In the United States, the federal statistical system [1] (FSS) refers to a decentralized network of federal agencies which produce data and official statistics about the people, economy, natural resources, and infrastructure of the country. It is led by the Chief Statistician of the United States (CSOTUS) and the Interagency Council on Statistical Policy, and is composed of 13 principal statistical agencies and 3 recognized statistical units, 24 Statistical Officials (across 24 major cabinet agencies), approximately 100 additional Federal statistical programs engaged in statistical activities, and several cross system interagency and advisory bodies. [2]
In contrast to many other countries, the United States does not have a primary statistical agency. [3] Instead, the statistical system is decentralized, with 13 statistical agencies, two of which are independent agencies and the remaining 11 generally located in different government departments. This structure keeps statistical work in close proximity to the various cabinet-level departments that use the information. [3] In addition, three other statistical units of government agencies are recognized by the OMB as having statistical work as part of their mission.
As of fiscal year 2013 (FY13), the 13 principal statistical agencies have statistical activities as their core mission and conduct much of the government’s statistical work. [3] A further 89 federal agencies were appropriated at least $500,000 of statistical work in FY11, FY12, or FY13 in conjunction with their primary missions. [4] All together, the total budget allocated to the Federal Statistical System is estimated to be $6.7 billion for FY13. [4] In FY20, FY21, and FY22, the total budgets allocated to the Federal Statistical System are estimated to be $12.0, $7.0, and $7.1 billion, respectively. The larger budget size of FY20 is attributable to the 2020 census, amounting to 54% of the FY20 budget. [5]
The federal statistical system is coordinated through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). OMB establishes and enforces statistical policies and standards, ensures that resources are proposed for priority statistical programs, and approves statistical surveys conducted by the Federal government under the Paperwork Reduction Act. [6] The Chief Statistician of the United States, also housed within OMB, provides oversight, coordination, and guidance for Federal statistical activities, working in collaboration with leaders of statistical agencies. [6]
To streamline operations and reduce costs, several proposals have been made to consolidate the federal statistical system into fewer agencies, or even a single agency. [7] In 2011, President Barack Obama's proposal to reorganize the U.S. Department of Commerce included placing several statistical agencies under one umbrella. [8]
Agency | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Census Bureau | 46,117 | 317,661 | 37,573 | 17,403 |
Bureau of Labor Statistics | 2,193 | 2,200 | 2,228 | 2,360 |
National Center for Education Statistics | 93 | 93 | 96 | 98 |
National Agricultural Statistics Service | 894 | 870 | 892 | 911 |
National Center for Health Statistics (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) | 501 | 481 | 486 | 481 |
Energy Information Administration | 333 | 359 | 359 | 366 |
Bureau of Economic Analysis | 503 | 455 | 495 | 495 |
Economic Research Service | 316 | 329 | 275 | 332 |
Bureau of Justice Statistics | 56 | 50 | 53 | 53 |
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (National Science Foundation) | 57 | 57 | 54 | 54 |
Statistics of Income Division (Internal Revenue Service) | 139 | 140 | 144 | 138 |
Bureau of Transportation Statistics | 60 | 61 | 63 | 80 |
Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics (Social Security Administration) | 80 | 70 | 69 | 68 |
Agency | Statisticians | Economists | Research Scientists | Other Statistical Personnel |
---|---|---|---|---|
Census Bureau | 2,252 | 117 | 0 | 0 |
Bureau of Labor Statistics | 165 | 1,169 | 10 | 370 |
National Center for Education Statistics | 55 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
National Agricultural Statistics Service | 591 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
National Center for Health Statistics (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) | 168 | 0 | 87 | 0 |
Energy Information Administration | 84 | 84 | 66 | 10 |
Bureau of Economic Analysis | 8 | 284 | 0 | 51 |
Economic Research Service | 3 | 248 | 0 | 3 |
Bureau of Justice Statistics | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (National Science Foundation) | 25 | 3 | 0 | 14 |
Statistics of Income Division (Internal Revenue Service) | 21 | 42 | 0 | 1 |
Bureau of Transportation Statistics | 24 | 15 | 0 | 41 |
Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics (Social Security Administration) | 2 | 17 | 17 | 32 |
Note: Statisticians include statisticians and mathematical statisticians, and research scientists include health scientists, epidemiologists, and educational research scientists. Other statistical personnel may include social science analysts, social insurance administrators, economic assistants, geographers, spatial data analysts, program supervisors, program managers, program analysts, accountants, general engineers, mechanical engineers, writers and editors, visual designers, geologists, cartographers, librarians, operations research analysts, mathematicians, statistical assistants, transportation specialists, transportation industry analysts, and information technology managers—position.
These are subcomponents of agencies recognized by the OMB as having statistical work as part of their mission:
Started in 1989, the Interagency Council on Statistical Policy (ICSP) was originally created to improve communication among the heads of the principal statistical agencies, and later was charged with advising and assisting the CSOTUS. The Evidence Act expanded membership to include the newly established Statistical Officials across major cabinet agencies, 11 of which are also heads of principal statistical agencies. The ICSP, led by the CSOTUS, supports implementation of the statistical system's vision to operate as a seamless system, working together to provide strategic vision and robust implementation in support of the U.S. Federal statistical system's critical longstanding — and expanding — role for supporting evidence-based decision-making. For example, the ICSP sets strategic goals for modernizing the statistical system, as well as enhancing coordination and collaboration across the system, recognizing the efficiencies and advancements possible when taking advantage of the whole system's statistical infrastructure and expertise. [2]
The mission of the Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology (FCSM) includes advising the CSOTUS and ICSP on methodological and statistical issues that affect the quality of Federal data. The FCSM sponsors regular conferences, hosts seminars and workshops, sponsors interest groups on statistical methodology topics of broad Federal interest, and develops best practices and tools to support the Federal statistical system and the broader Federal data community. [2]
The Federal Economic Statistics Advisory Committee (FESAC) advises the Directors of the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau of the Census and the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics on statistical methodology and other technical matters related to the collection, tabulation, and analysis of federal economic statistics. [2]
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, policies, and procedures to see whether they comply with the president's policies and coordinates inter-agency policy initiatives.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is a unit of the United States Department of Labor. It is the principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics and serves as a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System. The BLS collects, processes, analyzes, and disseminates essential statistical data to the American public, the U.S. Congress, other Federal agencies, State and local governments, business, and labor representatives. The BLS also serves as a statistical resource to the United States Department of Labor, and conducts research measuring the income levels families need to maintain a satisfactory quality of life.
A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which are sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metropolitan area usually comprises multiple principal cities, jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships, boroughs, cities, towns, exurbs, suburbs, counties, districts and even states and nations in areas like the eurodistricts. As social, economic and political institutions have changed, metropolitan areas have become key economic and political regions.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the United States Department of Commerce is a U.S. government agency that provides official macroeconomic and industry statistics, most notably reports about the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States and its jurisdictions. They also provide information about personal income, corporate profits, and government spending in their National Income and Product Accounts (NIPAs).
The Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) is an intelligence agency in the United States Department of State. Its central mission is to provide all-source intelligence and analysis in support of U.S. diplomacy and foreign policy. INR is the oldest civilian element of the U.S. Intelligence Community and among the smallest, with roughly 300 personnel. Though lacking the resources and technology of other U.S. intelligence agencies, it is "one of the most highly regarded" for the quality of its work.
The Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 is a United States federal law enacted in 2002 as Title III of the E-Government Act of 2002. The act recognized the importance of information security to the economic and national security interests of the United States. The act requires each federal agency to develop, document, and implement an agency-wide program to provide information security for the information and information systems that support the operations and assets of the agency, including those provided or managed by another agency, contractor, or other source.
A federal enterprise architecture framework (FEAF) is the U.S. reference enterprise architecture of a federal government. It provides a common approach for the integration of strategic, business and technology management as part of organization design and performance improvement.
The Philippine Statistics Authority is the central statistical authority of the Philippine government that collects, compiles, analyzes, and publishes statistical information on economic, social, demographic, political affairs, and general affairs of the people of the Philippines, as well as enforcing the civil registration functions in the country.
The Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 is a United States federal law, designed to improve the way the federal government acquires, uses and disposes information technology (IT). It was passed as Division E of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996. Together with the Federal Acquisition Reform Act of 1996, it is known as the Clinger–Cohen Act.
The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 was landmark legislation that established the framework for the modern federal budget. The act was approved by President Warren G. Harding to provide a national budget system and an independent audit of government accounts. The official title of this act is "The General Accounting Act of 1921", but is frequently referred to as "the budget act", or "the Budget and Accounting Act".
The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) is a United States government committee which promotes the coordinated development, use, sharing, and dissemination of geospatial data on a national basis. Its 32 members are representatives from the Executive Office of the President, and Cabinet level and independent federal agencies. The secretary of the Department of the Interior chairs the FGDC, with the deputy director for management, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as vice-chair.
The Enterprise Architecture Assessment Framework (EAAF) was created by the US Federal government Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to allow federal agencies to assess and report their enterprise architecture activity and maturity, and advance the use of enterprise architecture in the federal government.
The Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act made changes to the ways the U.S. federal government buys and manages computer technology. It became law as a part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (Title VIII, Subtitle D, H.R. 3979.
The chief statistician of the United States is a position in the U.S. federal government's Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Chief Statistician is charged with providing coordination, guidance, and oversight for U.S. federal statistical agencies and activities.
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Statistics of Income (SOI) is a program and associated division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States to make statistics collected from income tax returns and information returns available to other government agencies and the general public. It fulfills an IRS function mandated by the Revenue Act of 1916.
The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) is one of the thirteen principal statistical agencies of the United States and is tasked with providing objective data on the status of the science and engineering enterprise in the U.S. and other countries. NCSES sponsors or co-sponsors data collection on 15 surveys and produces two key publications: Science and Engineering Indicators, and Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering. Though policy-neutral, the data and reports produced by NCSES are used by policymakers when making policy decisions regarding STEM education and research funding in the U.S.
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