Appropriations Update
House Appropriations Committee Advances FY 2026 Census Funding Bill
As reported by The Census Project, on September 10, 2025, by a vote of 34 to 28, the House Appropriations Committee approved its version of the Fiscal Year 2026 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations bill, which funds the U.S. Census Bureau. During the lengthy markup session, members considered several amendments, none of which impacted the Census Bureau’s funding level nor its programs and surveys.
As The Census Project summarized in a recent blog, the bill would allocate $1.6765 billion for the Census Bureau in Fiscal Year 2026, which is $294 million above the agency’s FY25 enacted level and the same as President Trump’s proposed budget. It would provide $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 House proposed level is also $156 million more than the Senate Appropriations Committee’s recommended funding level in their version of the FY 2026 CJS bill.
In addition, the House CJS appropriations bill includes 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.”
Prior to the committee’s consideration of the bill, The Census Project Co-Directors sent all committee members a letter expressing concerns about how Section 605 could negatively affect the Census Bureau’s non-response follow up operations overall. In addition, a dozen business groups, led by the Insights Association, communicated similar concerns about Section 605. The Senate version of the FY 2026 CJS bill does not contain language similar to Sections 556 and 605. Therefore, the final version of the FY 2026 CJS appropriations bill will need to reconcile if the House language is included, modified, or rejected outright. As of the end of September, the outlook for passage of the final FY 2026 CJS appropriations bill was unclear.
At press time, it was also unclear if Congress and the Administration would agree to pass a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the Federal government open when the current fiscal year ends on September 30. The Census Project is monitoring developments and will report on the implications of a CR or government shutdown for the Census Bureau.
In a related development, additional information about the Administration’s FY 2026 request for the Census Bureau was released in a September 2 report issued by the Congressional Research Service.
Policy Update
Independent CSAC Meeting
On Thursday, September 18, the Independent Census Scientific Advisory Committee (I-CSAC) held its inaugural meeting. I-CSAC was established to ensure the work of the original CSAC continues and to provide the Census Bureau with “scientific expertise, independent review, and constructive feedback.” The meeting’s proceedings can be viewed at Independent Census Scientific Advisory Committee (I-CSAC).
GAO Report on Federal Statistical Agencies
On September 24, the General Accountability Office (GAO) released a report, “Highlights of a Forum: Expert Views on the Federal Statistical System.” The report summarizes the outcome of an August 2024 gathering of experts and statistical agency officials who identified various challenges and opportunities facing the federal statistical system, including the Census Bureau, across a range of topics. Census Project Co-Director Mary Jo Mitchell and Census Project Advisory Committee Member Steve Pierson, American Statistical Association, were among the participants.
DC Journal Publishes ACS Opinion Piece
On September 22, the DC Journal published an opinion piece authored by Ken Simonson, Chief Economist of the Associated General Contractors of America. The column, “Protecting a Tool that Builds a Efficient, Thriving Economy,” expresses support for the American Community Survey and urges steps be taken to “stabilize and strengthen the ACS. Maintain its mandatory status, invest in modernization, and increase sample sizes for rural areas.”
Census Bureau Announces New Acting Director
In a September 19 memo, the Census Bureau announced that Mr. George Cook would be “Performing the Duties of Director.” He takes over the position from Dr. Ron Jarmin who had been serving as the acting director since the previous director, Robert Santos, departed in February. Dr. Jarmin will continue to serve as the agency’s deputy director and chief operating officer. More information about Mr. Cook is available in a recent Census Project blog. As of the end of September, it was not clear if the Administration was planning to formally nominate Mr. Cook as the permanent director—a position that requires confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
U.S. Representative Veasey Introduces Anti Rigging Act
In a September 17 blog, The Census Project provided details about a bill, H.R. 4358, the Anti Rigging Act. The bill, which Representative Marc Veasy (D-TX-33) introduced in July, would allow for Congressional redistricting to mostly happen only once a decade following a decennial census headcount. It was referred to the House Judiciary Committee for further consideration.
U.S. Representative Robert Garcia Requests Information Regarding “New” Census
House Oversight & Reform Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia (D-CA-42) wrote to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Acting Census Director Ron Jarmin on August 29, 2025, requesting details on the President’s call for a new census and focusing it only on legal U.S. residents. More information about Representative Garcia’s request is available in a September 2 Census Project blog.
September Standard Deviations
In September, census stakeholders shared their views in The Census Project’s Standard Deviations blog series:
- On September 14, Allison Plyer and Cara Brumfield, co-Chairs of the Census Quality Reinforcement task force, published Section 605: A Threat to America’s Democracy.
- On September 5, Philip Rocco, chair and associate professor of political science at Marquette University and author of “Counting Like a State: How Intergovernmental Partnerships Shaped the 2020 US Census,” published State and Local Governments Can Safeguard Census Data Integrity.
Requests for Public Comments
Throughout September, The Census Project published several blogs, highlighting requests for public comments that may be of interest to census stakeholders:
- The U.S. Census Bureau seeks public comment by September 30, 2025, on “a new program which will allow businesses, state and local government and education agencies, and other entities normally reporting in private- and public-sector business surveys to provide us with Direct Digital Data Feeds.” More information and submission instructions are posted in the Federal Register.
- The U.S. Census Bureau seeks public comment on the collection, compilation and publication of export trade data. Comments are due by November 10, 2025. More information and submission instructions are posted in the Federal Register.
- The Census Bureau seeks public comment on the Annual Business Survey by November 3, 2025. More information and submission instructions are posted in the Federal Register.
Census Bureau Blogs
On September 2, John Creamer from the Census Bureau’s Social, Economic and Housing Statistics Division released a “Random Samplings” blog, “Comparing Poverty Measures: Development of the Supplemental Poverty Measure and Differences with the Official Poverty Measure.”
On September 11, a group of Census Bureau employees released a “Random Samplings” blog, “Understanding the 2024 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates.”
Census Bureau Releases
On September 25, the Census Bureau released the 2023 Business Dynamics Statistics (BDS). The data provide measures of business dynamics, such as job creation and destruction, establishment births and deaths, and firm startups and shutdowns for the economy overall and aggregated by establishment and firm characteristics.
On September 25 and September 11, the Census Bureau released data from the Business Trends and Outlooks Survey, a survey that measures business conditions and projections on an ongoing basis.
Using data from the Census of Governments, on September 24, the Census Bureau released three tables on 2025 Government Organization counts: Government Units by State, Local Governments by Type and State, and Special District Governments by Function and State.
On September 22, the Census Bureau released a report that concluded the U.S. centenarian population grew by 50 percent between 2010 and 2020. The report used data from the 2020 Census to inform its findings.
New Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER)/Line files in Shapefile, Geodatabase and GeoPackage formats, allowing data users to create custom, thematic maps from a variety of data sources were released on September 23.
The median monthly owner costs for U.S. homeowners with a mortgage increased to $2,035 in 2024 from $1,960 (inflation-adjusted) in 2023, according to new American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year estimates released on September 11.
On September 11, the Census Bureau released new Business Formation Statistics (BFS) for August 2025. The BFS provide timely and high frequency information on new business applications and formations in the United States.
In a September 9 release, the Census Bureau announced that according to the 2025 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement, real median household income was $83,730 in 2024, not statistically different from the 2023 estimate of $82,690. Further, the official poverty rate fell 0.4 percentage points to 10.6% in 2024.
On September 3, the Census Bureau released the Educational Attainment in the United States: 2024 table package examining the education level of adults age 18 and older by age, sex, race, nativity and other demographic and social characteristics. Data are based on statistics from the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement.
News You Can Use
Below are several articles posted on The Census Project home page in September 2025. For a complete listing, go to: 2025 Media – The Census Project
Childlessness on the rise in nearly all age groups
ABC News
September 24, 2025
Disappearing Federal Data: Implications for Addressing Health Disparities
KFF
September 23, 2025
Trump Administration’s End to Food Report ‘Eliminating Evidence of Hunger’
Newsweek
September 23, 2025
Protecting a Tool That Builds an Efficient, Thriving Economy
DC Journal
September 22, 2025
Incomes fell in 7 major US cities in 2024—where Americans earned less
CNBC
September 22, 2025
The Census Bureau is now headed by a Trump official in an acting position
NPR
September 19, 2025
Proposed US census changes could harm response rates, says letter
ResearchLive
September 16, 2025
11% of U.S. adults were uninsured in 2024, Census data shows
HealthExec
September 15, 2025
From Data to Decisions: How Cities Use ACS Data
National League of Cities
September 15, 2025
