Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that addresses the operations of the Bureau of the Census, including the removal of the Director of the bureau only for cause.

Highlights:

• Authorizes the removal of the Director of the Bureau of the Census only for cause and establishes statutory authority for specified advisory committees (Sec. ).

• Prohibits the bureau from including in the census any subject, type of information, or question that was not submitted to Congress (Sec. ).

• Requires the bureau to submit biannually to Congress a report that describes each component of the operational plan for subsequent decennial census of population and include a detailed statement of the status of all research, testing, and operations that are part of the bureau’s comprehensive plan for the decennial census (Sec. ).

• Requires the board submit to Congress a certification stating that any question that has not appeared on the previous 2 decennial censuses has been researched, studied, and tested according to established statistical policies and procedures (Sec. ).

• Requires the Government Accountability Office review aforementioned certification and report to Congress on whether the questions included have been researched, studied, and tested according to established statistical policies and procedures (Sec. ).

• Requires the the bureau by January 1, 2026, and every 10 years thereafter, transmit to Congress a lifecycle cost estimate for the decennial census of population first occurring after the transmittal date, and specifies that such estimates shall include (Sec. ):

• As estimate of costs by each fiscal year;

• Estimates of capital versus operating expenses;

• Staffing profections for each year; and

• Assumptions about response rates, wages, and other economic variables.

Full Bill Text

Full Bill Text