When DOGE comes for the Census

Politico

3 days ago

TOP LINE
The Department of Government Efficiency is pledging to go 'one-by-one' through the Census Bureau's 102 surveys, and groups that rely on the government data are fearful of what's to come.
DOGE said it has already cut five of the 102 surveys, but there are more potential cuts on the horizon. DOGE did not specify which of the surveys it was eliminating, highlighting instead that it saved $16.5 million and listing some of the questions on the surveys that were eliminated.
The bureau conducts these surveys in addition to its decennial survey of the entire nation, and they can provide other governmental agencies with crucial data that is used in developing policies and laws. Cutting the surveys means other agencies — and the public — no longer have access to the data they provide.
'There are laws governing the conduct of federal surveys, and this idea that an email from DOGE is going to impact federal data collection, superseding existing federal law, is what concerns me,' said Mary Jo H. Mitchell, co-director of the Census Project, adding that DOGE could be violating existing laws by making any cuts at all.
Advocates are also calling for President Donald Trump to fully fund the bureau's 2026 test, which plays a pivotal role in determining the techniques for the full 2030 Census by surveying residents of a select few areas. The robust survey each decade determines the number of congressional seats each state gets, as well as how trillions of dollars in federal funding are distributed across the country.
'As we learned in the run up to the 2020 Census, short-changing funding for testing at this point in the planning process introduces greater risk to a successful outcome,' says a letter from the Census Project, which is a coalition of groups that advocates for an accurate Census.
The Census Bureau did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.
Without knowing which surveys specifically were cut, it's impossible to know the consequences of getting rid of them. But overall, surveys done by the Census Bureau for other agencies, Mitchell said, are 'really important, unique sources of data.'
The hits from DOGE are not the only problems for the Census Bureau ahead of 2030. For one, the bureau's director resigned in January, and Trump will be able to appoint his successor, who will play a massive role in the 2030 survey.
About 1,300 Census Bureau employees have left in recent months, according to the Associated Press, and there's an ongoing hiring freeze. The Commerce Department eliminated the bureau's advisory committees, and an Inspector General report from March sounded the alarm on the bureau's struggle to retain field representatives who collect the crucial data.
'If the bureau does not recruit and retain enough quality employees for FR positions, it will not have sufficient and capable staff to complete interviews and collect social and economic data the federal government, businesses, and other groups need,' the report said.
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