Policy & Advocacy

Support of Federal Statistical System

The ASA actively supports the federal statistical agencies, through work with other stakeholders, the ASA Board, and others.

• The ASA works actively on many topics relating to the budgets, autonomy or other issues of the federal statistical agencies. See, for example,
  • The many letters ASA has organized, signed and/or sent on these topics.
  • Federal statisticians’ participation in ASA governance: "Obama Administration Science Integrity Memo includes Good News for ASA Governance and Government Statisticians: More steps necessary"; and "Office of Government Ethics Proposed Rule Would Facilitate Federal Scientists Participating in Professional Society Leadership"
  • Blog entries at the ASA Community on federal statistical agency developments (e.g., see the statistical agency budget entries below.)
  • "IRS Statistics of Income Gets Good News," Amstat News, February, 2010.
• Tracking the budgets of the Federal Statistical Agencies:
  • FY14: FY14 Statistical Agency Budget Request, an ASA Community blog entry
  • FY13: FY13 Statistical Agency Budget Developments, ASA Community Blog Entry; FY13 Statistical Agency Budget Requests: Requested increases for many statistical agencies, ASA Community Blog Entry; FY13 Budget Request: Flat Funding to Significant Increases for NIH, NSF, Statistical Agencies, Amstat News, April 2012.
  • FY12: FY12 Statistical Agency Budget Developments, ASA Community Blog Entry; FY12 Statistical Agency Budget Requests, ASA Community Blog Entry; Administration Affirms Role of Data-Driven Decisionmaking with FY12 Budget Requests, Amstat News, April 2011.
  • FY11: Science and Statistical Agencies Fare Well in 2011 Budget Request Amstat News, April 2010. FY11 Budget Deal: Impacts on Science and Statistical Agency Budgets, ASA Community Blog Entry.
• ASA helps to raise the profile of federal statistical agencies through many activities, including the cosponsorship of Congressional briefings relevant to federal statistics, meetings with Congressional staff, materials such as the American Community Survey one-pager, and such events as American Statistical Association's celebration of World Statistics Day.
• ASA Board of Director's Actions
• ASA endorsement of 4th Edition of Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency is released.
• Meetings with the Interagency Council of Statistical Policy regarding workforce pipeline and other issues.
• Articles in Amstat News and elsewhere
• Articles on statistical agency budgets, see statistical agency budget entries above.
• Interviews with federal statistical agencies heads: BLS Commissioner Erica Groshen (April 2013); EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski (November 2012); NCHS Director Edward Sondik (October 2012), Economic Research Service Administrator Mary Bohman (May 2012), Census Bureau Director Bob Groves (March 2012); EPA Chief Statistician Barry Nussbaum (February 2012); NASS Administrator Cynthia Clark (December 2011); NCSES Director Lynda Carlson (November 2011); BLS Commissioner Keith Hall (October 2011); BEA Director Steve Landefeld (August 2011); BTS Director Patricia Hu (July 2011); NCES Commissioner Jack Buckley (June 2011); SOI Director Susan Boehmer (May 2011); BJS Director Jim Lynch (April 2011).
• Big Data: A Perspective from the BLS, January 2013
• "Wanted! Statisticians in the Federal Statistical System," Tommy Wright and Rod Little, U.S. Census Bureau, November 2012.
• How I Spent My Year at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Nick Horton, December 2012.
• Data Synchronization: Leveraging Existing Business Data to Better Measure the Economy, Adrienne Pilot, Council of Economic Advisors, November 2011.
• Roderick Little writes on Restructuring Research at the Census Bureau.
• COPAFS Edward Spar writes on Challenges Facing Federal Statistics in the United States.
• CNSTAT's Connie Citro writes on The Federal Statistical System: R&D to Bolster a National Treasure
• Brookings' Andrew Reamer on the health on the Federal Statistical Agencies.
• Hermann Habermann writes on planning for the 2020 Census.
• Tom Petska reflects on 36 years of service in the federal statistical agencies
• Steve Pierson's article for the June, 2009 APDU Newsletter, Agency IT Centralization and Ramifications for Statistical Agencies
• Other links
• National Academies' National Committee on Statistics
• Office of Management and Budget's Statistical Programs and Standards
• Federal Statistical Data on C-Span's Washington Journal America By the Numbers (ABTN). For notifications of upcoming C-Span ABTN segments, "Like" the American Statistical Association on Facebook and follow Amstat News on Twitter: @AmstatNews.)
  • Robert Groves, Census Director, August 12, 2011: Census Bureau Director and economist Eileen Appelbaum discusses the demographics of working women in America, and addresses issues like pay equity; the effect childrearing has on working women; education and workforce participation; women and business ownership; and how the recent economic recession and economic turmoil has affected working women in America.
  • James Lynch, BJS Director, August 26, 2011: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Director & Richard Rosenfeld, University of Missouri - St. Louis, Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice, discuss the trends in and demographics of crime in America.
  • Edward Sondik, NCHS Director, September 2, 2011: National Center for Health Statistics, Director & Michael O'Grady, Univ. of Chicago National Opinion Research Center - Health Policy Senior Fellow discuss the trends in and demographics of mortality rates in America.
  • Richard Newell, EIA Administrator: May 13, 2011
  • Keith Hall, BLS Commissioner: September 23, 2011
  • Steve Landefeld, BEA Director: September 30, 2011; March 9, 2012
  • Jack Buckley, NCES Commissioner: October 7, 2011; April 6, 2012
  • Howard Gruenspecht, Acting EIA Administrator: October 14, 2011
  • Cynthia Clark, NASS Administrator: October 28, 2011; See also March 16, 2012 broadcast with Hubert Hamer, National Agricultural Statistics Board Chair
  • Patricia Hu, BTS Director: December 9, 2011; April 13, 2012
  • See the many other U.S. Census Bureau "America By the Numbers" speakers here
• Principal Federal Statistical Agencies
• U.S. Census Bureau's video on importance and relevance of federal statistics produced for World Statistics Day
• NASS's "Safeguarding America's Agricultural Statistics" video
• "Improving the Federal Statistical System: Report of the Joint Ad Hoc Committee on Government Statistics," The American Statistician, Vol. 30, No. 4, Nov., 1976, pp. 154-158.
• "Improving the Federal Statistical System: Report of the President's Reorganization Project for the Federal Statistical System," James T. Bonnen, Theodore G. Clemence, Ivan P. Fellegi, Thomas B. Jabine, Ronald E. Kutscher, Larry K. Roberson and Charles A. Waite. The American Statistician, Vol. 35, No. 4, Nov., 1981, pp. 184-196.
• "Recent Efforts to Maximize Benefits from the Statistics of Income Advisory Panel," Tom Petska and Beth Kilss. Presented at the 2003 American Statistical Association Meetings.
• Statipedia