The House Commerce Justice Science (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee approved legislation funding the U.S. Census Bureau in Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 on July 16, 2025 by a 9-6 vote.
The House CJS bill provides $1.6765 billion for the Bureau in FY 2026 — $294 million above the FY25 enacted level and the same as President Trump’s proposed budget. It provides $288.5 million for Current Surveys and Programs ($40 million below the FY25 enacted level) and $1.388 billion for Periodic Censuses and Programs ($334 million above the FY25 enacted level).
The bill included a pair of legislative provisions similar to language in the House FY 2025 CJS bill:
- “SEC. 556. None of the funds made available by this or any other Act may be used to allow the United States Census Bureau to include aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States in rendering apportionment determinations in subsequent decennial censuses.”
- “SEC. 605. None of the funds in this Act may be used to enforce involuntary compliance, or to inquire more than twice for voluntary compliance with any survey conducted by the Bureau of the Census.”
Sec. 556 is like the House’s Sec. 559 in FY 2025 and Sec. 605 is similar to the House’s Sec. 621 in FY 2025. Neither provision was part of the final funding law for FY 2025. Some stakeholders are concerned about any provisions like Sec. 556 that could impact the decennial counting of undocumented immigrants. Even more stakeholders are opposed to Sec. 605, which would appear to prevent the Census Bureau from making more than two inquiries with respondents of any Bureau survey (as explained in a stakeholder letter in October 2024).
While far from meeting the $2 billion funding recommendation from Census Project stakeholders (echoed by a stakeholder letter and letters from House and Senate), the increase from the House so far, same as the Administration’s requested increase, should be viewed as a positive – one that Congress should continue to build on at this crucial moment in the decennial cycle and when the American Community Survey (ACS) is in dire need of modernization. By contrast, the legislative riders present, at minimum, a distraction from the Bureau’s constitutional mission and may require significant financial infusions in the future to offset their impacts.
House CJS Subcommittee Approves FY 2026 Census Spending
The House Commerce Justice Science (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee approved legislation funding the U.S. Census Bureau in Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 on July 16, 2025 by a 9-6 vote.
The House CJS bill provides $1.6765 billion for the Bureau in FY 2026 — $294 million above the FY25 enacted level and the same as President Trump’s proposed budget. It provides $288.5 million for Current Surveys and Programs ($40 million below the FY25 enacted level) and $1.388 billion for Periodic Censuses and Programs ($334 million above the FY25 enacted level).
The bill included a pair of legislative provisions similar to language in the House FY 2025 CJS bill:
- “SEC. 556. None of the funds made available by this or any other Act may be used to allow the United States Census Bureau to include aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States in rendering apportionment determinations in subsequent decennial censuses.”
- “SEC. 605. None of the funds in this Act may be used to enforce involuntary compliance, or to inquire more than twice for voluntary compliance with any survey conducted by the Bureau of the Census.”
Sec. 556 is like the House’s Sec. 559 in FY 2025 and Sec. 605 is similar to the House’s Sec. 621 in FY 2025. Neither provision was part of the final funding law for FY 2025. Some stakeholders are concerned about any provisions like Sec. 556 that could impact the decennial counting of undocumented immigrants. Even more stakeholders are opposed to Sec. 605, which would appear to prevent the Census Bureau from making more than two inquiries with respondents of any Bureau survey (as explained in a stakeholder letter in October 2024).
While far from meeting the $2 billion funding recommendation from Census Project stakeholders (echoed by a stakeholder letter and letters from House and Senate), the increase from the House so far, same as the Administration’s requested increase, should be viewed as a positive – one that Congress should continue to build on at this crucial moment in the decennial cycle and when the American Community Survey (ACS) is in dire need of modernization. By contrast, the legislative riders present, at minimum, a distraction from the Bureau’s constitutional mission and may require significant financial infusions in the future to offset their impacts.
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