[Analytical Perspectives]
[Crosscutting Programs]
[4. Strengthening Federal Statistics]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 37]]

 
                  4.  STRENGTHENING FEDERAL STATISTICS

  Federal statistical programs produce key information to inform public 
and private decision makers about a range of topics of interest, 
including the economy, the population, agriculture, crime, education, 
energy, the environment, health, science, and transportation. The 
ability of governments, businesses, and citizens to make appropriate 
decisions about budgets, employment, investments, taxes, and a host of 
other important matters depends critically on the ready availability of 
relevant, accurate, and timely Federal statistics.
  The Federal statistical community remains on alert for opportunities 
to improve these measures of our Nation's performance. For example, 
during 2007, Federal statistical agencies (i) published prototype 
estimates of Gross Domestic Product by metropolitan area for 2001-2005, 
which can be used to determine the overall size and growth of 
metropolitan economies, to assess the impacts of natural or man-made 
disasters on cities, and to analyze comparative industrial growth across 
metropolitan America (Bureau of Economic Analysis); (ii) developed a 
website that presents recent trends in mortality in State prisons, local 
jails, and State juvenile correctional facilities (Bureau of Justice 
Statistics); (iii) expanded coverage of the Producer Price Index to over 
70 percent of services output, by publishing new service sector indexes 
for management consulting, blood banks, computer training schools, and 
machinery and equipment repair (Bureau of Labor Statistics); (iv) 
developed an innovative software tool, called GeoMiler, to compute 
likely transportation routes more efficiently for the nearly 6 million 
freight shipments reported in the Commodity Flow Survey (Bureau of 
Transportation Statistics); (v) completed street features in the 
Decennial Census geographic database for 737 additional counties, 
bringing the total completed to about 90 percent of all 3,232 counties 
in the United States and Puerto Rico (Census Bureau); (vi) launched two 
new Internet gateways for State Energy Profiles and Country Energy 
Profiles (Energy Information Administration); (vii) enhanced 
representation of the Nation's socially disadvantaged and minority farm 
operators in the Census of Agriculture (National Agricultural Statistics 
Service); and (viii) offered significantly more timely access to 
National Health Interview Survey data on the Internet (National Center 
for Health Statistics).
  For Federal statistical programs to benefit effectively their wide 
range of users, the underlying data systems must be viewed as credible. 
In order to foster this credibility, Federal statistical programs seek 
to adhere to high quality standards and to maintain integrity and 
efficiency in the production of data. As the collectors and providers of 
these basic statistics, the responsible agencies act as data stewards--
balancing public and private decision makers' needs for information with 
legal and ethical obligations to minimize reporting burden, respect 
respondents' privacy, and protect the confidentiality of the data 
provided to the Government. This chapter discusses the development of 
standards that principal statistical programs use to assess their 
performance and presents highlights of their 2009 budget proposals.

                          Performance Standards


Description of Dimensions





Product Quality

Relevance: Qualitative or quantitative descriptions of the degree to which products and
 services are useful to users and responsive to users' needs.

Accuracy: Qualitative or quantitative measure of important features of correctness,
 validity, and reliability of data and information products measured as degree of closeness
 to target values.

Timeliness: Qualitative or quantitative measure of the timing of information releases.

Program Performance

Cost: Quantitative measure of the dollar amount used to produce data products and services.

Dissemination: Qualitative or quantitative information on the availability, accessibility,
 and distribution of products and services.

Mission Achievement: Qualitative or quantitative information about the effect of, or
 satisfaction with, statistical programs.


  

Key to Statistical Agencies





BEA = Bureau of Economic Analysis, Department of Commerce
BJS = Bureau of Justice Statistics, Department of Justice
BLS = Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor
BTS = Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Department of Transportation
Census = Census Bureau, Department of Commerce
EIA = Energy Information Administration, Department of Energy
ERS = Economic Research Service, Department of Agriculture
NASS = National Agricultural Statistics Service, Department of Agriculture
NCES = National Center for Education Statistics, Department of Education
NCHS = National Center for Health Statistics, Department of Health and Human Services
ORES = Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics, Social Security Administration
SOI = Statistics of Income, Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury
SRS = Science Resources Statistics Division, National Science Foundation



  Statistical programs maintain the quality of their data or information 
products as well as their credibility by setting high performance 
standards for their activities. The statistical agencies and statistical 
units represented on the Interagency Council on Statistical Policy 
(ICSP) have collaborated on developing a set of common performance 
standards for use under the Government Performance and Results Act and 
in completing the Administration's Program Assessment Rating Tool 
(PART). Federal statistical agencies agreed that there are six 
conceptual dimensions within two general areas of focus that are key to 
measuring and monitoring statistical programs. The first area of focus 
is Product Quality, encompassing the traditional dimensions of 
relevance, accuracy, and timeliness. The second area of focus is Program 
Performance, encompassing the dimensions of cost, dissemination, and 
mission achievement.
  Statistical agencies historically have focused on measuring 
performance in the area of product quality, especially dimensions of 
accuracy and timeliness that are most amenable to quantitative 
measurement. Relevance, also an accepted measure of quality, can be 
either a qualitative description of the usefulness of products or a 
quantitative measure such as a customer satisfaction score. Relevance is 
more difficult to measure, and the indicators that do exist are more 
varied.
  Program performance standards form the basis for evaluating 
effectiveness. They address questions such as: Are taxpayer dollars 
being spent most effectively? Are products being made available to those 
who need them? Are agencies meeting their mission requirements or making 
it possible for other agencies to meet their missions? The indicators 
available to measure program performance for statistical activities were 
historically less well developed than those for product quality, but 
nearly all principal statistical agencies have now devel

[[Page 38]]

oped and implemented a complete set of program performance standards.
  Product quality and program performance standards are designed to 
serve as indicators when answering specific questions in the 
Administration's PART process. Chart 4-1 presents each principal Federal 
statistical agency's assessment of the status of its current and planned 
use of indicators on the six dimensions. With the exception of cost 
indicators, where one agency (NCHS) is still planning its measure, each 
ICSP agency has now developed performance measures for all six 
dimensions. Use of the indicators may be for internal management, 
strategic planning, or annual performance reporting. The dimensions 
shown in the chart re

[[Page 39]]

flect an overall set of indicators for statistical activities, but the 
specific measures vary among the individual programs depending on their 
unique characteristics and requirements. Annual performance reports and 
PARTs provide these specific measures, as well as additional information 
about performance goals and targets and whether a program is meeting, or 
making measurable progress toward meeting, its performance goals. The 
examples below illustrate different ways agencies track their 
performance on each dimension.

  Product Quality: Statistical agencies agree that product quality 
encompasses many attributes, including (but not limited to) relevance, 
accuracy, and timeliness. The basic measures in this group relate to the 
quality of specific products, thereby providing actionable information 
to managers. These are ``outcome-oriented'' measures and are key to the 
usability of information products. Statistical agencies or units 
establish targets and monitor how well targets are met. In some sense, 
relevance relates to ``doing the right things,'' while accuracy and 
timeliness relate to ``doing things right.''

            Relevance: Qualitative or quantitative descriptions of the 
          degree to which products and services are useful and 
          responsive to users' needs. Relevance of data products and 
          analytic reports may be monitored through a professional 
          review process and ongoing contacts with data users. Product 
          relevance may be indicated by customer satisfaction with 
          product content, information from customers about product use, 
          demonstration of product improvements, comparability with 
          other data series, agency responses to customer suggestions 
          for improvement, new or customized products or services, 
          frequency of use, or responses to data requests from users 
          (including policy makers). Through a variety of professional 
          review activities, agencies maintain the relevance and 
          validity of their products, and encourage data users and other 
          stakeholders to contribute to the agencies' data collection 
          and dissemination programs. Striving for relevance requires 
          monitoring to ensure that information systems anticipate 
          change and evolve to appropriately measure our dynamic society 
          and economy.

            Accuracy: Qualitative or quantitative measures of important 
          features of correctness, validity, and reliability of data and 
          information products measured as degree of closeness to target 
          values. For statistical data, accuracy may be defined as the 
          degree of closeness to the target value and measured as 
          sampling error and various aspects of nonsampling error (e.g., 
          response rates, size of revisions, coverage, edit 
          performance). For analysis products, accuracy may be the 
          quality of the reasoning, reasonableness of assumptions, and 
          clarity of the exposition, typically measured and monitored 
          through review processes. In addition, accuracy is assessed 
          and improved by internal reviews, comparisons of data among 
          different surveys, linkages of survey data to administrative 
          records, redesigns of surveys, or expansions of sample sizes.

            Timeliness:  Qualitative or quantitative measure of timing 
          of information releases. Timeliness may be measured as time 
          from the close of the reference period to the release of 
          information, or customer satisfaction with timeliness. 
          Timeliness may also be measured as how well agencies meet 
          scheduled and publicized release dates, expressed as a percent 
          of release dates met.

  Program Performance: Statistical agencies agree that program 
performance encompasses balancing the dimensions of cost, dissemination, 
and mission accomplishment for the agency as a whole; operating 
efficiently and effectively; ensuring that customers receive the 
information they need; and serving the information needs of the Nation. 
Costs of products or programs may be used to develop efficiency 
measures. Dissemination involves making sure customers receive the 
information they need via the most appropriate mechanisms. Mission 
achievement means that the information program makes a difference. 
Hence, three key dimensions are being used to indicate program 
performance: cost (input), dissemination (output), and mission 
achievement (outcome).

            Cost: Quantitative measure of the dollar amount used to 
          produce data products or services. The development and use of 
          financial performance measures within the Federal Government 
          is an established goal; the intent of such measures is to 
          determine the ``true costs'' of various programs or 
          alternative modes of operation at the Federal level. Examples 
          of cost data include full costs of products or programs, 
          return on investment, dollar value of efficiencies, and ratios 
          of cost to products distributed.

             Dissemination: Qualitative or quantitative information on 
          the availability, accessibility, and distribution of products 
          and services. Most agencies have goals to improve product 
          accessibility, particularly through the Internet. Typical 
          measures include: on-demand requests fulfilled, product 
          downloads, degree of accessibility, customer satisfaction with 
          ease of use, number of participants at user conferences, 
          citations of agency data in the media, number of Internet user 
          sessions, number of formats in which data are available, 
          amount of technical support provided to data users, exhibits 
          to inform the public about information products, issuance of 
          newsletters describing products, usability testing of web 
          sites, and assessing compliance with Section 508 of the 
          Rehabilitation Act, which requires Federal agencies to make 
          their electronic and information technology accessible to 
          people with disabilities.

            Mission Achievement: Qualitative or quantitative information 
          about the effect of, or satisfaction with, statistical 
          programs. For Government statis

[[Page 40]]

          tical programs, this dimension responds to the question: Have 
          we achieved our objectives and met the expectations of our 
          stakeholders? Under this dimension, statistical programs 
          document their contributions to the goals and missions of 
          parent departments and other agencies, the Administration, the 
          Congress, and information users in the private sector and the 
          general public. For statistical programs, this broad dimension 
          involves meeting recognized societal information needs; it 
          also addresses the linkage between statistical outputs and 
          programmatic outcomes.

            However, identifying this linkage is far from 
          straightforward. It is frequently difficult to trace the 
          effects of information products on the public good. Such 
          products often are necessary intermediate inputs in the 
          creation of high-visibility information whose societal benefit 
          is clearly recognized. For example, the economic statistics 
          produced by a variety of agencies are directly used by the 
          Bureau of Economic Analysis in the calculation of the Gross 
          Domestic Product (GDP), which analysts universally use to 
          assess changes in the level of domestic economic activity. 
          Similarly, statistics from specific surveys are directly used 
          by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the calculation of the 
          Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is widely used in diverse 
          applications, such as indexing pensions for retirees. As a 
          result, a number of statistical agencies can claim credit for 
          contributing to the GDP and/or the CPI and to the many uses of 
          these information products. In addition, statistics produced 
          by Federal agencies are used to track the performance of 
          programs managed by their parent or other organizations 
          related to topics such as crime, education, energy, the 
          environment, health, science, and transportation.

            Moreover, beyond the direct and focused uses of statistical 
          products, the statistical agencies and their programs serve a 
          diverse and dispersed set of data users working on a broad 
          range of applications. Users include government policy makers 
          at the Federal, State, and local levels, business leaders, 
          households, academic researchers, analysts at public policy 
          institutes and trade groups, marketers and planners in the 
          private sector, and many others. Information produced by 
          statistical agencies often is combined with other information 
          for use in the decision-making process. Thus, the relationship 
          between program outputs and their beneficial uses and outcomes 
          is often complex and difficult to track. Consequently, 
          agencies use both qualitative and quantitative indicators to 
          make this linkage as explicit as feasible.

            In the absence of preferred quantitative indicators, 
          qualitative narratives can indicate how statistical agency 
          products contribute to and evaluate progress toward important 
          goals established for government or private programs. In 
          particular, narratives can highlight how statistical agencies 
          measure the Nation's social and economic structure, and how 
          the availability of the information influences changes in 
          policies and programs. These narratives contribute to 
          demonstrating mission accomplishment, particularly in response 
          to questions in Section I of the PART, ``program purpose and 
          design.'' Narratives may describe statistical information's 
          effects on measuring agency policy or change of policy, 
          supporting research focused on policy issues, informing debate 
          on policy issues, or providing in-house consulting support.

            In addition to narratives, quantitative measures may be used 
          to reflect mission achievement. For example, customer 
          satisfaction with the statistical agency or unit indicates if 
          the agency or unit has met the expectations of its 
          stakeholders.

Chart 4-2.  MOST RECENT PART SUMMARY RATINGS FOR STATISTICAL PROGRAMS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                Summary Rating
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau of Economic Analysis          Effective

Bureau of Justice Statistics
  Criminal Justice Statistics        Effective
   Program
  National Criminal History          Moderately Effective
   Improvement Program

Bureau of Labor Statistics           Effective

Bureau of Transportation Statistics  Moderately Effective

Census Bureau
  Current Demographic Statistics     Effective
  Decennial Census                   Moderately Effective
  Intercensal Demographic Estimates  Moderately Effective
  Survey Sample Redesign             Effective
  Economic Census                    Effective
  Current Economic Statistics        Moderately Effective
    /Census of Governments

Economic Research Service            Effective

Energy Information Administration    Results Not Demonstrated

National Agricultural Statistics     Moderately Effective
 Service

National Center for Education
 Statistics
  Statistics                         Effective
  Assessment                         Effective

National Center for Health           Moderately Effective
 Statistics

Science Resources Statistics
 Division, NSF
  NSF's Infrastructure and           Effective
   Instrumentation component
------------------------------------------------------------------------


  Of the 14 principal Federal statistical agencies or units that are 
members of the ICSP, eleven agencies have programs that have been 
assessed using the PART process. All but one of these agencies' programs 
have received PART summary ratings of Effective or Moderately Effective, 
as shown in Chart 4-2. While recognizing the strength of the Energy 
Information Administration's purpose and management, in 2004 EIA 
received an initial rating of ``Results Not Demonstrated'' for two key 
reasons, both of which have since been rectified. At the time of the 
evaluation, EIA had re

[[Page 41]]

cently adopted new performance measures and lacked necessary historical 
baselines and future targets; these now exist for all measures. EIA was 
also critiqued for having no recurring independent evaluation of its 
entire program. EIA recruited an energy expert from the Massachusetts 
Institute of Technology to select and lead a team to conduct such an 
evaluation, and the team completed its report in 2006. EIA management 
accomplished one of the team's recommendations in 2007 by obtaining 
Principal Economic Indicator status for the Weekly Natural Gas Storage 
Report and is implementing several of the team's other recommendations 
as part of its strategic planning process. As additional ICSP agency 
programs have an opportunity to undergo the PART process, the agencies 
plan to continue to use the results of the collaborative performance 
standards development effort to help maintain and extend their generally 
favorable assessments.

               Highlights of 2009 Program Budget Proposals

  The programs that provide essential statistical information for use by 
governments, businesses, researchers, and the public are carried out by 
more than 70 agencies spread across every department and several 
independent agencies. Excluding cyclical funding for the Decennial 
Census, nearly 40 percent of the total budget for these programs 
provides resources for 13 agencies or units that have statistical 
activities as their principal mission. (Please see Table 4-1.) The 
remaining funding supports work in more than 60 agencies or units that 
carry out statistical activities in conjunction with other missions such 
as providing services or enforcing regulations. More comprehensive 
budget and program information about the Federal statistical system will 
be available in OMB's annual report, Statistical Programs of the United 
States Government, Fiscal Year 2009, when it is published later this 
year. The following highlights elaborate on the Administration's 
proposals to support the programs of the principal Federal statistical 
agencies.

  Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA): Funding is requested to continue 
BEA's core programs, and to: (1) extend the prototype R&D satellite 
account, funded by the National Science Foundation in 2006 and 2007, 
with annual updates and extensions to BEA's GDP and other estimates and 
eventual full incorporation into the economic accounts; (2) develop a 
more accurate measure of the health care sector in GDP and create a 
supplemental, satellite account that provides detailed and specific 
information on the expenditures of the health care industry and the 
costs of treating specific diseases; and (3) ensure the continued 
improvement of the accuracy and relevance of BEA's economic accounts 
data.
  Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS): Funding is requested for the 
maintenance of BJS' core statistical programs, including: (1) criminal 
victimization statistics; (2) cybercrime data on the incidence, 
magnitude, and consequences of electronic and computer crime to 
households and businesses; (3) law enforcement data from over 3,000 
agencies on the organization and administration of police and sheriffs' 
departments; (4) nationally-representative prosecution data on 
resources, policies, and practices of local prosecutors; (5) court and 
sentencing statistics, including Federal and State case processing data; 
and (6) data on correctional populations and facilities from Federal, 
State, and local governments.
  Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS): Funding is requested to maintain 
BLS' core programs, and to: 1) address the rising costs of the Current 
Population Survey (CPS) and avoid a reduction in the accuracy of CPS 
estimates both by requesting an additional appropriation and by 
reallocating funds within BLS through the elimination of lower-priority 
programs, such as the American Time Use Survey, that do not directly 
support Principal Federal Economic Indicators; (2) initiate continuous 
updating of the housing and geographic area samples in the Consumer 
Price Index (CPI), which will improve the accuracy and timeliness of the 
CPI; and (3) modernize the computing systems for monthly processing of 
the Producer Price Index and U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes.
  Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS): Funding is requested to 
develop measures of congestion and for the maintenance of BTS' core 
statistical programs, including: (1) production of data products from 
the 2007 Commodity Flow Survey, a major national benchmark survey of 
shippers; (2) release of monthly statistics on the commodities and mode 
of transportation used in trading with the United States' largest 
partners; (3) production of a core set of economic data and indicators, 
including the Transportation Services Index, multi-factor productivity 
measures, the State Transit Expenditure Survey, and the Air Travel Price 
Index; (4) release of the National Transportation Atlas Data Base, a 
compendium of national geospatial transportation data; and (5) 
dissemination of the Transportation Statistics Annual Report and other 
key publications on the national transportation system.
  Census Bureau: Funding is requested for the Census Bureau's ongoing 
economic and demographic programs and for a re-engineered 2010 Census. 
For the 2010 Census Program, funding is requested to: (1) conduct 
planning, testing, and development activities, including completion of 
dress rehearsal operations and assessments, and carry out several major 
operations for the 2010 Census, including Address Canvassing, while 
making final preparations for the remaining operations; (2) update the 
road network to a more recent vintage that includes new streets and 
roads constructed

[[Page 42]]

in counties that were aligned very early in the program; and (3) 
continue to conduct the American Community Survey to provide 
socioeconomic data on an ongoing basis rather than waiting for once-a-
decade censuses, releasing data for all places with a population of 
20,000 or larger. For the Census Bureau's other economic and demographic 
programs, funding is requested to: (1) process returns for the 2007 
Economic Census and conduct more than 100 annual, quarterly, and monthly 
surveys that provide key national economic statistics; (2) create 
Internet and printed reports containing government counts, employment 
levels, and finance data for the 2007 Census of Governments; (3) operate 
the Survey of Income and Program Participation at the traditional sample 
size and incorporate improvements; and (4) maintain the accuracy and 
relevance of Current Population Survey data.
  Economic Research Service (ERS): Funding is requested to continue ERS' 
core programs, and to: (1) strengthen and enhance the ERS market 
analysis and outlook program to provide timely analyses of global 
agricultural product markets; and (2) analyze the regional impacts of 
bioenergy production and evaluate issues related to transportation 
networks, feedstock storage, marketing channels, and shifts in commodity 
production.
  Energy Information Administration (EIA): Funding is requested to 
continue ongoing EIA operations to maintain critical energy data 
coverage, analysis, and forecasting, and to: (1) enhance petroleum and 
natural gas data reliability and statistical accuracy; (2) complete 
development and begin initiating monthly ethanol and biofuels data 
collections on a national and regional basis as mandated in Section 1508 
of the Energy Policy Act of 2005; (3) combine the environmental data 
previously collected by the Steam-Electric Plant Operation and Design 
Report into two existing electric power surveys; (4) resume development 
and testing of the next generation National Energy Model to replace the 
existing National Energy Modeling System; and (5) enhance EIA's global 
oil, gas, and coal analysis and forecasting capabilities.
  National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS): Funding is requested 
to continue NASS core programs and to: (1) enhance the quality, 
precision, and detail of NASS State, regional, and national estimates to 
help ensure that they meet customer needs; (2) provide a data series on 
bioenergy production and utilization, (3) measure energy production and 
use on farms through the Census of Agriculture; (4) reduce the cyclical 
fluctuations of annual funding needs for the Census of Agriculture; (5) 
summarize and publish the 2007 Census of Agriculture, to be released in 
February 2009, and (6) begin preparation of numerous census follow-on 
studies, including a revamped Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey to 
evaluate current access to reuse water, quantities of water used, and 
costs associated with various water delivery systems.
  National Center for Education Statistics (NCES): Funding is requested 
to continue NCES' core programs and to: (1) conduct the National 
Assessment of Educational Progress, including voluntary 12th grade 
reading and mathematics assessments, in 2009; (2) conduct a new high 
school longitudinal study that will begin with a cohort of 9th graders 
in 2009 and follow them through postsecondary education and into the 
workforce; (3) conduct surveys and analyze data from international 
studies such as the 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science 
Study and the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment and 
plan for new international assessments; (4) analyze data from the 2007-
08 Schools and Staffing Survey and collect data for the Teacher Followup 
Study; and (5) conduct the Beginning Postsecondary Student Longitudinal 
Survey, which provides information on the progress of postsecondary 
students.
  National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS): Funding is requested to 
continue data collection, analysis, and dissemination activities for key 
national health data systems, including the National Vital Statistics 
System, National Health Interview Survey, National Health and Nutrition 
Examination Survey (NHANES), and National Health Care Survey; and to: 
(1) further gains in timeliness by implementing systems improvements in 
data collection and processing; (2) work on the creation and use of new 
data access tools and tutorials to ensure data are available in easily 
accessible forms; (3) use birth and death data from the States for 
tracking priority health initiatives in prevention, cancer control, out 
of wedlock births, and teenage pregnancy; (4) transition from 
International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 9-CM to ICD-10-CM code 
sets to improve comparability between mortality and morbidity data in 
the U.S. and internationally; (5) ensure availability of NHANES data on 
diet and nutrition, blood pressure, and other health indicators; and (6) 
allow the National Health Interview Survey to return to its designed 
sample of 100,000, permitting estimates for smaller populations to be 
published.
  Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics (ORES), SSA: Funding is 
requested to continue ORES' core programs, and to: (1) further modernize 
ORES's processes for developing and disseminating data from the Social 
Security Administration's major administrative data files for 
statistical purposes; (2) support outside surveys and linkage of SSA 
administrative data to surveys; (3) create a new public use file of 
administrative data on earnings histories and benefits for a sample of 
Social Security Numbers; and 4) evaluate the analytic validity of a 
synthetic data file based on data from the 1990-1993 and 1996 Survey of 
Income and Program Participation panels matched to SSA and IRS 
administrative data.
  Science Resources Statistics Division (SRS), NSF: Funding is requested 
to implement ongoing programs on the science and engineering enterprise, 
and

[[Page 43]]

to: (1) continue redesign and improvement activities for a broad range 
of surveys, particularly the suite of research and development surveys; 
(2) support the Science of Science and Innovation Policy initiative to 
develop the data, tools, and knowledge needed for a new science of 
science policy by enhancing the comparability, scope, and availability 
of international data; (3) implement a full-scale pilot of a redesigned 
Survey of Industrial Research and Development; (4) develop a pilot data 
collection on postdoctoral students; and (5) enhance SRS data linking, 
data extraction, and data matching activities.
  Statistics of Income Division (SOI), IRS: Funding is requested to 
continue SOI's core programs, and to: (1) continue to modernize tax data 
collection systems, particularly to more efficiently assimilate into SOI 
systems data captured from the electronic filing of tax and information 
returns; (2) examine means to better mask individual records to minimize 
the risk of reidentification in the Individual Public Use cross-section 
file; (3) undertake a feasibility study to develop an Individual Public 
Use panel data file; (4) develop statistical techniques to identify 
outliers and edit data in IRS administrative population files; and (5) 
modernize and expedite dissemination of data products and reports on the 
www.irs.gov/TaxStats website.
  

                  Table 4-1.  2007-2009 BUDGET AUTHORITY FOR PRINCIPAL STATISTICAL AGENCIES\1\
                                            (In millions of dollars)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                Estimate
                                                                               2007    -------------------------
                                                                              Actual        2008         2009
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau of Economic Analysis..............................................          80           80           91

Bureau of Justice Statistics \2\.........................................          47           49           53

Bureau of Labor Statistics...............................................         548          544          593

Bureau of Transportation Statistics......................................          28           27           27

Census Bureau \3\........................................................         913         1260         2635
  Salaries and Expenses \3\..............................................         217          233          269
  Periodic Censuses and Programs.........................................         696         1027         2366

Economic Research Service \4\............................................          75           77           82

Energy Information Administration........................................          91           95          111

National Agricultural Statistics Service \5\.............................         147          162          153

National Center for Education Statistics.................................         183          192          244
  Statistics.............................................................          90           88          105
  Assessment.............................................................          88           98          130
  National Assessment Governing Board....................................           5            6            9

National Center for Health Statistics \6\................................         107          114          125

Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics, SSA......................          15           20           16

Science Resources Statistics Division, NSF...............................          36           36           40

Statistics of Income Division, IRS.......................................          38           41           41
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Reflects any recissions.
\2\ Includes funds for management and administrative costs of $12, $14, and $15 million in 2007, 2008, 2009,
  respectively that were previously displayed separately.
\3\ Includes Mandatory Appropriations of $20 million in 2007 and $30 million in 2008 and 2009 for the Survey of
  Program Dynamics and collection of data related to the allocation to States of State Children's Health
  Insurance Program funds.
\4\ 2007 funding assumes the reallocation of $350,000 provided in 2006 for a comprehensive report on the
  economic development and current status of the sheep industry in the United States. Funding for that purpose
  will not be needed in 2008.
\5\ Includes funds for the periodic Census of Agriculture of $36, $52, and $39 million in 2007, 2008, and 2009,
  respectively. The FY 2009 Budget reflects a decrease of $8.7 million, due to the cyclical nature of the census
  preparations.
\6\ All funds from the Public Health Service Evaluation Fund. Administrative costs for NCHS that previously were
  displayed as part of the NCHS budget line are now reflected in two consolidated CDC-wide budget lines for
  management and administrative costs.