IA Celebrates Census Funds Delivered in Full

In the US, Congress has finally delivered full funding to the Census Bureau for the Fiscal Year 2020, according to the Insights Association, just in time for the decennial headcount to start.

A 'minibus' appropriations bill passed by the Senate on 19th December includes nearly $6.7bn for the 2020 Census, and an additional $0.9bn for other purposes within the Census Bureau.

The IA says the final 2020 Census funding level for FY20 is the same as the temporary level set by the previous Continuing Resolution and the same as passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee in the fall; $1.4bn more than that requested by the White House but still $0.8bn below the House-passed CJS Appropriations level ($7.5bn).

Howard Fienberg (pictured), the Association's VP Advocacy, commends Congress and the Trump Administration for striking a deal to complete the 2020 Census: 'The certainty of necessary full-year funding for the 2020 Census comes late in the game, with the counting about to begin, but better late than never'. He adds however: 'Now, we actually have to count everyone. A decade of preparations and testing (and, thanks to funding shortfalls, a lack of testing in key areas) will come to fruition in America's largest peacetime mobilization. The Insights Association has lobbied hard to get us to this point because the marketing research and data analytics industry can't conduct representative research studies without the most accurate census data as a statistical benchmark. We will continue the battle in the 2020s as well!'

Web site: www.insightsassociation.org .