LWVUS Joins Letter to Support Census Funding

LWVUS joined a letter to urge Congress to provide the U.S. Census Bureau with $2 billion in FY 2025 and to oppose any proposals that would use the agency as an offset to fund other programs in the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) appropriations bill.  

Dear Chair Shaheen, Ranking Member Moran, Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Cartwright,  

On behalf of The Census Project, a broad-based coalition of business, civic, human services, state and local government, education, and scientific organizations committed to supporting the U.S. Census Bureau’s mission to produce full, fair, complete, and accurate data, we are writing to express our support for funding the U.S. Census Bureau in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. Specifically, we urge Congress to provide the U.S. Census Bureau with $2 billion in FY 2025 and to oppose any proposals that would use the agency as an offset to fund other programs in the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) appropriations bill.  

FY 2025 is a pivotal year in the ramp up to the 2030 Census. It marks the midpoint in the decade-long planning process for the next constitutionally-mandated decennial census—the nation’s largest peacetime civilian initiative. In FY 2025, the Bureau will complete its first major 2030 Census milestone: selecting an operational design. The operational design will affect every facet of the 2030 Census, including the 2026 Census Test in which the Bureau will assess innovative systems and methods designed uniquely to ensure an inclusive, cost effective, and accurate 2030 count. Investing in decennial census preparations now will reduce the risk of requiring unplanned, additional funding in the peak years at the end of the decade. As we learned in the run up to the 2020 count, postponing planning for decennial operations introduces greater risk to a successful outcome.  

As the premier Federal statistical agency, the Census Bureau is responsible for conducting a wide range of activities beyond managing decennial census operations. In its proposed FY 2025 budget, the agency details numerous priorities and activities, including plans to restore and enhance the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP); sustain improvements to the Population Estimates program; initiate a new Puerto Rico Economic Survey; and continue implementation of the Data Ingest and Collection for the Enterprise (DICE) program, a more-advanced data collection platform.  

While we, as census stakeholders, are generally pleased the President’s FY 2025 request to Congress reflects a slight increase over the Bureau’s FY 2024 enacted level and would maintain  modernization efforts supported by census stakeholders, we are concerned that the Administration’s proposal falls short of the more robust investments The Census Project recommended for FY 2025 to deliver complete and accurate data for the nation. Specifically, we are concerned that the Administration’s budget falls short of necessary investments needed to support 2030 Census planning and to stabilize and enhance the American Community Survey (ACS)—the official, trusted, and public source of continuous, updated demographic, socioeconomic, and housing data used by public, private and non-profit sectors in every community across the country.

To empower the Census Bureau to embark on activities outlined in their FY 2025 budget, as well as others identified by census stakeholders, including improvements to the ACS, we urge Congress to provide the agency with $2 billion in FY 2025. Further, we strongly urge you to reject any proposals that would use the Census Bureau as a funding offset. The Bureau should not be perceived as an acceptable “piggyback” to support other programs funded by the CJS bill.  

Thank you for considering our views as you craft the FY 2025 CJS appropriations bill.  

See full list of signatories in the attachment.