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Overview
Statistics
produced by the federal government serve as a base for research in a broad
spectrum of scientific disciplines. Population and vital statistics are
central to the work of political scientists and demographers; employment,
financial, and production data are essential for economists; and information
on education and crime is used by sociologists and psychologists. Responsibility
for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of federal statistics
is spread throughout the departments and independent agencies of the executive
branch; each of some 70 agencies and departmental units annually spends
$500,000 or more on statistical activities. Within this decentralized
system that generates statistical information, a more limited number of
agencies have the creation of statistics as their principal mission. It
is these agencies that are responsible for producing statistics on major
economic, demographic, and social developments and trends that are the
focus of discussion in this chapter. In general, the funding levels for
FY 2006 that have been proposed for the principal statistical agencies
provide increases over the resources appropriated in FY 2005. For details
of the funding history in fiscal years 2004 through 2006 please see Table
1. The balance of this chapter provides further details on FY 2006 programs.
Bureau of the Census
The Bureau of the Census collects, compiles, and publishes
a broad range of statistics on the population and the economy. Budget
authority for the Census Bureau is provided in two appropriations: one
covers current programs, including demographic surveys, international
programs and data on construction, manufacturing, retail and wholesale
trade, services, foreign trade, and state and local government finances
and employment; the other covers periodic programs, including the decennial
census of population; and the quinquennial economic censuses and the census
of governments.
Table
1: Principal Federal Statistical Agencies
(total
direct funding in millions - includes R&D and non-R&D components)
FY 2004 FY 2005 FY 2006
Actual Estimate Request
Bureau
of the Census: Current Programs $192.8 $196.1 $220.0
-Periodic
Programs
416.1 548.7
657.4
-Survey
of Program Dynamics
10.0 10.0
10.0
-
Children’s Health Insurance Program
10.0 10.0 10.0
Bureau of Labor Statistics 518.5 529.0 542.5
Bureau of Economic Analysis 67.1 72.6
81.3
Statistics of Income, IRS 37.3 40.3 40.5
National Agricultural Statistics Service 103.1 106.0 116.1
- Census of Agriculture 25.1 22.4 29.1
Economic Research Service, USDA 71.4 74.8 80.7
Energy Information Administration 81.1 83.8 85.9
National
Center for Health Statistics
1/, 2/ 90.1 109.0 109.0
National
Center for Education Statistics
2/ 91.0 91.0 91.0
Bureau of Justice Statistics 31.7 33.7
62.7
Bureau of Transportation Statistics 30.2 30.0 32.9
Science Resources Statistics, NSF 2/ 31.0 32.0 32.0
Notes: 1/
All funds are from the 1% Public Health Service Evaluation Funds.
2/
Funding levels shown from NCHS, NCES, and SRS do not include Salaries
and Expenses (S&E) funding from other departmental sources.
For FY 2006, funding is requested for the Census Bureau’s
economic and demographic programs, and for a reengineered 2010 Census.
For the Census Bureau’s economic and demographic programs, funding is
requested to (1) plan for the 2007 Economic Census, (2) plan and implement
the organizational phase of the 2007 Census of Governments and plan for
the employment and finance phases, (3) improve measurement of services
by expanding key source data for critical quarterly and annual estimates
of our nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), (4) support improved coverage
and electronic reporting of trade statistics, (5) support the development
of a database infrastructure to integrate state administrative data and
Census Bureau data products in order to fill critical data gaps at the
state and local levels, (6) continue efforts begun in 2003 to eliminate
data gaps by measuring migration across U.S. borders, and (7) purchase
furniture and relocate operations and employees to the new headquarters
facility to avoid disruption of mission-critical operations necessary
for the successful completion of Census Bureau surveys. For 2010 Census
planning, funding is requested to continue to (1) conduct planning, testing,
and development activities to support a re-engineered 2010 Census; (2)
complete map feature accuracy within 7.6 meters of true GPS location for
700 of the nation’s counties; and (3) continue to conduct the American
Community Survey program to provide data on an ongoing basis rather than
waiting for once-a-decade censuses.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the principal fact‑finding
agency in the federal government in the field of labor economics, has
a dual mission: to provide general purpose statistics that support the
formulation of economic and social policy decisions in the business and
labor communities, in legislation, and other programs affecting labor;
and to serve the program needs of the Department of Labor and other federal
agencies that use the BLS data and research findings to administer and
evaluate on‑going programs, develop legislative proposals, and analyze
economic and social problems. To meet these objectives, BLS collects,
processes, analyzes, and disseminates data on employment and unemployment,
projections of economic growth, the labor force, and employment by industry
and occupation, prices and cost of living, consumer expenditures, wages
and employee benefits, occupational injuries and illnesses, collective
bargaining activities, and productivity and technological change in U.S.
industries.
For FY 2006, funding
is requested to support program operations to measure the economy through
producing, disseminating, and improving BLS economic measures, including
(1) modernizing the computing systems for monthly processing of the Producer
Price Index (PPI) and U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes (IPP), and
producing new data outputs, such as indexes based on the North American
Industry Classification System for the IPP; (2) maintaining continuous
updating of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) by updating the expenditure
and population weights biennially, the superlative index annually, outlet
samples on a four-year cycle, and item samples in key categories on a
two-year cycle; and (3) releasing the 2004–2014 Employment Projections
and publishing the 2006–2007 edition of the Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) in the Department
of Commerce provides a picture of the United States economy through the preparation, development and interpretation
of the economic accounts. These accounts consist of the national income
and product accounts, summarized by the gross domestic product (GDP);
the wealth accounts that show the business and other components of national
wealth; the input‑output accounts that trace interrelationships
among industrial markets; state and regional income and product accounts;
and the United States balance of payments and associated international
investment accounts. These economic accounts provide key information on
economic growth, regional development, and the nation’s position in the
world economy. These data are vital ingredients in major decisions affecting
such areas as monetary and fiscal policy, Social Security projections,
and business planning and investment.
For FY 2006, funding is requested to (1) make selected improvements
to the timeliness and comprehensiveness of the nation’s international
statistics on multinational corporations and trade in services; (2) complete
work to accelerate the release of gross state product, metropolitan personal
income, and county-level personal income; (3) enhance the accuracy of
BEA statistics by acquiring and incorporating real-time data into core
BEA accounts; (4) improve data on international financial transactions
by working with the Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve
Board to incorporate newly developed estimates of derivatives and other
financial instruments; and (5) produce up-to-date, annual estimates of
business investment spending by industry in order to more accurately discern
where high-tech and other investments are being made in the manufacturing
and service sectors.
Statistics of Income, Internal Revenue
Service (SOI)
The Statistics of Income Division (SOI) program provides
for compilation of annual income, financial, and tax data from samples
of tax returns filed by individuals, corporations, partnerships, sole
proprietors and tax-exempt organizations. SOI also provides periodic data
based on other returns, such as those filed by estates, for estimating
wealth of the living top wealth holders, as well as on various other tax
and information returns and schedules, for producing such estimates as
U.S. investments abroad, foreign investments in the United States, and
gains or losses from sales of capital assets.
For FY 2006 funding
is requested to (1) maintain and modernize core data collection systems,
including several major statistical programs for the Department of the
Treasury, the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, the Bureau of
Economic Analysis, and SOI’s many other customers; (2) implement a databank
repository for SOI and IRS population file data to more efficiently build
longitudinal databases and enable sub-national estimates; (3) examine
means to more effectively mask individual records to minimize the possibility
of identification in the Individual Public Use sample files; and (4) modernize
and expedite dissemination of data and publications, including a re-engineered
Internet website.
National Agricultural Statistics Service
(NASS)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published its
first crop report in 1863, and further strengthened this responsibility
in 1905 by creating the Crop Reporting Board (now the Agricultural Statistics
Board). The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) has the responsibility
for collecting and publishing current national, state and county agricultural
statistics. NASS collects and reports data on a wide range of production,
inventories, prices paid and received by farmers, costs of production,
farm labor usage and wage rates, agricultural chemical use, and other
agricultural statistics. Beginning in FY 1997, NASS is responsible for
the Census of Agriculture program, which provides comprehensive data every
5 years on all aspects of the agricultural economy down to the county
level.
The FY 2006 funding is requested to (1) continue restoration
and modernization of the agricultural estimates program to ensure state,
regional, and national level agricultural estimates of sufficient precision,
quality, and detail to meet the needs of a broad customer base; (2) continue
development and implementation of a locality-based agricultural county
and small area estimation program; and (3) continue preparations for the
2007 Census of Agriculture.
Economic Research Service (ERS)
The Economic Research Service (ERS), also in USDA, is
a research‑oriented statistical agency that provides economic and
other social science information and analysis related to the supply, demand
and performance of domestic and international food and agricultural markets;
indicators of food and consumer issues; economic and environmental indicators
of agriculture production and resource use; and socio‑economic indicators
of the status and performance of the farm sector and the rural economy.
For FY 2006, funding is requested to support ongoing programs
and to continue the development of an integrated and comprehensive data
and analysis framework of the food system beyond the farm gate to provide
a basis for understanding, monitoring, tracking, and identifying changes
in the food supply and consumption patterns.
Energy Information Administration
(EIA)
The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Information Administration
(EIA) collects, analyzes, and disseminates information on energy resources,
production, distribution, consumption, technology, and related international,
economic, and financial matters. EIA produces reports with statistical
time series, projections of future energy trends, analyses of topical
energy issues, and supports the energy information requirements of DOE
and other federal agencies. The primary customers of EIA services are
public policy makers in DOE and the Congress. Other customers include
other federal agencies, state and local governments, the energy industry,
educational institutions, the news media, and the public.
For FY 2006, funding is requested to continue ongoing operations,
with a focus on (1) improving petroleum and natural gas data security,
reliability, and quality; (2) conducting the commercial, manufacturing,
and residential energy consumption surveys; (3) implementing the enhanced
Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases program to support the President’s
Climate Change Initiative; and (4) developing a program performance prototype
to assess EIA’s data collection and operations costs at a more disaggregated
level.
National Center for Health Statistics
(NCHS)
The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) within the Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS) monitors the nation’s health and use of
health services and explores the relationship between risk factors and
disease. Data sources include the nation’s vital statistics system and
surveys involving personal interviews, physical examinations and laboratory
testing, and information from health care providers. The mission of NCHS
is to provide statistical information that will guide actions and policies
to improve the health of the American people. Data from NCHS include the
use of hospitals, nursing homes, physician services, financial and non‑financial
barriers to health care access; the health of racial and ethnic population
groups; infant mortality, access to prenatal care; death from diseases
such as cancer, heart disease, HIV/AIDS; health insurance coverage, immunization
status, and other measures used to help design and monitor the impact
of programs and policies that affect health and the health care system.
For FY 2006, funding
is requested to (1) increase timeliness by upgrading electronic systems
for data collection and processing; (2) expand the content of surveys,
particularly those addressing the health care delivery system; (3) redesign
the sample for the National Health Interview Survey, NCHS’ largest population
survey; and (4) work collaboratively with states and other agencies on
upgrading the technology for collecting data from state birth and death
certificates.
National Center for Education
Statistics (NCES)
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the Department of
Education collects, analyzes and reports statistics on education in the
United States, and conducts studies on comparisons of international
education statistics. NCES also provides leadership in developing and
promoting the use of standardized terminology and definitions for the
collection of education statistics.
In FY 2006, funding is requested to (1) support the ongoing
data collection and analysis of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study
Birth and Kindergarten Cohorts, which provide data to inform child development
practices and early education; (2) continue the Integrated Education Postsecondary
Data System, which collects information on enrollment, completions, and
finances from postsecondary institutions; (3) sustain the ongoing data
collection efforts for the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal
Study; (4) maintain U.S. participation in international assessments that
compare educational achievement in the United States with that in other
countries; and (5) continue the National Assessment of Educational Progress
(NAEP) program, including funding to support the expansion of State NAEP
to grade 12.
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) in the Department
of Justice is responsible for the collection, analysis, and publication
of statistical information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime,
and the operations of justice systems at all levels of government and
internationally. The mission of the Bureau is to provide accurate and
timely justice data and to support the emerging capacity of state and
local governments in the use of these data for their justice programs.
For FY 2006, funding
is requested to provide for the maintenance of BJS’s core statistical
programs, including (1) the National Crime Victimization Survey, the Nation’s
primary source of information on criminal victimization; (2) cybercrime
statistics on the incidence, magnitude, and consequences of electronic
and computer crime to households and businesses; (3) law enforcement data
from over 3,000 agencies on the organization and administration of police
and sheriffs’ departments; (4) nationally representative prosecution data
on resources, policies, and practices of local prosecutors; (5) court
and sentencing statistics, including federal and state case processing
data; (6) data on correctional populations and facilities from federal,
state, and local governments; and (7) the Felony Arrestee Drug Use Reporting
program (previously funded as the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring program
within the National Institute of Justice).
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
(BTS)
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) legislative
mandate covers four key areas: 1) compiling, analyzing, and publishing
a comprehensive set of transportation statistics; 2) making statistics
readily accessible; 3) implementing a long term data collection program;
and 4) improving transportation data and advancing its effective use in
public and private decision making. BTS was mandated by the Intermodal
Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1992 and implemented
in December 1992 as a new operating administration within the Department
of Transportation (DOT). In 1998, BTS was re-authorized in the Transportation
Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA‑21).
For FY 2006, funding
is requested to (1) enhance the Freight Data Program, a continuous source
of data from shippers, carriers, and receivers, to replace the current
Commodity Flow Survey; (2) move the Air Transportation Price Index, an
input to GDP and CPI indices, from experimental to production mode; and
(3) develop more timely and comprehensive local and long-distance travel
data.
NSF Science Resources Statistics (SRS)
The legislative mandate for Science Resource Statistics
(SRS), as stated in the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended,
is, “¼to provide a central clearinghouse for the collection, interpretation,
and analysis of data on scientific and engineering resources and to provide
a source of information for policy formulation by other agencies of the
federal Government¼.” To meet this mandate,
SRS provides policymakers, researchers and other decision makers with
high quality data and analysis for making informed decisions about the
nation’s science, engineering, and technology enterprise. The work of
SRS involves survey development, data collection, analysis, information
compilation, dissemination, and customer service to meet the statistical
demands of a diverse user community, as well as preparation of the biennial
reports Science and Engineering Indicators and Women and Minorities
and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering.
For FY 2006, funding
is requested to (1) continue to implement the results of prior methodological,
analytical, and planning activities directed toward improving the relevance,
accuracy, timeliness, and accessibility of SRS products, including the
suite of Research and Development surveys and the Survey of Graduate Students
and Post-doctorates in Science and Engineering; and (2) lead a cross-agency
effort to examine and revise current taxonomies used for classifying academic
fields of study, including the development of crosswalks between existing
taxonomies and any potential new taxonomy, as well as strengthen methods
to enhance the identification and description of cross-disciplinary and
multi-disciplinary fields. SRS will
continue research and methodological activities begun in FY 2005 to improve
the relevance and quality of data collected on the conduct of research
and development (R&D). SRS is engaged in a long-term effort to devise
collection instruments that more accurately measure the economic output
of R&D than is presently captured in the Industry Research and Development
Expenditures Survey. Activities include: methodological research on how
best to capture R&D activities in the service sector, the role of
innovation, new forms of conducting R&D, and the globalization of
R&D. SRS will continue to collect and disseminate breakthrough data
on the characteristics of cyber infrastructure in the nation’s academic
and biomedical facilities, for which first-time data were collected in
FY 2004 and published in FY 2005. The pace of change with respect to cyber
infrastructure is so rapid that the survey instrument will have to be
updated prior to each biennial fielding, with the next survey conducted
in FY 2006. (For more on NSF SRS, see Chapter 5
and Chapter 20.)
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