[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 156 (Saturday, November 8, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12190-S12191]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    FEDERAL STATISTICAL ACT OF 1997

 Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, yesterday Mr. Moynihan, Mr. 
Thompson and Mr. Kerrey joined me in introducing the Federal 
Statistical System

[[Page S12191]]

Act of 1997. This legislation will also be introduced in the House by 
Representatives Horn and Maloney. This commonsense piece of legislation 
will improve the quality of an important function of the Federal 
Government while reducing its cost.
  The current Federal statistical system is in disarray. There are more 
than 70 Federal agencies responsible for gathering and analyzing 
statistics. Many of these agencies expend resources attempting to 
gather the same information from the same sources. This duplication is 
unnecessarily burdensome on both taxpayers and respondents. Although a 
small group of people in the Office of Management and Budget [OMB] is 
nominally responsible for coordinating Federal efforts, no one in the 
Federal Government is held accountable for maintaining the quality of 
the Government statistics or overseeing the modernization of the 
statistical system.
  The Federal Government spends $2.6 billion each year to finance this 
thicket of Federal statistical programs. Yet, in spite of the resources 
we dedicate to gathering and analyzing statistics, Americans have lost 
confidence in the quality of Government data. For example, over the 
past several years, a debate has raged over the accuracy of the 
Consumer Price Index. According to the General Accounting Office, the 
1990 census was inaccurate and the 2000 census is a high-risk project 
that may produce unsatisfactory data again. And, according to a recent 
Wall Street Journal article, the Department of Treasury is unable to 
account for the source of billions of tax receipts this year.
  Mr. President, the Federal Statistical System Act of 1997 is a 
necessary first step to consolidate the Federal statistical system and 
improve the quality of Government data. This legislation would 
establish a Federal Commission on Statistical Policy to recommend how 
the Federal statistical system should be reorganized and streamlined, 
and to draft legislation to consolidate the three largest Federal 
statistical agencies--the Bureau of the Census, the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis--into a single Federal 
Statistical Service.
  After the Federal Statistical Service legislation is enacted, the 
commission shall then study and develop recommendations on which other 
Federal statistical organizations should be consolidated, eliminated or 
reorganized. The commission shall also make recommendations on issues 
regarding privacy of information collected by the Federal government, 
the use of statistical data in Federal funding formulas, and standards 
of accuracy of Federal data.
  Finally, Federal Statistical System Act of 1997 will allow the 
Federal Government to reduce further the cost and improve the accuracy 
of statistical programs while reducing the reporting burden on 
respondents. This will be achieved by certain agencies to share 
nonidentifiable statistical information, exclusively for statistical 
purposes. This provision will also ensure that existing avenues and 
limitations for public access to Government information under the 
Privacy Act of Freedom of Information Act are retained without change.
  Mr. President, we cannot improve the effectiveness and reduce the 
cost of Government programs unless we have a firm grasp on the measures 
we use to implement and judge them. We cannot make an accurate 
assessment of our economic progress unless our relevant activity in 
today's economy is measured. Finally, we cannot make informed 
assessments on the state of our urban or rural areas and communities 
unless we have accurate and meaningful economic and social indicators. 
I believe Federal Statistical System Act of 1997 is an important first 
step in streamlining Government and improving the quality of Government 
information, and I urge my colleagues to support this measure.

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