| 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. The funding levels for FY 2007 that have been proposed for the
principal statistical agencies provide some increases over the resources appropriated
in FY 2006—but not always. For details of the funding history in fiscal years
2006 through 2008 please see Table 1. The balance of this chapter provides further
details on FY 2008 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 2006 FY 2007 FY 2008
Actual Estimate Request Bureau of the Census: Current Programs $195.5 $195.5 $202.8 -Periodic
Programs
606.4 694.1 1,027.4 Bureau of Labor Statistics 537.1 548.1 574.4 Bureau of Economic Analysis 75.3 75.7
81.4 Statistics of Income, IRS 36.6 41.3 40.9 National Agricultural Statistics Service 110.5 111.0 113.1
- Census of Agriculture 28.8 36.3 54.6 Economic Research Service, USDA 75.2 75.2 82.5 Energy Information Administration 85.3 90.7 105.1 National
Center for Health Statistics 1/, 2/
109.0 109.0 109.9 National
Center for Education Statistics 2/
90.9 90.0 119.0 Bureau of Justice Statistics 34.6 34.6
45.0 Bureau of Transportation Statistics 26.7 26.7 27.0 Science Resources Statistics, NSF 33.0 36.0 37.0 For
FY 2008, funding is requested for the Census Bureau’s ongoing economic and demographic
programs and for a re-engineered 2010 Census. For the Census Bureau’s economic
and demographic programs, funding is requested to: (1) collect and process economic
census returns for the 2007 Economic Census; (2) create the universe frame and
develop organizational information for the 2007 Census of Governments, as well
as collect and process data for the employment phase, and collect and process
data from states and other sources for the finance phase; (3) undertake an initiative
to close the current gap in service sector coverage; and (4) continue reengineering
the Survey of Income and Program Participation. For the 2010 Census program, funding
is requested to continue to: (1) conduct planning, testing, and development activities
to support a re-engineered 2010 Census, including the 2008 Census Dress Rehearsal
and early operations for the 2010 Census; (2) improve the accuracy of map feature
locations for the remaining 367 counties of the total of 3,232 counties; and (3)
continue to conduct the American Community Survey to provide socio-economic data
on an ongoing basis rather than only once a decade. 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 2008, funding is requested to support the production, dissemination, and improvement
of BLS economic measures, including: (1) the introduction of continuous updating
to the housing and geographic area samples in the Consumer Price Index (CPI),
which will improve the accuracy and timeliness of the CPI; (2) the continuation
of efforts to modernize the computing systems for monthly processing of the Producer
Price Index (PPI) and U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes (IPP); (3) the publication,
for the first time, of local area Employment Cost Index (ECI) and Employer Costs
for Employee Compensation (ECEC) series as deemed feasible as a result of testing
completed in 2007; and (4) expand the coverage of services in the PPI by publishing
new indexes for service sector outputs, such as computer training. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) The
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) 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 U.S. 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 2008, funding is requested to: (1) extend the prototype Research & Development
satellite account, funded by the National Science Foundation in 2006 and 2007,
with annual updates and extensions to BEA’s Gross Domestic Product and other estimates
between 2008 and 2012, and full incorporation into the economic accounts in 2013;
(2) complete BEA’s five-year program to improve the accuracy and timeliness of
the Nation’s economic accounts by addressing data gaps and measurement problems,
expanding integration with other accounts, and improving consistency with international
standards; and (3) continue to improve the accuracy of statistics on services,
profits, compensation, international trade in services, and off-shoring. Statistics of Income, Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) The
Statistics of Income (SOI) Division 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 the 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 2008, funding is requested to: (1) maintain and modernize tax data collection
systems, including developing interfaces with modern electronic tax return filing
systems; (2) implement a data bank 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 enhancement
of products and features on the www.irs.gov Taxstats website. National Agricultural Statistics Service
(NASS) The
U.S. Department of Agriculture 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. For
FY 2008, funding is requested to support the cyclical activities associated with
data collection and processing of the 2007 Census of Agriculture and pay costs.
FY 2008 is the data collection year for the quinquennial Census of Agriculture.
Cyclical funding increases will be used for the postage and outsourcing of functions
associated with mailing out questionnaire packages, logging returned questionnaires,
capturing reported data, and conducting telephone and personal follow-up to non-respondents.
The questionnaires are scheduled to be mailed to the nation’s agricultural producers
in December 2007, with the results scheduled for release in February 2009. Economic Research Service (ERS) The
Economic Research Service (ERS) 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 2008, funding is requested to 1) strengthen the market analysis and outlook
program to ensure the continuity and quality of current market analysis and enhance
coverage of increasingly complex global markets for an expanding array of agricultural
products and 2) strengthen ERS’ research and modeling capacity in the areas of
bioenergy to better understand the economics of bioenergy production, the demand
for by-products, and the likely future adjustments in the crop and livestock sectors. Energy Information Administration
(EIA) The
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 the Department of Energy (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 2008, funding is requested to: 1) maintain critical energy data coverage, analysis,
and forecasting; 2) improve data reliability and statistical accuracy through
redesigning key petroleum and natural gas surveys whose data drive investment
and trade decisions, improve energy market function, and lead to efficient pricing;
3) complete development and launch monthly ethanol and biofuels data collections
as mandated in Section 1508 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005; 4) strengthen global
oil and gas data and modeling capabilities; 5) improve the ability to assess and
forecast supply, demand, and technology trends affecting U.S. and world energy
markets by replacing the U.S. Energy Model; and 6) invest in cyber-security improvements. National Center for Health
Statistics (NCHS) The
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) 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 2008 funding is requested to: (1) continue data collection, analysis, and dissemination
for key national health data systems, including the National Vital Statistics
System, National Health Interview Survey, National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey, and National Health Care Survey; (2) continue gains in timeliness by implementing
systems improvements in data collection and processing; (3) continue efforts to
develop survey data that address the health care delivery system; 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) 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 2008, funding is requested to: (1) conduct the National Assessment of Educational
Progress, including 12th grade reading and mathematics assessments in 2009; (2)
plan for a new high school longitudinal study that will begin with a cohort of
9th graders in 2009 and follow them through postsecondary education and into the
workforce; (3) analyze data from international studies such as the 2007 Trends
in International Mathematics and Science Study and plan for new international
assessments; (4) undertake a pilot study on the development of postsecondary unit
records, an essential restructuring of several components of the Integrated Postsecondary
Education Data System; (5) carry out the 2007–08 Schools and Staffing Survey to
obtain information on public and private schools, principals, and teachers; and
(6) conduct the Beginning Postsecondary Student Longitudinal Survey, which provides
information on the progress of postsecondary students, as well as the 2008 National
Postsecondary Student Aid Survey. (For more on NCES, see Chapter
19.) Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) BJS
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 BJS mission 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 2008, the budget request includes a base program increase to support the implementation
of a redesign to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), which will include
major revisions to the survey methodology. A comprehensive review of the NCVS
has been initiated by the Committee on National Statistics of the National Academy
of Sciences (NAS) to address cost and design issues of the survey. Funds will
also be used to develop a national recidivism statistical series, which will periodically
follow samples of released prisoners. The series would provide baseline data,
as well as representative data every 3 years, on the rates of re-arrest, reconviction,
and re-incarceration among released State and Federal prisoners. These data are
essential for evaluating the effectiveness of reentry programs, post-custody surveillance,
and state policies related to parole revocation. In addition base funds will be
used for the maintenance of BJS’ core statistical programs, including: (1) criminal
victimization statistics; (2) cybercrime data 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; and (6)
data on correctional populations and facilities from Federal, State, and local
governments. With available funding in FY 2008, BJS will continue implementing
national surveys designed to describe the incidence and circumstances associated
with sexual assault in adult and juvenile correctional institutions, as required
under the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003. Bureau of Transportation Statistics
(BTS) The
Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) legislative mandate covers: 1) The Intermodal
Transportation Database; 2) The National Transportation Atlas Database; 3) The
National Ferry Database; 4) The National Transportation Library; 5) The Transportation
Statistics Annual Report; 6) statistical guidelines, standards, and research;
7) The Advisory Council on Transportation Statistics; and 8) an information needs
study by the National Research Council (due in 2007). BTS is now within the Research
and Innovation Technology Administration (RITA) of the Department of Transportation
(DOT). For
FY 2008, funding is requested to (1) validate and finalize the data collected
in the Commodity Flow Survey, a major national benchmark survey of shippers; (2)
release monthly trade statistics on the commodities and mode of transportation
used with our largest trading partners; (3) produce a core set of economic data
and indicators including the Transportation Satellite Accounts, Transportation
Services Index, Air Travel Price Index, Government Transportation Financial Statistics,
multi-factor productivity measures, and the State Transit Expenditure Survey;
(4) produce and release the National Transportation Atlas Database, a compendium
of national geospatial transportation data; (5) provide statistics in reference
reports such as the Transportation Statistics Annual Report to Congress, the Pocket
Guide to Transportation, and the National Transportations Statistics Report; and
(6) begin data collection for the biennial update of the National Ferry Database. Sciences Resource Statistics, National
Science Foundation The
legislative mandate for Science Resource Statistics (SRS), as stated in the National
Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended, is, “…to 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 government….” 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. Funding
is requested in FY 2008 for SRS’ participation in the NSF initiative Science of
Science and Innovation Policy (SciSIP), which will develop the data, tools, and
knowledge needed to develop a new science of science policy. SRS’ contribution
to this initiative and the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) is to enhance
the comparability, scope and availability of data on the science and engineering
enterprise. SRS efforts related to SciSIP and ACI will involve enhancements and
additions to current SRS surveys of R&D and the S&E workforce, including
improvements in international data related to the science and engineering (S&E)
enterprise. SRS will coordinate its efforts with those of other nations and international
agencies (such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)
to deal with similar concerns and addressing the globalization of science
and technology. As part of these efforts, SRS will implement efforts to collect
better and more comprehensive data on those in postdoctoral positions, based on
several years of efforts to design frames and data collection strategies. Data
on post-doctorates, who play multiple roles within the U.S. research infrastructure, represent a major gap in NSF’s
data on science and engineering (S&E) personnel. SRS will also continue work
with the Census Bureau and the Office of Management and Budget to add a field
of degree item to the American Community Survey (ACS), which will facilitate use
of the ACS as a sampling frame for the SRS’ Survey of College Graduates, and provide
valuable information for analysis of the college-educated workforce, in both S&E
and non-S&E fields. Other improvement activities in FY 2008 include continuing
activities related to the Survey of Graduate Students and Post-doctorates in Science
and Engineering (GSS). In FY 2008 the second phase of the redesign will be implemented,
after significant testing, in the survey, and evaluation of the success of the
first phase of redesign, implemented in FY 2007. SRS will continue activities
examining the present taxonomies in place for describing fields of study/science.
(For more on NSF SRS, see Chapter 19.) |
