July 2024 Census Project Update

Appropriations Update

Senate Appropriations Committee Advances FY 2025 Bill to Fund Census Bureau

On Thursday, July 25, the Senate Appropriations Committee, by a vote of 26-3, approved its version of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) appropriations bill.

(S. 4795) which funds, among other Federal agencies, the U.S. Census Bureau. In a Census Project blog, we reported that the bill recommends the Census Bureau receive $1,577,691,000, which, in an accompanying report, the Committee notes is $195.2 million above the agency’s FY 2024 enacted level and equal to the President’s budget request. The Committee’s recommended level is substantially higher than the level approved by the House Appropriations Committee, $1.354 billion, which is $28.5 million below the agency’s FY 2024 funding level.

The Senate report included language suggested by The Census Project regarding the American Community Survey:

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 one-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 24 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 transformation efforts. The Committee directs the Census Bureau to provide the Committee with a report addressing these matters within 180 days of enactment of this act.

Despite passage of the FY 2025 CJS bill by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, it is not likely either chamber will consider their version of the bill on the floor of their respective chambers. On July 25, the House adjourned, postponing floor action until after the Labor Day holiday. When the House and Senate return, they will have only a few weeks to approve final passage of Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations bills or pass a continuing a resolution to keep the Federal government functioning beyond September 30, when the current fiscal year ends.

Census Project Letter Raises Concerns Regarding FY 2025 House Funding Bill

On July 30, The Census Project sent its latest sign on letter to the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), expressing concerns regarding the FY 2025 CJS appropriations bill approved by the House Appropriations Committee on July 9. The letter, which was signed by almost 130 national, state, and local organizations, pointed out that the proposed bill would undermine the ability of the Census Bureau to meet its constitutional mandate as the result of inadequate funding, while a “menacing policy provision (Sec. 621)” would ruin response rates to all Census Bureau surveys and result in the decennial census and the American Community Survey (ACS) counting barely a third of the country.

House Appropriations Committee Approves FY 2025 Census Funding Bill

On Tuesday, July 9, by a party line vote of 31-26, the House Appropriations Committee approved its version of the Fiscal Year 2025 CJS (H.R. 9026), which funds, among other agencies, the Census Bureau. As The Census Project has been reporting, the House bill would provide the Census Bureau with a total of $1.354 billion, which is $28.5 million below the agency’s 2024 funding level and $223.7 million below the President’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget request. The bill includes two provisions, Section 559 and Section 621, impacting the Census Bureau:

SEC. 559. 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. 621. 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.

A complete update on the committee’s proceedings is available in a Census Project blog.

Policy Update

Prison Policy Initiative Releases Post-2020 Census Brief

On July 30, the Prison Policy Initiative released a new briefing that looks at local government progress toward ending “prison gerrymandering” after the 2020 Census.

2030 Census Advisory Committee Holds Inaugural Meeting

On July 26, the 2030 Census Advisory Committee convened its inaugural meeting. Census Bureau Director Robert Santos and Deputy Director Ron Jarmin welcomed the committee and provided an update on topics, including the Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations process and the Bureau’s recent selection of sites for the 2026 Census Test. The 2026 Test, which will be the first of two major on-the-ground tests in preparation for the 2030 Census, will be held in six sites nationwide, providing the Bureau with an opportunity “to explore innovative technologies and methodologies.”

During the meeting, Committee members, who include The Census Project Co-Director Mary Jo H. Mitchell, received presentations from Census Bureau senior officials on three major topics: future of the Master Address File/Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) System; planning for 2030 Census outreach; and the 2026 Census Test Ethnographic Study.

A July 29 Census Project blog summarizes some of the Committee’s major recommendations and links to all meeting materials, including a video recording of the meeting. The Committee is expected to meet again in October 2024.

Census Bureau Announces 2026 Census Field Test Sites

On July 22, the Census Bureau announced the sites for the 2026 Census Test, the first of two major on-the-ground tests planned in preparation for the 2030 Census. The 2026 Census Test will evaluate the viability of innovations and enhancements planned for the 2030 Census, with particular focus on improving the count of hard-to-count and historically undercounted populations. The six sites where the Bureau plans to conduct the test are: Colorado Springs, CO; Huntsville, AL; Tribal Lands Within Arizona (Fort Apache Reservation, home to the White Mountain Apache Tribe, and San Carlos Reservation, home to the San Carlos Apache Tribe); Spartanburg, SC; Western North Carolina (Cherokee, Graham, Jackson, and Swain counties, and Qualla Boundary, home to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) and, Western Texas (Brewster, Jeff Davis, Pecos, and Presidio counties).

More information about the sites and test are available on the 2026 Census Test home page.

ASA Issues Report on Health of U.S. Statistical System

On July 9, the American Statistical Association hosted a webinar to unveil the details of a report they issued with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, “The Nation’s Data at Risk: Meeting America’s Information Needs for the 21st Century.” The report, which was featured in a July 3 Census Project blog, examines strengths and challenges facing all 13 principal Federal statistical agencies, including the U.S. Census Bureau.

Census Bureau News

On July 31, the Census Bureau announced plans to meet with disability community stakeholders September 30 in the D.C. metro area to better understand challenges in data availability and access for their community. The meeting will bring together federal agency staff, disability stakeholders and community representatives, data users and disability advocates.

On July 23, Stacy Vidal, editorial content advisor, Public Information Office, and Alexandra Krause, survey statistician, Population Division, published a “Random Samplings” blog, “Understanding the Detailed Demographic and Housing Characteristics File B.

On July 22, the Census Bureau announced the six sites for the 2026 Census Test, the first of two major on-the-ground tests planned in preparation for the 2030 Census. The 2026 Census Test will evaluate the viability of innovations and enhancements planned for the 2030 Census, with particular focus on improving the count of hard-to-count and historically undercounted populations.

According to a July 16 release, the 2023 Income, Poverty and Health Insurance statistics from the Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) and the American Community Survey (ACS) will be issued in September.

A July 10 “Random Samplings” blog coauthored by several Census Bureau officials featured details regarding the 2023 Planning Database and related disclosure avoidance strategies. A related press release was also issued.

In a July 8 press release, the Census Bureau outlined its schedule for releasing its remaining 2020 Census data products.

Census Bureau Data Releases

According to Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE) released by the Census Bureau on July 25, the rate of Americans under age 65 without health insurance decreased in 627 counties and increased in 23 counties between 2021 and 2022. SAHIE is the only source for single-year estimates of people with health insurance in each of the nation’s 3,143 counties.

On July 25, the Census Bureau, in collaboration with Opportunity Insights, released new data on changes in mobility by county, birth cohort (1978-1992), race, class (parental income) and sex, as well as a new interactive module in the Opportunity Atlas. “Module 2: County & Metro Mobility Trends” includes an additional decade of data and allows users to explore mobility trends in their county to better understand changes over time and within places.

The Census Bureau released Household Pulse Survey data on July 23 and July 11.

Business Trends and Outlook Survey Data were released on July 18 and July 3.

On July 16, the Census Bureau released the 2022 Community Resilience Estimates (CRE) for Heat, an experimental data product that measures social vulnerability to extreme heat.

The June 2024 Business Formation Statistics were released on July 11.

Data from the 2023 Survey of Income and Program Participation was released on July 11.

On July 9, the 2022 Community Resilience Estimates (CRE) summer ranking tables for areas with at least moderate risk of hurricanes, wildfires and strong winds.

Statistics on businesses with paid employees for the U.S. Virgin Islands from the 2022 Economic Census of Island Areas were released on July 9.

News You Can Use

Below are several articles posted on The Census Project home page in July 2024. For a complete listing, go to: https://thecensusproject.org/recent-media/.

Connecticut population boom goes bust after Census error
Inside Investigator
July 29, 2024

The South’s economic boom is masking a harsher reality. It still has several of the poorest states in the nation.
Business Insider
July 27, 2024

Who’s most likely to adopt — or get adopted
The Washington Post
July 26, 2024

Map Reveals States With Lowest Health Insurance Rates
Newsweek
July 26, 2024

Arizona Tribal-land residents among testers for U.S. census practice runs
Associated Press
July 25, 2024

Why more U.S. adults are choosing not to have kids
AXIOS
July 25, 2024

Noncitizens are less likely to participate in a census with citizenship question, study says
Associated Press
July 24, 2024

Census shows America’s post-2020 population is driven by diversity especially among the young
Brookings
July 24, 2024

Americans are flocking to Texas: 9 of the 10 fastest-growing U.S. cities are there
CNBC
July 23, 2024

US census takers to conduct test runs in the South and West 4 years before 2030 count
Associated Press
July 22, 2024

What we know about unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S.
Pew Research Center
July 22, 2024

Seven Ways Federal Policymakers Can Improve the Lives of Disabled People
Urban Institute
July 17, 2024