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1 1 (January 25, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govebrx0001 and id is 1 raw text is: C sskmsI Seseanch htorrnin~ th~RI di s.n~ 1914 Updated January 25, 2021 Overview of FY2021 Appropriations for the Census Bureau Introduction This In Focus presents an overview ofFY2021 discretionary budget authority for the Census Bureau, including the FY2021 budget request, related congressional actions, final action, and comparisons with FY2020 funding. As a Department of Commerce (DOC) agency, the bureau is funded through the Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bills. FY202 I Budget Request The Administration's $1,672.0 million FY2021 budget request for the Census Bureau was $5,886.3 million (77.9%) below the $7,558.3 million appropriated for FY2020. The FY2021 requestwas divided between the bureau's two major accounts, Current Surveys and Programs, and the much larger Periodic Censuses and Programs account. Current Surveys and Programs The FY2021 request for Current Surveys and Programs was $279.3 million, $5.3 million (1.9%) above the $274.0 million enacted for FY2020. Under this account are Current Economic Statistics andCurrent Demographic Statistics. Current Economic Statistics Current Economic Statistics include business, construction, manufacturing, general economic, foreign trade, and government statistics that, as the FY2021 budget justification for the Census Bureau stated, provide critical information about the U.S. economy andunderlie key economic indicators like the gross domestic product (GDP). The request for Current Economic Statistics in FY2021 was $196.0 million, $11.3 million (6.1%) above the$184.7 million enacted for FY2020. Current Demographic Statistics Current Demographic Statistics include those from household surveys like the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) and the Current Population Survey (CPS), which is undertaken jointly by the Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), is two-thirds funded by BLS, and provides monthly unemployment rates. Other Current Demographic Statistics are analyses of population and housing characteristics, as in the Current Population Reports, which are based on CPS and other data and are the official source of U.S. income and poverty statistics; the Housing Vacancy Survey; intercensal demographic and housing unit estimates for the total United States and subnational geographic levels; and population projections into the future. The $83.3 million FY2021 requestfor Current Demographic Statistics was $6.0million (6.8%) less than the $89.3 million FY2020-enacted amount. Periodic Censuses and Programs In the FY2021 request, Periodic Censuses and Programs (PCP) would have received$1,392.7 million, $5,891.6 million (80.9%) below the FY2020-enacted $7,284.3 million, and 83.3% ofthe Census Bureau's totalFY2021 request. (In contrast, theFY2020 request of $5,885.4 million for PCP was 95.7% of the bureau's $6,149.4 million total, mainly to fund the 2020 decennial census in its peak year of operations and expenses. Therequest for the census typically declines steeply after the census year.) About $3.6 million of theFY2021 amount for PCP was to be transferred to the DOC Office of Inspector General (OIG) for continuing bureau oversight. Four majorprograms under PCP are discussedbelow. 2020 Decennial Census The decennial census is the bureau's largest, most costly undertaking. Article I, Section 2, clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution, as amended by Section2 of the Fourteenth Amendment, requires apopulation count every 10 years, to apportion seats in the House of Representatives. The FY2021 request for the 2020 census was $812.4 million, $5,883.6 million (87.9%) less than the $6,696.0 million enacted for FY2020. The decrease reflected the completion of most 2020 census activities in FY2020, when census expenses were greatest. The budget justification s tated that the FY2020-enacted amount included $669 million dedicated to contingency needs thatmight arise during the census, such as major dis asters or other unforeseen risks realized, and $263 million in additional sensitivity risks if initial response rates were lower than projected. Combined with funding provided in prioryear appropriations, thejustification continued, the bureauhad $7.9 billion available to support the 2020 decennial operation. An April27, 2020, House Oversight and Reform Committee press release noted an April 24 committee briefing by s enior bureau officials, including the bureau's chieffmancial officer. He reported the amountof contingency funding as $2billion and said, according to the release, that thebureau currently anticipated using only $1.5 billion of the $2 billion in connection with the delay in operations and response to the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19; see CRS In Focus IF11486, 2020 Census Fieldwork Delayed by COVID-19, by Jennifer D. Williams). American Community Survey The ACS, which the bureau implemented nationwide in 2005 and 2006, is the replacement for the decennial census https ://ctsrepurts~conigre&

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