S. 5270

Ensuring a Fair and Accurate Census Act

This bill addresses the operations of the Bureau of the Census.

Specifically, the bill (1) requires the Deputy Director of the bureau to appoint an employee responsible for optimizing racial and ethnic equity in the decennial census of population; and (2) provides statutory authority for specified advisory committees.

The bureau may not include in the census any subject, type of information, or question that was not submitted to Congress.

The bureau must submit to Congress a report biannually that (1) describes each component of the operational plan for the subsequent decennial census of population; and (2) includes a detailed statement on the status of all research, testing, and operations that are part of the bureau's comprehensive plan for the decennial census.

The bureau must submit to Congress a certification stating that any question that has not appeared on the previous two decennial censuses has been researched, studied, and tested according to established statistical policies and procedures.

The Government Accountability Office must review such certification and report to Congress on whether the questions to be included have been researched, studied, and tested according to such policies and procedures.

The bureau, by January 1, 2026, and every 10 years thereafter, must transmit to Congress a lifecycle cost estimate for the decennial census of population first occurring after the date of transmittal.

The bureau must submit to Congress a report on local-level data and local field operations.