DOGE targets Census Bureau, worrying data users about health of US data infrastructure

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press The group run by Elon Musk and his aides to cut federal spending in the second Trump administration is targeting selected surveys conducted by the U S Census Bureau it proposes are wasteful worrying users of federal evidence already concerned about the strength of the nation s statistical infrastructure The Department of Administration Efficiency declared on social media this week that five surveys costing million that are conducted by the statistical agency for other federal agencies have been terminated but didn t specify which ones Particular of the questions on the eliminated surveys questioned about alcohol consumption and the frequency that respondents used the internet in their home according to the post Other surveys are being reviewed one-by-one announced Tuesday s post on DOGE s X account The Census Bureau didn t respond this week to an inquiry seeking comment Based on the post it s highly doable that the eliminated surveys included the Survey of Inmates in Local Jails which gathered information on inmates for the Department of Justice and the Ask U S Panel an internet survey conducted with the Department of Defense reported Beth Jarosz a senior venture director at the Population Reference Bureau a nonpartisan research organization There is a general process for changing authorities surveys that involves giving notice and seeking population comment and anything that is canceled without going through that process may be violating the law Jarosz explained These facts belong to the residents Jarosz revealed The taxpayers paid for the material and they should get the facts unless they don t want it to be collected anymore The Census Bureau asks the masses survey questions in order to help Congress and federal agencies implement laws or develop policies announced Terri Ann Lowenthal a former congressional staffer who consults on census issues Just picking isolated questions doesn t make any point DOGE has intended to make which is I guess that the Census Bureau isn t doing serious work or necessary work which they are Lowenthal commented I think that tweet suggests the DOGE staff has very little knowledge about details collection and the set purpose of the Census Bureau s mission Related Articles Trump threatens tariffs on EU and penalties on Apple as his commerce war intensifies Iran and US hold a fifth round of nuclear negotiations in Rome with enrichment a key issue Tax bill passed by House Republicans would gut Biden-era clean resource tax credits A look at the deportees on plane that headed for South Sudan from US Supreme Court declines to reinstate independent agency board members fired by President Donald Trump The bigger concern is whether the Census Bureau is going to be ready for test run-throughs next year of the once-a-decade census given federal authorities hiring freezes by the Trump administration and general silence from the bureau about the schedule Lowenthal noted Tests next year for the census are slated for six places western Texas tribal lands in Arizona Colorado Springs Colorado western North Carolina Spartanburg South Carolina and Huntsville Alabama The census is used to determine how multiple congressional seats each state gets and helps guide the distribution of trillion in annual federal funding The time lost in planning for a census can t be made up easily if at all Lowenthal declared The timeline of a census is very tight Each step builds upon what has been done previously Researchers and users of federal content are grappling with broader concerns about the soundness of the U S statistical system given disruptions to federal agencies by DOGE that have led to canceled contracts and the departures of longtime staffers with vast institutional knowledge Georgetown professor Amy O Hara president of the Association of Populace Statistics Users announced during a new online forum For instance the Census Bureau s roster of top leaders and their staff indicated vacancies as of the beginning of the month The statistical agency s leader Ron Jarmin has been filling the job in an acting limit since Census Bureau director Rob Santos resigned earlier this year An Inspector General s summary last March warned that the bureau has had difficulties hiring and retaining workers to carry out its surveys Earlier this year the Commerce Department which oversees the Census Bureau eliminated advisory committees made up of demographers statisticians and advocacy group leaders who provided expertise to the statistical agency There s a lot of anxiety There s a lot of frustration because information is potentially threatened due to changes in agencies or changes in programs O Hara revealed There s just this fear that what you had relied on is not going to be available