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 particular surveys conducted by the U S Census Bureau it states are wasteful worrying users of federal details already concerned about the medical of the nation s statistical infrastructure The Department of Cabinet Efficiency reported 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 Selected of the questions on the eliminated surveys appealed 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 revealed 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 achievable 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 announced Beth Jarosz a senior effort director at the Population Reference Bureau a nonpartisan research organization There is a community process for changing ruling body surveys that involves giving notice and seeking community comment and anything that is canceled without going through that process may be violating the law Jarosz disclosed These statistics belong to the constituents Jarosz mentioned The taxpayers paid for the records and they should get the records unless they don t want it to be collected anymore The Census Bureau asks the society survey questions in order to help Congress and federal agencies implement laws or develop policies declared 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 noted I think that tweet suggests the DOGE staff has very little knowledge about content collection and the set purpose of the Census Bureau s mission Related Articles Harvard sues the Trump administration over ban on enrolling foreign students Trump threatens tariffs on EU and penalties on Apple as his agreement 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 vitality tax credits A look at the deportees on plane that headed for South Sudan from US 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 ruling body hiring freezes by the Trump administration and residents silence from the bureau about the schedule Lowenthal explained 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 reported The timeline of a census is very tight Each step builds upon what has been done previously Researchers and users of federal evidence 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 Community Facts Users stated during a contemporary online forum For instance the Census Bureau s roster of top leaders and their staff proved vacancies as of the beginning of the month The statistical agency s leader Ron Jarmin has been filling the job in an acting quota since Census Bureau director Rob Santos resigned earlier this year An Inspector General s document 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 noted There s just this fear that what you had relied on is not going to be available