The decennial funding cycle, which requires a ramp up over the course of ten years, is �a funding cycle that of course, Congress struggles with, because it�s a very regular one by logic standards, but hard one based on how Congress funds things,� according to Howard Fienberg, co-director of The Census Project, in a recent radio interview on the Federal News Network.
Unfortunately, just like in some prior decades, continuing resolutions and sequestration or similar across-the-board budget changes may not impact the average federal agency too badly, but Fienberg pointed out that there were tangible challenges to the 2020 Census from such moves, including the cancellation of almost all field testing in the run-up to the count.
While we�re still five years out from the decennial headcount itself, Fienberg noted, “A lot of the major decision making is going on in FY25,� making it critical to increase funding for the Census Bureau now.
Asked if “the blanket covers the bed,” meaning that the President’s budget request for FY 2025 provides enough to handle all of the Census Bureau’s regularly-required activities, he responded, “No.”
Referencing the funding recommendation from The Census Project for FY 2025, Fienberg pointed to funding to improve the American Community Survey (ACS) as a particular need.
Show host Tom Temin asked about the decline in public trust affecting response rates to census surveys, to which Fienberg answered that it only makes sense that response rates would fall given their broad decline across the insights industry, especially in classic modes.
Temin and Fienberg also discussed issues such as technology and learning from the ACS and other Census Bureau activities to help inform planning and improvement for the 2030 Census, the challenges in counting across different communities, regions and demographic groups, and other census policy issues on the horizon.
Listen to the full interview:
- “One reaction to 2025 Census budget request: good but not enough.” By Tom Temin. Federal News Network. April 2, 2024.
