Senate Appropriators Advance Census Funding Bill for FY 2026

Senate Appropriators Advance Census Funding Bill for FY 2026

The Senate Appropriations Committee passed their version of the Commerce Justice Science (CJS) Appropriations legislation for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY 2026) by a 19-10 vote on July 17, 2025, having resolved the dispute that interrupted the last attempted markup on July 10.

The Senate FY 2026 CJS bill offers less funding than both President Trump and the House Appropriations Committee, but includes important data quality-focused report language supported by The Census Project on the American Community Survey and the 2026 Census Test.

The Senate bill would provide $1.52 billion for the Census Bureau, nearly $138 million more than the level enacted in FY 2025, but also more than $156 million short of President Trump’s budget request and the House CJS Appropriations Subcommittee-passed bill, unfortunately far shy of the $2 billion recommended by the Census Project to make needed investments long neglected.

The Senate bill proposes $328.5 for the Current Surveys and Programs account (on par with the FY 2025 enacted level) and $1.054 billion for the Periodic Censuses and Programs account (nearly $138 million more than the FY 2025 enacted level).

It is unlikely that the Senate CJS bill will make it to the Senate floor before the current fiscal year ends on September 30.

The full House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to meet on their version of the FY 2026 bill on July 24.

The accompanying Senate committee report language supported by The Census Project includes:

• “American Community Survey [ACS].—The census stakeholder and data user communities are interested in ensuring the integrity, utility, and reliability of data from the ACS. Given that the Census Bureau did not fully release 1 year ACS estimates in 2021, the Committee requests an update on steps the Census Bureau has taken and intends to take to modernize the ACS, especially increasing the survey’s sample size, expanding nonresponse follow up operations, and reducing respondent burden. The Committee seeks specific feedback estimating the cost of these and any other ACS enhancements that the Census Bureau is considering. The Committee also directs the Census Bureau to report on how improvements to the ACS relate to the Bureau’s broader operational trans formation efforts. The Committee directs the Bureau to provide a report addressing these matters within 180 days of enactment of this act.”
• “Census Test.—Fiscal year 2026 is a crucial year in the ramp up to the 2030 Census, as the Census Bureau is scheduled to conduct the 2026 Census Test in six geographically and demographically diverse field sites nationwide and with a nationally representative sample of households. The Committee urges the Census Bureau to prioritize and protect funding and contracts necessary to ensure the objectives of the 2026 Census Test are fully realized.”

The Senate report includes other language that may be of interest to stakeholders, including:

• “Data Sets.—The Committee notes the recent removal or modification of various Census and the Bureau of Economic Analysis [BEA] data sets that were previously publicly available. The Committee’s questions about these changes remain unanswered. The Committee directs the Census Bureau and BEA, within 30 days of enactment of this act, to provide a briefing on the scope of the removal and modifications to the data sets. The Committee also directs the Census Bureau and BEA to provide the Committee with a report, within 180 days of enactment of this act, containing a list of all data sets that were removed or modified as a result of recent executive orders or other directives. The report shall also assess why the data sets were removed or modified and how users of these data products can access them in their original, unaltered forms.”
• “Termination of Advisory Committees.—The Committee directs the Census Bureau, in consultation with BEA and within 30 days of the enactment of this act, to provide a report on the advisory committee terminations, which occurred in February 2025. The report should include a complete explanation of why these committees were terminated and a plan detailing how the Department will receive input from external stakeholders in the absence of these advisory committees.”
• “Research and Evaluation Reports.—The Committee notes that, earlier this year, the Census Bureau delayed key reports that help prepare for the 2030 Census and ongoing surveys. The Committee shares the interest of the census stakeholder and data user community in ensuring the integrity, utility, and reliability of data from ongoing surveys and the decennial census. The Committee requests a comprehensive report, within 180 days of enactment of this act, on how the Census Bureau plans to field the 2030 Census and other surveys. The report shall include estimated budgetary needs to prepare for and execute the decennial census.”
• “Effects of Field Office Closures.—The Committee notes that field office presence is integral to the successful execution of the decennial census and other census products. The Committee directs the Census Bureau to submit, no later than 180 days after enactment of this act, a report detailing: (1) the number and location of facilities, by quarter, with operations to carry out statutorily required functions of the Census Bureau; (2) a detailed description of the criteria the Census Bureau reviewed prior to any field office closure; (3) a detailed summary for transitioning the statutorily required functions of a facility that is no longer in service as of the date of enact of this act; (4) metrics for measuring performance of statutorily required functions at a program, project, or activity level disaggregated by region; (5) the number of full time equivalents, by quarter, hired to perform statutorily required functions hired under Schedule C or the Schedule Policy/Career; and (6) a detailed description of what actions or procedures the Census Bureau has implemented to monitor any impact to service delivery or to address service concerns from Federal clients in areas or regions where the Census Bureau has closed a facility.”
• “Utilizing Libraries and Community Partners for Census Surveys.—The Committee directs the Census Bureau to continue to conduct outreach to public libraries and other community technology centers to ensure that they are fully informed about and equipped to support residents’ participation in Census Bureau surveys. The Bureau should work with libraries, in coordination with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, as part of the overall strategy to maximize response to the ACS, other surveys, and the decennial Census. Such outreach should include coordinating with library organizations, providing libraries with informational materials, and offering webinars or conference presentations to library audiences, as appropriate for Census surveys and tests.”