FY2017 Appropriations for the Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis

Summary

This report discusses FY2017 appropriations (discretionary budget authority) for the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau), which make up the Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA) in the U.S. Department of Commerce. The report will be updated as necessary to reflect congressional actions.

The Administration’s FY2017 budget request for ESA (except the Census Bureau, whose budget justification is published separately from ESA’s) is $114.6 million, $5.6 million (5.2%) above the $109.0 million FY2016-enacted funding level. Of the $114.6 million, the $110.7 million requested for BEA exceeds the $105.1 million FY2016-enacted amount by $5.6 million (5.3%); the $4.0 million requested to fund ESA’s policy support and management oversight is $83,000 (2.1%) more than the $3.9 million approved for FY2016.

The FY2017 request for the Census Bureau is $1,633.6 million, $263.6 million (19.2%) above the $1,370.0 million FY2016-enacted amount. The FY2017 request is divided between the bureau’s two major accounts: Current Surveys and Programs would receive $285.3 million, a $15.3 million (5.7%) increase over the $270.0 million enacted for FY2016; Periodic Censuses and Programs—which include the decennial census, American Community Survey, economic census, and census of governments—would receive $1,348.3 million, $248.3 million (22.6%) more than the $1,100.0 million approved for FY2016.

On April 21, 2016, the Senate Committee on Appropriations reported S. 2837, the Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2017 (CJS), with recommended funding of $109.0 million for ESA (showing no separate breakout for BEA). The recommendation is identical to ESA’s FY2016 funding level and $5.6 million (4.9%) below the FY2017 request. S. 2837, as reported, recommends $1,518.3 million for the Census Bureau in FY2017, $148.3 million (10.8%) above the FY2016 appropriation and $115.3 million (7.1%) below the FY2017 request. Current Surveys and Programs would receive $270.0 million, the same as the FY2016-enacted amount and $15.3 million (5.4%) less than requested for FY2017. Periodic Censuses and Programs would be funded at $1,248.3 million, $148.3 million (13.5%) more than enacted for FY2016 and $100.0 million (7.4%) less than the FY2017 request. The committee’s recommendation provides for $2.6 million to be transferred from this account to the Commerce Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) for continued “oversight and audits of periodic censuses” and “independent recommendations” to improve 2020 census operations.

The House Committee on Appropriations approved the House FY2017 CJS appropriations bill, H.R. 5393, on June 7, 2016. The bill recommends $107.0 million in funding for ESA (with no separate breakout for BEA), $2.0 million (1.8%) less than enacted for FY2016 and approved by the Senate committee, and $7.6 million (6.7%) below the FY2017 request. The Census Bureau would receive $1,470.0 million, $100.0 million (7.3%) above the FY2016 funding level, $163.6 million (10.0%) less than requested for FY2017, and $48.3 million (3.2%) below the Senate committee’s recommendation. The $270.0 million approved for Current Surveys and Programs equals the FY2016-enacted and FY2017 Senate committee-recommended amounts, and is $15.3 million (5.4%) under the FY2017 request. Funding for Periodic Censuses and Programs would be $1,200.0 million, $100.0 million (9.1%) above the FY2016-enacted level, $148.3 million (11.0%) less than requested for FY2017, and $48.3 million (3.9%) below what the Senate committee approved. The House committee, like its Senate counterpart, would have $2.6 million of the amount for Periodic Censuses and Programs transferred to the Commerce Department’s OIG for Census Bureau oversight.