Search Results: census
Census Bureau to Add COVID-19 Questions to Business Surveys, Request Additional Time for Decennial
The Census Bureau has been granted emergency authorization from the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to add questions related to COVID-19 to its business surveys. Questions to measure the impact of the pandemic will be added to five surveys: the Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories & Orders (M3) Survey; the Building Permits Survey; the Monthly Wholesale Trade Survey; the Monthly Retail Surveys; and the Quarterly Services Survey. The Census Bureau will be asking businesses whether they have temporarily closed any locations for at least one day, whether they experienced delays in their supply chains or product shipments, and whether…
Census Bureau Temporarily Suspends 2020 Field Operations, In-Person Survey Interviews
The Census Bureau has announced further adjustments to its planned 2020 decennial census operations in response to the coronavirus epidemic (see previous coverage). On March 18, Census Director Steven Dillingham announced a two-week suspension of 2020 field operations. In addition, the Bureau’s two major facilities in Jeffersonville, IN, the National Processing Center and Paper Data Capture Center East, have dramatically reduced on-site staff to the minimum necessary to continue operations. These measures were further extended by an additional two weeks, through April 15, and could be extended even longer in accordance with public health guidelines. In addition, the Census Bureau…
COSSA Submits Testimony in Support of Social Science at NSF, Census, NIJ and BJS
Each year, COSSA submits outside witness testimony to the Congressional Appropriations subcommittees responsible for funding federal agencies important to the social sciences. Earlier this month, COSSA submitted testimony to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies calling for robust funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Bureau of Justice Statistics, and Census Bureau in fiscal year (FY) 2021. All of COSSA’s FY 2021 testimony will be posted on the COSSA website. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
2020 Census Begins Accepting Responses as COIVD-19 Poses Potential Follow-Up Hurdles
Earlier this month, households across the country began receiving invitations in the mail to complete their 2020 Census forms ahead of Census Day on April 1. Households can respond to the Census online, by phone, or by completing and mailing a paper questionnaire which will be sent to households who do not first respond online or by phone. Particularly in light of the massive disruptions and social distancing efforts caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, it is important for as many households as possible to self-respond to the Census, to minimize the in-person contact of enumerators who will be sent to…
Census Bureau Releases Update on 2020 Census Disclosure Avoidance Strategy
On March 13, John Abowd, the Census Bureau’s Chief Scientist, and Victoria Velkoff, the Bureau’s Associate Director for Demographic Programs, published a blog post to give a status update on the Census Bureau’s strategy for avoiding disclosure of personal information as a result of data released from the 2020 Census. The Bureau had previously announced that it planned to implement the move to a standard called “differential privacy” (which uses an algorithm to injects precise amounts of random noise into data until it reaches a desired threshold of obfuscation). It released demonstration data products to give users a chance to…
2020 Census Count Begins in Rural Alaska
The U.S. Census Bureau starts counting the population of rural Alaska for the 2020 Census on January 21 in the remote Alaskan village of Toksook Bay. The decennial Census traditionally begins counting the populations in remote Alaskan villages much earlier than the official Census Day due to the hard-to-count nature of the region. The count of the rest of the U.S. population will officially start on Census Day, April 1. More information about the timeline of the 2020 Census can be found on the 2020 Census website. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Senate Passes Bipartisan Resolution Supporting 2020 Census
In December, the Senate passed a bipartisan concurrent resolution (S.Con.Res. 31) in support of the 2020 Census. The resolution, introduced by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), expresses the sense of Congress that it is the duty of the people of the United States to ensure the 2020 Census is as accurate as possible, that the government should inform the public about its importance, and that U.S. residents should plan to respond. COSSA was one of several dozen organizations to endorse the resolution, which now awaits passage by the House to ensure Congress speaks with one voice….
Census Bureau Releases “Demonstration” Decennial Data Products, Working with National Academies to Collect Public Input
On October 29, the Census Bureau released a set of demonstration data products that show how the privacy measures planned for 2020 Census data would have applied to data from the 2010 Census. In a blog post, Census Bureau Chief Scientist John Abowd and Associate Director for Demographic Programs Victoria Velkoff assert that the “methods we used to protect the 2010 Census and earlier statistics can no longer adequately defend against today’s privacy threats.” They describe the new disclosure avoidance techniques planned to protect 2020 Census data and invite researchers and data users to experiment with the new demonstration products…
November’s Headlines to Feature Deep Dive on 2020 Census
COSSA members are encouraged to sign up for the monthly COSSA Headlines webchat on Thursday November 14, in which COSSA staff will recap the most important social and behavioral science news from the past month and answer participants’ questions. The November chat will feature Mary Jo Hoeksema, Director of Government Affairs for the Population Association of America and Co-Director of the Census Project, on the 2020 Census. Individuals employed by or affiliated with a COSSA member organization or university can register for the webchat here. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Senate Makes Progress on FY 2020 Appropriations for NSF, Census, NIH, Education, USDA
With the passage of a continuing resolution through Thanksgiving giving Congress some breathing room to complete fiscal year (FY) 2020 appropriations, the Senate Appropriations Committee has finally made progress in approving a number of its annual appropriations bills. COSSA has released analyses of three Senate bills that fund agencies important to the social and behavioral sciences: Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, which funds the National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Justice (DOJ), Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), and Census Bureau Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, which funds the National Institutes of…
Administration Ends Attempts to Add Citizenship to 2020 Census
On July 11, President Trump announced that he would no longer seek to add a question on citizenship to the 2020 Census. The announcement appears to resolve over a year of controversy and confusion, which culminated in a tumultuous two weeks that included a Supreme Court ruling stating the question could not be asked unless the Administration could provide a better explanation, an announcement that the Census Bureau had begun printing materials without a citizenship question, a commitment from the Department of Justice to continue fighting to add the question back in, and upheaval in the government’s legal team. Census…
July’s Headlines Webchat to Feature Deep Dive on 2020 Census
COSSA members are encouraged to sign up for the monthly Headlines webchat on Thursday, July 11, in which COSSA staff will recap the most important social and behavioral science news from the past month and answer participants’ questions. The July chat will feature a deep dive discussion on the state of the 2020 Census with Ron Wasserstein, Executive Director of the American Statistical Association. Individuals employed by or affiliated with a COSSA member organization or university can register for the webchat here. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Census Citizenship Question Saga Continues
Despite a decision from the Supreme Court, the fate of the Census citizenship question remains uncertain. While the ruling was expected to be the final word on whether the government could include a question on citizenship on the 2020 Census, the Supreme Court decided on June 27 that the question could only be asked if the government provided a different, more acceptable justification. However, with time running out to begin printing the necessary forms and other lawsuits working their way through lower courts, it was unclear whether enough time remained for the government to provide such a justification. See COSSA’s…
Analysis of the Supreme Court Census Ruling in Department of Commerce v. New York
Read the policy analysis.
House Panel Approves FY 2020 Funding for NSF, Census, BJS, and NIJ
On May 22, the House Appropriations Committee approved its fiscal year (FY) 2020 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Bill; the CJS Subcommittee advanced the bill on May 17. This bill contains annual funding proposals for the National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Justice (DOJ), and Census Bureau, among other federal departments and agencies. Overall, the House bill is favorable to agencies important to the COSSA community, with increases proposed across the bill’s jurisdiction. At a glance… The House CJS bill includes $8.6 billion for the National Science Foundation in FY 2020, which, if appropriated, would be a…
Joint Economic Committee Holds Hearing on 2020 Census and Business Impacts
On May 22, Congress’ Joint Economic Committee held a hearing on “The Economic Impacts of the 2020 Census and Business Uses of Federal Data.” Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), who co-chairs the House Census Caucus, presided over the hearing, which featured testimony from Andrew Reamer, Research Professor at the George Washington University’s George Washington Institute of Public Policy; Howard Feinberg, Vice President for Advocacy at the Insights Association and Co-Director of the Census Project; Mallory Bateman, Senior Research Analyst at the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute; and Nicholas Eberstadt, Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American…