According to a campaigner coalition, one of the key elements of American society is its economy and it currently faces an all-time unprecedented threat. The American Community Survey or the ACS, collects data integral in providing federal funds as well as demographical shifts and also planning vital local services. The project group is requesting Congress to stop years of underinvestment and ask for reliable funding for the Census Bureau because it would cause irreversible damage.
The Silent Crisis: Insufficient Funding and Eroding Census Data
As part of an efficiency-centered policy initiative that has led to slashes in funding for numerous federal agencies, the Census Bureau, which plays the central role in delineating and describing American communities, has been suffering what The Census Project calls “flat funding” recently. These effects are already observable. The advocacy organization, which is a combination of users and experts of census data and local planners, states in a separate allied white paper that “processes within Washington, D.C., to improve government efficiency have placed the ACS at even greater risk. Already, access to ACS data tables has been intermittently suspended several times.”
The Backbone of Communities: The Critical Function of the ACS
The American Community Survey is anything but a head count. It is an ongoing survey that offers rich demographic, socioeconomic, and housing data for all communities in the United States down to neighborhoods and even census tracts. Such intricate and extensive data helps make numerous decisions, including providing federal funding for additional schools and infrastructure to support businesses that target new markets as well as local planners who anticipate evolving demographic shifts within their populations.
An Appeal to Congress: Countering a Worrying Trend
In recognition of the severity of the situation, The Census Project has reached out to Congress asking for support on a funding request of $2 billion for the Census Bureau for the 2026 fiscal year… This is a positive step towards reversing the trend of underfunding and underinvestment that has been rampant with the agency over the past few years. The letter to Congress, which was issued on the 3rd of April, makes it clear that the funding is required for the ACS as well as for the US constitutionally mandated census in 2030.
The Burden of Neglect: Inaccurate Information and Lost Possibilities
It will not be long before the dire outcomes resulting from a chronic lack of funding become reality and start impacting people. The letter to Congress goes on detailing, “Years of underinvestment have degraded ACS data without the necessary increases in the survey’s sample size… to address steadily declining response rates or revise content, accelerate research to reduce burden on respondents, and make many other improvements that stakeholders have requested for years.” In simple terms, there is real danger looming over the very data that a significant part of American society depends on to navigate their daily lives.
Stepping Up the Fight: A Coalition for Data Integrity
The Census Project has escalated its campaigning in response to an alarming event: the disbandment of three census advisory committees during the previous year. This action indicated a willful neglect of expert engagement and further emboldened the group’s resolve. In a statement, The Census Project said, “We have reached the conclusion the coalition’s normal efforts would not be enough to help protect vital data for the nation.” Their congressional letter is backed by a diverse coalition of the American Statistical Association, the Insights Association, and the Population Association of America, which indicates the alarm that has surfaced within the data and research communities.
The Critical Moment: The Ensuing Census Set for 2030
The nation is set to escalate its pace in anticipation of the 2030 census, making this oversight particularly concerning. The letter directed towards Congress has stated that restricting the budget for the U.S. Census Bureau comes at ‘the wrong time.’ It is vital to have funds for the ACS and the decennial count to guarantee population growth is precisely calculated—including everyone who resides in the country. Those who signed the letter pointed out the lack of funding aimed at relief of respondent burden, data collection efforts, improvement of data timeliness, and enhancement of other independent statistical programs within the government.
Optimal Use of Taxpayer’s Money: Information Considered as Vital to National Infrastructure
ACSP Co-director Mitchell proposes, “In the case of an escalating risk to data relying taxpayers have paid for, we cannot conduct business as usual. The ACS is the primary source of data for those other surveys put in jeopardy at the Bureau. If it collapses, so will an array of reliance, and their interdependence will be compromised.” We as a society direct infrastructure towards the trust and security from the government, justice and law enforcement agencies, and healthcare, which block this foundational data, showing it is a fundamental need.
A Broad Appeal: Reaching Across the Political Spectrum
Fienberg emphasized the neutral scope of the issue when he said, “We are making sure the new administration and their supporters on the Hill understand these data are essential infrastructure for constituencies they care most about, especially rural areas, the business community, veterans, and others.” This focus aims to appeal to a large spectrum of policymakers for robust census data.
A Nation at Risk of Flying Blind
The Census Project campaign argues for a distinctively alarming future of a nation that is slowly progressing towards having less of an understanding of its own identity. The lack of adequate funding for the Census Bureau, coupled with the deterioration of critical data such as ACS, greatly endangers the U.S.’s ability to reliably make well-informed policies about socio-economic planning. The American plea for “robust, reliable funding” right before the 2030 census is not just a demand from a wishing bureaucracy. It is an urgent appeal that offers America the ability to boldly traverse the world armed with a precise vision about itself.
