May 7, 2009 PRESIDENT RELEASES DETAILED 2010 BUDGET REQUEST President Obama sent his detailed Fiscal Year 2010 (FY2010) budget proposal to Congress today, continuing the process for funding federal programs starting October 1, 2009. The budget seeks $7.375 billion for the U.S. Census Bureau, more than twice this year’s appropriation of $3.14 billion. The projected “life cycle” cost of the 2010 census is $13.7 – 14.5 billion; an additional $1 billion allocated in the “stimulus bill” will increase that figure. Historically, about half of the total census cost is spent in the census year alone. Congress has asked the Census Bureau for an updated cost estimate. 2010 census: The Administration requested about $6.97 billion in new budget authority for the 2010 census, well more than double the FY2009 allocation of $2.7 billion. In 2010, the Census Bureau will: • open and staff remaining Local Census Offices (for a total of almost 500); • recruit 3.8 million and hire 1.4 million temporary employees to conduct the census; • finalize data capture, data processing, and telecommunications systems; • print 140+ million census questionnaires and other materials (e.g. advance letter); • launch a national advertising campaign; • hire additional national and regional staff to oversee field operations; • collect census information from every residential housing unit and group quarters in the country, using the mail, telephone, and door-to-door visits; and • conduct an accuracy-check survey (Census Coverage Measurement). The Census Bureau expects to spend roughly $7.8 billion on the decennial census in FY2010, once funds carried over from 2009 – including much of the stimulus money-- are added to the requested amount. Some decennial census activities, including final tabulation of population and housing unit totals, occur in Fiscal Year 2011, which starts October 1, 2010. The American Community Survey (ACS) will continue nationwide, as this replacement for the traditional census long form moves closer to providing the first demographic, economic, and housing characteristics data for areas as small as census tracts and block groups in 2010, based on five years worth of data collection (2005 – 2009). The budget proposes reinstating the Community Address Updating System (CAUS), which was developed early in the ACS implementation cycle to help the Census Bureau maintain an updated address list throughout the decade in rural and remote areas, where housing units may not have traditional city-style addresses. Funding for the decennial census is part of the Periodic Censuses and Programs (“Periodics”) account, one of two main funding categories for the Census Bureau. The President’s budget seeks $7.116 billion for Periodics in FY2010, an increase of $4.2 billion over the FY2009 $2.91 billion allocation. The Periodics account covers activities related to the census, intercensal population estimates, and other cyclical programs such as the Economic Census and Census of Governments. Economic statistics: The second main funding category for the Census Bureau is Salaries and Expenses (S & E). The S & E account covers ongoing surveys, including the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) and Quarterly Financial Surveys, to collect important demographic, economic, and social data. The budget proposes $259 million for Salaries and Expenses, an increase of $25.4 million over this year’s funding level of $233.6 million for discretionary programs. (The S & E request also includes $30 million in mandatory spending for surveys on income and health insurance required by federal law.) The Administration’s S & E request includes a new initiative to expand the Local Employment Dynamics Program, which develops information about local labor market conditions. In 2010, the Census Bureau will publish data from the 2007 Economic Census. The data is collected in 2008, reflecting 2007 activities and information. The President requested $112 million for the Economic Census, a decrease of $5 million from 2009, to publish all remaining data from the survey and begin planning for the next one. The Economic Census, funded through the Periodics account, covers the manufacturing, mining, retail and wholesale trade service, construction, and transportation industries. Along with the Census of Governments, it is taken every five years, in years ending in “2” and “7.” 2010 is the last year of the six-year 2007 Economic Census cycle and the first year of the 2012 Economic Census cycle. Bureau of Economic Analysis: The Census Bureau is one of two statistical agencies under the Commerce Department’s Economic and Statistics Administration (ESA). The second agency, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), produces key economic statistics, including Gross Domestic Product (GDP), that support U.S. monetary and fiscal policies, trade negotiations, business planning, and personal savings and investment decisions. The President asked for $105 million for BEA and ESA in FY2010, roughly $14 million more than the FY2009 $90.6 million funding level. The Administration is proposing four initiatives “to significantly improve BEA’s measurement of the U.S. economy,” covering the service sector, new and expanded components of GDP, county-level personal income, and foreign direct investment. Editor’s note: This Census News Brief is based on information released this morning about the President’s budget request. We will keep stakeholders informed and refine this information as more becomes available in the coming days. Census News Briefs are prepared by Terri Ann Lowenthal, an independent legislative and policy consultant working with a wide range of census stakeholders to promote an accurate 2010 census. All views expressed in the News Briefs are solely those of the author. Please direct questions about the information in this News Brief to Ms. Lowenthal at TerriAnn2K(a)aol.com. Please feel free to circulate this document to other interested individuals and organizations. Ms. Lowenthal is a consultant to the nonpartisan Census Project, organized by the Communications Consortium Media Center in Washington, DC. Previous Census News Briefs are posted at www.thecensusproject.org. -- Ed Christopher 708-283-3534 (V) 708-574-8131 (cell) FHWA RC-TST-PLN 19900 Governors Dr Olympia Fields, IL 60461