Hello fellow federal data supporters! As of today, we have over 400 members! Here are some highlights from community member posts in June:
Major reorganization proposed: The President's Budget suggests reorganizing the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and Census Bureau at the Department of Commerce, though no specific details are provided about how this restructuring would work.
Severe proposed cuts to federal statistics agencies: The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Statistics budget line has been completely zeroed out. The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) also faces steep cuts, with proposed program funding dropping from $78 million in FY23 to just $44 million in FY26, forcing significant rescoping of workforce measurement activities.
Staffing crisis at statistical agencies: About 1,300 Census Bureau employees have departed, and there's an ongoing hiring freeze across many federal agencies.
The Education Department missed a June 1 deadline for delivering the Condition of Education report to Congress.
SPD15 race/ethnicity standards still moving forward: Census Bureau leadership confirmed at a COPAFS meeting that implementation of updated race/ethnicity data standards is still on track. The CPS is testing revisions to race and ethnicity standards that are in line with SPD-15.
New tracking tools launched: DataIndex.us unveiled a portal to monitor federal data changes and Information Collection Requests, while the Data Rescue Project launched a dashboard to track rescued datasets across institutions.
Call for everyday impact stories: Data advocates are seeking concrete examples of how federal datasets benefit peoples' lives to counter public indifference and build support for continued data collection. Share yours.
Calls for public comment: Several posts were made about calls for public comment in the Federal Data Forum. They can be found using the new “Take Action” tag. To see a full list click here.