Appropriations Update
In a flurry of pre-Thanksgiving activity, Congress moved legislation impacting funding for the U.S. Census Bureau on related parallel tracks, as the Census Project explained in a recent blog.
Continuing Resolution
To keep the government fully open, Congress passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the federal government (H.R. 6363) with two separate deadlines, January 19 and February 2, 2024, for funding all Federal agencies. The President signed it into law on November 16, 2023.
Under this measure, The Census Bureau is funded at its FY 2023 level through February 2, 2024.
House Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations legislation
Meanwhile, on November 15, the U.S. House of Representatives attempted to bring to the floor H.R. 5893, its version of the FY 2024 CJS appropriations bill, which funds the Census Bureau. A procedural motion to begin debate failed by a vote of 198-223.
The House CJS bill was discharged from the Appropriations Committee a couple of weeks prior, on November 2, including $1.354 billion for the Census Bureau, which is $131 million below the agency’s FY 2023 enacted level and approximately $252 million below the amount requested by the President. A Census Project blog outlined the funding levels, details from the accompanying report, and a provision requiring the Census Bureau to exclude persons who are unlawfully in the United States from state population totals used for apportionment.
The House Rules Committee considered a variety of amendments for floor debate on the House CJS bill relating to the Census Bureau, including proposals to divert funding from the Bureau for other accounts in the CJS bill, block OMB review of new Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) questions, and remove the provision that would exclude noncitizens from state population totals used for apportionment.
The committee ultimately only approved three census-related amendments for floor consideration:
- Reps. Kilmer (D-WA): Diverts $41 million from the Census Bureau to instead fund the RECOMPETE economic development pilot program.
- Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA): “None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to implement, administer, apply, enforce, or carry out the notice published by the Bureau of the Census on September 19th, 2023, entitled “Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; American Community Survey Methods Panel: 2024 Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Test” (88 Fed. Reg. 64404).”
- Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX): “Prohibits funds made available by this or any other Act to be used to allow the United States Census Bureau to include noncitizens in rendering apportionment determinations in subsequent decennial censuses.”
Since the House CJS bill may return to the floor in the near future, and the amendments may also be considered by the House and Senate when they conference on a final FY 2024 funding package, census stakeholders may wish to speak with members on the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, as well as the sponsors of the amendments, about any concerns or issues.
Policy Update
Legislation requiring a citizenship question on the decennial census
Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC-11) introduced the Voter Population Accuracy Act (H.R. 6335), legislation that would require the Census Bureau to collect information on citizenship status in the decennial headcount: “In conducting the 2030 decennial census and each decennial census thereafter, the Secretary shall include in any questionnaire distributed or otherwise used for the purpose of determining the total population by States a checkbox or other similar option for the respondent to indicate, for the respondent and for each of the members of the household of the respondent, whether such individual is a citizen or national of the United States.”
The bill was referred to the House Oversight and Accountability Committee for further consideration.
Concerns About Changes to ACS Questions Measuring Disabilities
A group of researchers are expressing concern about “the proposed switch from the six disability questions used in the American Community Survey (ACS) to the Washington Group Short Set (WGSS) of questions.”
The letter, sent on October 18 to the Census Bureau Director Robert Santos expressed concerns that, “the WGSS disability questions,” which are produced by a UN group, “will produce lower disability prevalence estimates than the ACS questions.”
Senators Urge Census Bureau to Not Pursue SOGI Questions on ACS
Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and J.D. Vance (R-OH) sent a letter to U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Santos on November 3, 2023, asking him to “rescind polarizing and unscientific questions on gender identity.” Rubio and Vance concluded that, “Official government surveys should reflect objective reality.”
In comments to the Census Bureau regarding the agency’s proposed 2024 test of SOGI questions on the ACS, organizations such as the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and Coalition on Human Needs addressed some of the issues raised by Senators Rubio and Vance.
Census Bureau News
The U.S. Census Bureau is scheduled to embargo new 2018-2022 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates beginning on Dec. 5 at 10 a.m. ET, which are set to be publicly released on Dec. 7. It will also hold a pre-release webinar.
A blog from the Census Bureau director celebrated Native American Heritage Day with data.
A Random Samplings blog explained how the Bureau defines hard-to-count (HTC) populations, and, a critical subset of those, the historically undercounted populations (HUPs), why certain communities are harder to enumerate and how the Bureau is working to address underrepresentation.
Another Random Samplings blog explained how the Census Bureau plans to engage American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) stakeholders on the design of new experimental statistical products.
Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer Ron Jarmin discussed the completion of data collection for the 2022 Economic Census.
The U.S. Census Bureau held a virtual workshop on Advancing Research on Race, Ethnicity and Inequality Nov. 14-15, 2023.
Census Bureau Data Releases
The U.S. Census Bureau released new Business Formation Statistics (BFS) for October 2023.
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 November 9 and November 22.
Newly released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual America’s Families and Living Arrangements show that living with two parents was more common for children at younger ages than older ages.
The U.S. population is projected to reach a high of nearly 370 million in 2080 before edging downward to 366 million in 2100. By 2100, the total U.S. resident population is projected to increase by only 9.7% from 2022, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau population projections. The projections provide possible scenarios of population change for the nation through the end of the century.
The U.S. Census Bureau released new data from phase 3.10 of the experimental Household Pulse Survey (HPS). The HPS is an effort by the Census Bureau and other federal statistical agencies to inform federal and state response and recovery planning by providing near real-time data on the social and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and other emergent issues on American households.
News You Can Use
Below are several articles posted on The Census Project home page in November 2023. For a complete listing, go to: https://thecensusproject.org/recent-media/.
Ga. lawmakers race clock to redraw legislative, congressional districts
WRDW
November 28, 2023
New Mexico Supreme Court upholds decision on redistricting case
KOB
November 27, 2023
Zoomers will overtake boomers at work next year
AXIOS
November 22, 2023
Sometimes overlooked by campaigns, Native voters could decide major elections in 2024
NPR
November 21, 2023
In a New York court, Democrats seek a redo after their bungled gerrymander
NBC News
November 16, 2023
Could the U.S. Population Shrink?
PRB
November 15, 2023
Should The U.S. Stop Collecting Racial Data On Americans?
Forbes
November 13, 2023
America’s Population Projected to Shrink by 2100, Census Figures Show
The Wall Street Journal
November 9, 2023
Pennsylvanians are moving to Florida at surging rates, census data show
The Philadelphia Inquirer
November 7, 2023
Census Data: Connecticut Gained Nearly 57K Residents Last Year
CT News Junkie
November 1, 2023