Description:
H.R. 8326 would amend the operations and organization of the Census Bureau and would require the bureau to establish a 2030 census advisory committee, consisting of 20 member organizations, to provide counsel on the design and implementation of the 2030 decennial census. The bill also would direct the bureau to create an advisory committee on statistical quality standards in preparation for the 2030 decennial census. Using information from the bureau, CBO expects that each committee would need two employees at an initial cost of $125,000 for each employee. On that basis, and accounting for anticipated inflation, CBO estimates that establishing and maintaining the two advisory committees would cost about $500,000 annually and $3 million over the 2023-2027 period. Any spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. In addition, H.R. 8326 would require the bureau to estimate the five-year costs of its operations in 2027 and each year thereafter, and to complete lifecycle cost estimates for each decennial census. Because these activities are routinely carried out under current law, CBO expects that the bureau would incur no additional costs to complete these estimates in later years. Finally, the bill would limit the number of reasons for which the President could remove the Director of the Census Bureau.
