Insights Association Welcomes Extra Census Funding

US industry body the Insights Association (IA) has applauded temporary legislation which contains increased funding for the 2020 Census, and says it will improve the odds of preparations for the census being completed.

Signed by President Trump on November 21st, the 'Continuing Resolution' (CR) funding legislation provides a stop-gap which delays the prospects of a government shutdown until the CR expires on December 20th. The IA says this sets the stage for the completion of full-year funding before the end of year.

Unlike the last CR (which provided flat funding, but allowed the Census Bureau to spend at an accelerated rate), this second FY20 continuing funding resolution gave the Census Bureau an operational spending rate of $7.3 bn (during the CR) for the Periodic Censuses and Programs account. This meets the Insights Association's requested target of at least $6.7 bn for the 2020 Census, and also allows the Census Bureau to spend $90m to launch its mobile questionnaire assistance centers.

Howard Fienberg (pictured), the Association's VP Advocacy, comments: 'The results in this latest legislation set the bar for funding at a reasonable level. The Senate Appropriations Committee already agreed to $6.7bn for the 2020 Census, so this outcome makes the most sense anyhow. The trick remains to finalize the Census Bureau's appropriations so that the decennial headcount can get underway without hesitation and produce the most accurate data possible, for the country, and for the marketing research and data analytics industry'.

Web site: www.insightsassociation.org .