Appropriations Update
The U.S. Census Bureau remains funded until the latest Continuing Resolution keeping the federal government open expires on January 30, 2026 (following an extended government shutdown).
The U.S. House and Senate have yet to approve final Fiscal Year 2026 (FY 2026) funding for the Census Bureau by passing a final Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations law, but appropriations leaders on both sides of the Capitol have indicated they have reached an agreement by which they hope to advance the CJS and other funding bills when Congress returns in January.
As a reminder, on October 30, The Census Project sent a letter, signed by 67 organizations, to leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees urging them to provide the Census Bureau with no less than $1.6765 billion in the final FY 2026 CJS appropriations bill. In addition, the letter also expresses concern about language (Section 605 of the House CJS bill) that would render the decennial census and American Community Survey (ACS) voluntary, while also restricting the Bureau’s ability to conduct non-response follow-up operations across all of its surveys.
Policy Update
Joyce Meyer Confirmed as Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs
The U.S. Senate confirmed Joyce Meyer as Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs by a 53–43 vote on December 18, 2025. Meyer will oversee the Census Bureau, among other parts of the Department of Commerce.
In her statement accepting her nomination, Meyer commented on her appreciation and goals for the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), including “Ensuring the integrity & accuracy of data,” “Leveraging technology to improve speed of data and analysis,” and “Achieving efficiency.”
As noted in the October Update, Meyer was approved earlier by the Senate Commerce Committee by a 15-13 vote on October 21.
GAO Report on Census Bureau DICE Data Collection Program
A new report focused on the U.S. Census Bureau’s data collection modernization program, known as Data Ingest and Collection for the Enterprise (DICE), has been released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). “DICE is the Bureau’s effort to collect data in a consistent, standardized, and scalable manner across all of its surveys.” GAO’s report lays out the timeline for DICE implementation, with the decennial and ACS on the timeline for 2027. Read more in The Census Project blog.
House Government and Oversight Committee Passes Equal Representation Act
On December 2, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee passed an amended version of H.R. 151, the Equal Representation Act, by a vote of 20-19. The bill, as introduced, would exclude noncitizens from the apportionment base and add a citizenship question to the decennial census. However, prior to mark-up, it was amended to require only a citizenship question, require the publication of those data, and exclude all noncitizens from congressional apportionment. The change makes HR 151 consistent with a similar bill introduced in the Senate, S. 2205. The Population Association of America and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights submitted letters to the committee for the record. It is not clear when the bill will be scheduled for consideration on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The MACA Act Would Add Census Question on Dual Citizenship – H.R. 6486
Rep. Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ-08) introduced the Make Allegiances Clear Again Act (MACA Act) (H.R. 6486), legislation that would add a question to the decennial census on people holding both U.S. citizenship and a foreign citizenship. Read more in The Census Project blog.
White House Releases President’s Management Agenda
In a December 8 memorandum, Russell Vought, Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, released the President’s Management Agenda (PMA). The overarching purpose of the agenda, which is legally required, is to articulate the Administration’s management reform objectives and goals. The goals are grouped under three major headings: Shrink the Government & Eliminate Waste; Ensure Accountability for Americans; and Deliver Results, Buy American. Under the Deliver Results, Buy American heading, a subheading, “Leverage Technology to Deliver Faster, More Secure Services,” states the Administration’s desire to “eliminate data silos and duplicative data collection.” The subheading also lists a goal to “ensure secure, digital-first services that are built for real people, not bureaucracy.” Read more in The Census Project blog.
Census Bureau Recovery Plan for Economic Indicators Post-Shutdown
The Census Bureau has provided “an overview of how the Economic Indicators Division of the U.S. Census Bureau has planned to recover from” the federal government shutdown this Fall. The “Bureau’s plan to issue missed PFEI releases must result in delivery of time series with no gaps or missing reference periods and where all reference periods remain comparable” and “ensure that release dates return to their original timing as quickly as possible.” The shutdown did not affect the August reference period. While response data for September is available, it requires further processing, and certain indicators requiring field collection were not collected. There was no collection or processing in October. Most interestingly, even though the shutdown ended “on November 12, all collection and processing for November reference periods forward cannot begin until previous periods are completed.” The plan lays out the Census Bureau’s strategy to accelerate and condense processing schedules to get back on track as quickly as possible. For more, read The Census Project blog.
Requests for Public Comments
Throughout December, The Census Project highlighted Federal Register Notice requests for public comments that may be of interest to census stakeholders:
- FRN on Survey of State Government Research and Development
- FRN on 2026 National Survey of Children’s Health
- Federal Register Notice on Puerto Rico Community Survey and ACS Revisions
- Follow-up FRN on Monthly Retail Surveys
Census Bureau Releases
Newly released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s historical America’s Families and Living Arrangements tables show that fewer than half (47%) of U.S. households in 2025 were married couples — a significant shift from 50 years earlier, when nearly two-thirds (66%) were.
The U.S. Census Bureau released new data products from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS), a survey that measures business conditions and projections on an ongoing basis, on December 4, December 18 and December 31, 2025.
The Bureau updated the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES) and the OnTheMap application to include: 2023 employment data; Backfilled data for Mississippi from 2019 to 2022; Updated geography to the 2024 TIGER/Line vintage.
On December 12, the Bureau released new Business Formation Statistics (BFS) for September, October, November 2025. The BFS provide timely and high frequency information on new business applications and formations in the United States and Puerto Rico.
The Bureau released new population estimates, projections and other demographic data up to the year 2100 for 21 countries and areas in the International Database (IDB).
News You Can Use
Below are several articles posted on The Census Project home page in December 2025. For a complete listing, go to: 2025 Media – The Census Project
Alabama lawmaker running for different district after state Senate map change
WSFA
December 29, 2025
What’s Worse Than Cherry-Picked Government Data? None At All
Bloomberg
December 29, 2025
Redistricting cases head for rock bottom
SCOTUSblog
December 22, 2025
Study Shows Florida Lost Over $11 Billion in Federal Funding to 2020 Census Undercount
Florida Daily
December 16, 2025
Census Bureau field tests will explore whether U.S. postal workers can collect household data in 2030
Milwaukee Independent
December 14, 2025
‘Bedrock’ federal data sets are disappearing, as statistical agencies face upheaval
Federal News Network
December 10, 2025
These are the Economic Reports We’re Still Waiting On After the Shutdown
Investopedia
December 4, 2025
GOP advances bill to add citizenship question to 2030 census
The Washington Times
December 2, 2025
