extent of nonresponse follow-up in 2020.
- For whatever nonresponse follow-up remains necessary, the bureau proposes "using sophisticated operational control systems" to send employees into the field and "track daily progress."62
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 below. The budget justification cautions that insufficient funding for these activities will jeopardize the bureau's ability to conduct 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 maintains—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
- The bureau plans to conduct a nationwide 2016 address canvassing test early in FY2017. It will involve procedures for both in-office and in-field canvassing and will have to "ensure the address quality and housing unit coverage" required for a successful census. It also will have to "demonstrate the feasibility of collecting address and spatial data on devices that range from laptops to smartphones," running on "multiple operating systems."70
- The 2017 test of the decennial census will "mirror key dates and milestones" for the 2020 census.71 One 2020 operation that will undergo its first field test in 2017 is "update enumerate," which will involve updating certain addresses in the bureau's Master Address File/Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing System and enumerating the corresponding housing units simultaneously and will use the nonresponse follow-up strategy planned for 2020.72 Part of the 2017 test "will be conducted in an urban site with representative groups" whose English-language proficiency is limited and who historically have been difficult to enumerate.73 The bureau will examine as well "comprehensive data capture solutions for paper-based data collection operations"74 and will test responses via the Internet and real-time data processing "using cloud services."75 The 2017 test will focus, too, on developing systems to make field operations more efficient, including "automated enumeration instruments" on handheld computers and "dynamic case management" for streamlining field operations.76 More broadly, the test will focus on integrating operations and systems, particularly with the bureau's new information technology (IT) system, CEDCaP.77
- In FY2017, the bureau will continue researching and testing various administrative records to determine their suitability for the 2020 census. This work will include "testing the coverage and quality of the records for obtaining information from non-responding housing units."78
Taking another "significant" step in FY2017, as the budget justification states, the bureau will begin the "very long and arduous" process of leasing space for six regional centers to support 2020 census operations.79
In addition, the bureau will start "planning the 2020 Census Communications and Partnership Programs" in FY2017.80 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 deliver the 2020 census topics to Congress by April 1, 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, sex, age, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and relationship to the person completing the test form; and to state whether the housing unit was owned or rented.83
The American Community Survey
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.84 The ACS covers about 3.5 million households a year.85 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.86 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 is $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 is to develop or restore several operations designed to enhance data quality and secure cooperation from those selected to fill out the survey.
- Field representative refresher training gives ACS field workers additional classroom instruction in interacting respectfully with respondents, clarifies difficult survey concepts, and explains field procedures. The budget justification states that the absence of this annual training since FY2012 has heightened the risk of reduced ACS data quality, schedule delays, cost increases, and respondent complaints.89
- The bureau proposes to develop and conduct the same annual refresher training for its ACS contact center staff as it seeks to reinstate for its field representatives.90
- General performance reviews of field workers by regional office supervisors reinforce correct ACS interviewing techniques, field procedures, and conduct with respondents. The budget justification states that "continued failure to conduct these reviews, which have been deferred due to resource constraints," risks the same negative consequences as noted above concerning the suspension of field representative refresher training.91
In addition, at congressional direction,92 the bureau proposes to
- conduct new research, such as on data collection procedures, intended to reduce ACS "respondent burden" and increase "program efficiency";93 and
- continue an ongoing "comprehensive review," of all ACS questions, which could result in alternative data sources being used for certain information or some questions being reworded.94
The 2017 Economic Census
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.'"95 As the budget justification states, the modern economic census, conducted every five years, is "the primary source of facts about the structure and functioning of the U.S. economy."96 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.97 Indeed, "practically all major federal government economic statistical series are directly or indirectly dependent on the economic census."98
The Administration requests $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 be the third year of the six-year funding cycle for the 2017 Economic Census,100 which will "collect data on over 29 million establishments."101 FY2017 activities, building toward the 2017 census, will center on implementing and testing the CEDCaP system, to collect and process data from all sectors of the economy, and a response tracking system.102 As a cost-control measure, the bureau has planned a 2017 census with "100% Internet" reporting.103 The bureau's plans call for using administrative records to supply information for establishments that do not respond electronically and to reduce the reporting burden on businesses.104
The 2017 Census of Governments
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.105 The budget justification states that these two censuses "cover nearly all" of GDP.106 The census of governments is the principal source of information about the structure and functioning of state and local governments.107 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.108 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 Statistics 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 notes, account for about 12% of GDP and 15% of the civilian labor force.109
The Administration's FY2017 request for the census of governments is $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 processing 2017 census data. To control expenses and reduce the reporting burden on governments, the bureau plans to substitute administrative records and "central collection methods among the states" for field work, insofar as possible, and expand the use of electronic state-level data collection.111
Census Enterprise Data Collection and Processing System
FY2017 will be the third year for the Census Enterprise Data Collection and Processing initiative,112 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 requests $104.0 million for CEDCaP in FY2017.115 The budget justification does not give the FY2016 funding level for this initiative.116
The bureau's FY2017 plans for CEDCaP include 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.117
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."118 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
Senate Action
Economics and Statistics Administration (Except the Census Bureau)
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 is identical to the FY2016 funding level for ESA and $5.6 million (4.9%) below the FY2017 request of $114.6 million.120
Census Bureau
As reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee, S. 2837 recommends $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 receive $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 be 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.123 The bill provides that $2.6 million of the amount for Periodic Censuses and Programs is 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 directs 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."125 The committee further directs 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;126 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 notes 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 directs 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
House Action
Economics and Statistics Administration (Except the Census Bureau)
The House Committee on Appropriations approved the House version of the FY2017 CJS appropriations bill, H.R. 5393, on June 7, 2016. The bill recommends $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
Census Bureau
H.R. 5393, as reported by the House Appropriations Committee, would 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 FY2017,130 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 equals the FY2016-enacted and FY2017 Senate committee-recommended amounts, is $15.3 million (5.4%) under the $285.3 million FY2017 request.131
Funding for Periodic Censuses and Programs would 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,132 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 have $2.6 million of the appropriation for this account transferred to the Commerce Department's OIG for Census Bureau oversight.133 In addition, H.R. 5393 would have 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 directs 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 will take to meet this directive. The House committee also expresses concern about the "burdensome nature of the ACS" and directs the bureau "to focus on its core, constitutionally mandated decennial Census activities."134
Continuing Appropriations Acts, 2017
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 is 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, provides funding at the FY2016 level, minus a 0.1901% reduction, through April 28, 2017. Under Section 152 of the legislation, however, the Census Bureau may 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.