Letters Organized, Signed, and/or Sent

This page also includes ASA amicus briefs and responses to calls for comments. ASA’s procedure for signing/sending letters, responding to calls for comment, and filing amicus briefs is explained in ASA’s guide for determining whether to make a public statement on a policy-related issue.

Funding:

(non-funding letters appear below under “Policy”)

• ASA urges NIST to continue funding of the Center for Statistics and Applications in Forensic Evidence (CSAFE), a NIST Center of Excellence, 6/25/24.
• ASA signs letter in support of budgets for BJS and NIJ: 4/11/22; NIJ 6/10/22; NIJ 3/22/23, BJS 3/22/23, BJS and NIJ, 3/8/24; BJS and NIJ, 4/19/24.
• ASA thanks Congress for their support for the BLS, NCES, NCHS, and NIH in the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies bill, FY22 Final 3/16/22; FY23 House 7/8/22, FY23 Senate 8/23/22; DeLauro, 1/5/23; Cole, 1/5/23; Murray, 1/5/23.
• ASA supports funding for the U.S. Census Bureau: 4/28/22, 9/8/22, 9/5/23, 4/10/24, 4/3/25.
• ASA supports science research funding (non-NIH)
  • FY25: NSF, 11/3/23; AHRQ, 2/26/24; CDC, 3/26/24, CDC DMI, 4/30/24.
  • FY26, AHRQ 3/3/25
• ASA supports funding for other federal statistical agencies
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics: 5/22/20, 12/9/20, 5/1/24, 9/24/24.
  • Bureau of Transportation Statistics: House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, 5/3/22. 
  • National Center for Education Statistics: 4/7/22; 11/15/22; 11/15/22, FY24 Appropriations staffing fix, 3/15/23; 3/15/23; 2/5/24; 4/8/24; 11/22/24, 4/7/25.
  • National Center for Health Statistics: FY23 Priorities of Friends of NCHS, 4/27/22, FY24 Priorities of Friends of NCHS (one-page version); FY23 Conference, 9/16/22; 3/9/2023, 9/21/23; 3/28/24; 9/27/24.
  • Bureau of Economic Analysis: 5/20/22, 4/18/23, 5/1/24.
• ASA signs letter urging strong allocation for appropriations bill that funds NSF, Census, and two other federal statistical agencies, 5/11/22.

For older Funding letters, see Science Policy Archives

Policy:

• The ASA responds to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Request for Information on the Development of an Artificial Intelligence Action Plan, 3/14/25.
• The ASA joins a statement with 33 other scientific organization supporting “vaccination as a cornerstone of public health, a shining example of the power of scientific research, and a vital tool in the fight against preventable diseases,” 3/18/25.
• ASA organizes letter to Congress and Administration on threats to federal economic, statistics, 2/18/25.
• ASA signs letter to Congress urging they restore missing federal data
• ASA joins coalition letter in support of science
• ASA responds to call for comments regarding the extension of the American Community Survey, 1/6/25.
• International Statistical Institute and the ASA send letter to Prime Minister of Poland regarding his dismissal of the President of Statistics Poland, 12/26/24.
• ASA signs letter to the US Senate expressing “strong collective support for the immediate confirmation of Dr. Adam Gamoran as the next Director of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES)”, 10/23/24.
• ASA joins letter to Congress opposing HR 7109, the Equal Representation Act because of provisions bypassing the Census Bureau’s objective, robust review process, 4/9/24.
• ASA comments on OMB Request for Information Regarding Procurement of Artificial Intelligence Tools in Government, 4/29/24.
• The ASA writes to Secretary of Education regarding National Center for Education Statistics, 2/1/24.
• The ASA joins Friends of BLS letter to the US Senate urging swift confirmation of Dr. Erika McEntarfer as BLS Commissioner, 1/5/24.
• ASA comments on NCES components of draft reauthorization Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 bill from the Senate HELP Committee, 12/7/2023.
• ASA joins scores of organizations, former statistical system leaders, and others to urge Senate HELP Committee to empower NCES to better provide timely, relevant, objective, and trustworthy statistics for our schools, students, families, and country.
• ASA and partner societies respond to Congressional call for input on CDC, urging measures to “empower NCHS so that it can better fulfill its HHS-wide and federal statistical agency mission to provide timely and objective statistics on our nation's health and healthcare.” 10/20/23.
• ASA comments on executive-branch comment time following the statistical release of Principal Federal Economic Indicators, 10/13/2023.
• ASA Comments on “Trust Regulation”: Fundamental Responsibilities of Recognized Statistical Agencies and Units, 10/2/23.
• ASA Executive Director Ron Wasserstein urges West Virginia University to continue its PhD program in mathematics, 8/30/2023.
• ASA responds to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) call for input for its Generative AI Working Group, 7/18/23.
• ASA signs letter supporting President Biden’s nomination of Dr. Monica Bertagnolli as director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and urging her rapid confirmation, 6/12/23.
• ASA, COPAFS, PAA, and former NCHS leaders respond to Congressional RFI on CDC reform with input regarding NCHS, 4/21/23.
• ASA provides the Senate HELP Committees its NCES recommendation for reauthorization of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, 4/14/23.
• ASA comments on Initial Proposals For Updating OMB's Race and Ethnicity Statistical Standards, 4/7/23.
• ASA priorities for National Center for Education Statistics in reauthorization of Education Sciences Reform Act (ESRA)
• ASA provides comment for Request for Information Proposed Simplified Review Framework for NIH Research Project Grant Applications, 3/10/23.

For older Policy letters, see Archive