January 2023 Census Project Update

Appropriations Update

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 funding process will begin soon. Rumor has it that the President will release the Administration’s FY 2024 budget proposal on March 9 (a month late), but census stakeholders are already encouraging him to set the right priorities.

In a January 11 letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), leaders of The Census Project, Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, NALEO Educational Fund, and Ready Nation called upon the Biden Administration to “prioritize funding for the U.S. Census Bureau and 2030 Census in its Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget submission.” The letter concluded that:

“The new, more fiscally conservative environment in Congress has the potential to complicate FY 2024 appropriations deliberations. It is possible that the President’s budget request will represent the high-water mark of the debate. To improve the Bureau’s chances of receiving a strong final funding level in FY 2024, the President should communicate clearly that the Census Bureau and 2030 Census preparations are major Administration priorities.”

Politico helped to draw attention to the letter.

House and Senate Appropriations Committees

The new Congress kicked off on January 3, but it took a while to sort out Congressional committees (which are still a little bit of a work in progress).

The makeup of the House Appropriations Committee is set, including a bunch of newcomers (though only Reps. Jake Ellzey (R-TX-06) and Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ-06) are freshmen).

On the GOP side, Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX-12) is the chair of the full committee, joined by Reps. Hal Rogers (R-KY-05) Robert Aderholt (R-AL-04), Mike Simpson (R-ID-02), John Carter (R-TX-31), Ken Calvert (R-CA-41) Tom Cole (R-OK-04), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL-26), Steve Womack (R-AR-03), Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN-03), Dave Joyce (R-OH-14), Andy Harris (R-MD-01), Mark Amodei (R-NV-02), Chris Stewart (R-UT-02), David Valadao (R-CA-22), Dan Newhouse (R-WA-04), John Moolenaar (R-MI-02), John Rutherford (R-FL-05), Ben Cline (R-VA-06), Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA-14), Mike Garcia (R-CA-27), Ashley Hinson (R-IA-02), Tony Gonzales (R-TX-23), Julia Letlow (R-LA-05), Michael Cloud (R-TX-27), Michael Guest (R-MS-03), Ryan Zinke (R-MT-01) Andrew Clyde (R-GA-09), Jake LaTurner (R-KS-02), Jerry Carl (R-AL-01), Stephanie Bice (R-OK-05), Scott Franklin (R-FL-18), Jake Ellzey (R-TX-06) and Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ-06).

Democrat Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) is the ranking member of the full committee, joined by Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-MD-05), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-09), Sanford Bishop (D-GA-02), Barbara Lee (D-CA-12), Betty McCollum (D-MN-04), Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD-02), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-25), Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28), Chellie Pingree (D-ME-01), Mike Quigley (D-IL-05), Derek Kilmer (D-WA-06), Matt Cartwright (D-PA-08), Grace Meng (D-NY-06), Mark Pocan (D-WI-02), Pete Aguilar (D-CA-33) Lois Frankel (D-FL-22), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12), Norma Torres (D-CA-35), Ed Case (D-HI-01), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY-13), Josh Harder (D-CA-09), Jennifer Wexton (D-VA-10), David Trone (D-MD-06), Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14), Susie Lee (D-NV-03), and Joe Morelle (D-NY-25).

The House Commerce Justice Science (CJS) Subcommittee has jurisdiction over funding for the Census Bureau. Republican Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY-05) is the chair of the subcommittee, joined by Reps. Robert Aderholt (R-AL-04), John Carter (R-TX-31), Ben Cline (R-VA-06), Mike Garcia (R-CA-27), Tony Gonzales (R-TX-23), Andrew Clyde (R-GA-09) and Jake Ellzey (R-TX-06).

Democrat Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA-08) is the ranking member of the subcommittee, joined by Reps. Grace Meng (D-NY-06), Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD-02), David Trone (D-MD-06), Joe Morelle (D-NY-25) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03).

The Senate Appropriations Committee rosters are set, even though subcommittee rosters are not yet determined. There are a few new faces to the committee (though only Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) was just elected).

Democrat Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) is chair of the full committee, joined by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jon Tester (D-MT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Coons (D-DE), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Gary Peters (D-MI).

Republican Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) is ranking member of the full committee, joined by Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Jerry Moran (R-KS), John Hoeven (R-ND), John Boozman (R-AR), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), John Kennedy (R-LA), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Katie Britt (R-AL), Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Deb Fischer (R-NE).

Policy Update

House Oversight and Accountability Committee

Census Bureau oversight and authorization in the House falls under the newly renamed House Oversight and Accountability Committee, which recently finalized its roster (including a lot of freshmen). The Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Subcommittee, which used to have jurisdiction over the Bureau, was eliminated, so it appears that jurisdiction will rest with the full committee.

Republican Rep. James Comer (R-KY-01) is the chairman, joined by Jim Jordan (R-OH-04), Mike Turner (R-OH-10), Paul Gosar (R-AZ-09), Virginia Foxx (R-NC-05), Glenn Grothman (R-WI-06), Gary Palmer (R-AL-06), Clay Higgins (R-LA-03), Pete Sessions (R-TX-17), Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05), Nancy Mace (R-SC-01), Jake LaTurner (R-KS-02), Pat Fallon (R-TX-04), Byron Donalds (R-FL-19), Kelly Armstrong (R-ND At-Large), Scott Perry (R-PA-10), William Timmons (R-SC-04), Tim Burchett (R-TN-02), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA-14), Lisa McClain (R-MI-09), Lauren Boebert (R-CO-03), Russell Fry (R-SC-07), Anna Luna (R-FL-13), Chuck Edwards (R-NC-11), Nick Langworthy (R-NY-23) and Eric Burlison (R-MO-07).

Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD-08) is the ranking member, joined by Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC At-Large), Stephen Lynch (D-MA-08), Gerry Connolly (D-VA-11), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08), Ro Khanna (D-CA-17), Kweisi Mfume (D-MD-07), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14), Katie Porter (D-CA-47), Cori Bush (D-MO-01), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA-34), Shontel Brown (D-OH-11), Melanie Stansbury (D-NM-01), Robert Garcia (D-CA-42), Maxwell Frost (D-FL-10), Becca Balint (D-VT At-Large), Summer Lee (D-PA-12), Greg Casar (D-TX-35), Jasmine Crockett (D-TX-30), Dan Goldman (D-NY-10) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL-23).

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee

The senate committee with primary oversight and authorization jurisdiction over the Census Bureau is the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Democrat Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) is the chair, joined by Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).

Republican Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is the ranking member, along with Sens. Ron Johnson (R-WI), James Lankford (R-OK), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Rick Scott (R-FL), Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Roger Marshall (R-KS).

New Report Discusses Implications of the Census Bureau’s Blended Base

The estimation method for the Census Bureau’s annual population estimates starts with a population base and then adds or subtracts estimated yearly incremental change to that base. In the past, the Decennial Census counts have provided the estimates base, but the 2020 Census detailed data needed for the base was not available in time to use with the 2021 and 2022 population estimates, so the Census Bureau staff developed a new methodology called the PEP (Population Estimates Program) blended base. In a Standard Deviations blog post, Dr. William P. O’Hare discussed how a new report assessed the implications of the PEP blended base for children, because children (ages 0 to 17) had a 2.1 percent undercount in the 2020 Census compared to a 0.25 percent overcount for adults.

Census Bureau News

Census Bureau Director Rob Santos laid out in a blog the Bureau’s priority areas for 2023, including modernizing surveys, expanding administrative records, public engagement, internal Bureau engagement, and modernizing economic statistics.

The U.S. Census Bureau announced the beginning of data collection for the 2022 Economic Census, noticed earlier in the month.

The Bureau released a “Proof of Concept” giving data users an opportunity to review how a new disclosure avoidance methodology would affect an upcoming 2020 Census data product (the Detailed Demographic and Housing Characteristics File A (Detailed DHC-A)).

U.S. Census Bureau economists are set to present research findings at the annual meeting of the American Economic Association (AEA) and Allied Social Science Associations (ASSA) January 6–8.

Census Bureau Data Releases

The U.S. Census Bureau released 5-year national and regional geographic mobility and migration estimates from the 2020 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC).

The Bureau released migration statistics from the 2016-2020 American Community Survey (ACS). These data tables highlight the geographic mobility of people between counties, metropolitan statistical areas, minor civil divisions in some states, and municipalities (municipios) in Puerto Rico.

The U.S. Census Bureau released new social, economic, housing and demographic statistics for the 118th Congress from the 2021 ACS. The four Data Profiles are available for all 435 congressional districts on the Census Bureau’s FTP site and through a web-based lookup tool on the ACS website. The My Congressional District data tool has also been updated for the 118th Congress.

The Bureau released new data from phase 3.7 of the experimental Household Pulse Survey (HPS) on January 5 and January 25.

The Bureau released data from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey (BTOS) on January 5 and January 19, a survey that measures business conditions on an ongoing basis. The BTOS is the successor to the Small Business Pulse Survey (SBPS).

The Bureau released the first errata tables for the 2020 Census Count Question Resolution (CQR) operation.

The Bureau announced the release of data for Oklahoma and adjusted college graduate earnings to 2020 dollars in the Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) experimental data product. PSEO now includes data on 680 institutions, which cover approximately 26% of all college graduates.

The U.S. Census Bureau and AmeriCorps announced the release of the 2021 Current Population Survey (CPS), Civic Engagement and Volunteering (CEV) Supplement Microdata File. It is the most robust longitudinal survey about volunteerism and other forms of civic engagement in the United States.

New Business Formation Statistics (BFS) for December 2022 were released.

News You Can Use

Below are several articles posted on The Census Project home page in January 2023. For a complete listing, go to: https://thecensusproject.org/recent-media/.

Proposed Changes to Federal Standards for Collecting and Reporting Race/Ethnicity Data: What Are They and Why do they Matter?
KFF
January 31, 2023

Redistricting lawsuits could shape the 2024 battle for House control
Roll Call
January 30, 2023

Government Proposes Overhaul of Race Categories in Census and Other Surveys
The Wall Street Journal
January 27, 2023

Biden-Harris Administration Unveils Better Data Collection Plans for LGBTQI+ Community
Nextgov
January 24, 2023

Redefinition of rural brings more funding opportunities to small towns
The Journal Gazette
January 22, 2023

Shifting Seats
The American Redistricting Project
January 18, 2023

2023 Redistricting Control
The American Redistricting Project
January 18, 2023

Advancing Equity with Census Data
Planetizen
January 16, 2023

How many state legislative districts were renamed or eliminated after the 2020 census?
Ballotpedia
January 13, 2023

New Yorkers blame high taxes and strict mandates for abandoning state
CBS 6 Albany
January 11, 2023

The Myth of American Inequality
RealClear Politics
January 9, 2023

New census estimates show a tepid rise in U.S. population growth, buoyed by immigration
Brookings
January 4, 2023