American Community Survey

On May 9th the House voted 232-190 passing an amendment offered by Rep. Daniel Webster (Florida) to eliminate the American Community Survey.

Rep. Norman Dicks (Washington), Ranking Member of the full Appropriations Committee commented that the ACS, first administered in 2005 under President Bush, included questions that were part of the long form Census and had been asked since the time of Thomas Jefferson. As Kristina Costa (Center for American Progress) noted “Data from the … questionnaire are used to help the government best determine how to distribute federal assistance dollars, including Medicaid benefits, and federal grants to states and communities—more than $800 billion in grants and benefits in fiscal year 2008 alone.” Decisions made by the government should be based on the best information available in order to address global challenges in a financially effective manner.

Please contact both of your Senators immediately regarding the elimination of the American Community Survey. Click here for a list of senators and their contact information (feel free to call them and provide your comments). Write a letter/email to your Senators today; it will take only a minute and can make a difference.

LINKS:

Fact Sheet on the ACS

Annual Census at Risk in House Budget Bill - NYTimes.com

Letters in Support of the ACS

The American Community Survey Is Under Attack