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1 [1] (June 8, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govedoq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: ressknal Resean~h Service n&ormirlu th&. 41 ttv lob ~rga 1)14 The Census Bureau Director Introduction On April 13, 2021, the White House announced President Biden's intention to nominate Robert Santos, a statistician and survey methodologist who is currently president of the American StatisticalAssociation, to be thenew Director of the Census (informally known as the Census Bureau director). If the Senate confirms his nomination, which it received on April15 and referred that day to the Committee on Homeland Security and GovernmentalAffairs, Mr. Santos will be the first bureau director of Hispanic ethnicity. The decennial census is mandated by Article I, Section 2, clause 3, of the U.S. Constitution, as modified by Section2 of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Census Bureau's his tory website notes that although the census has been conducted since 1790, a permanent Census Office was not established until 1902. Initially in the Department of the Interior, the office moved to the new Department of Commerce and Labor in 1903. In 1913, when Commerce and Laborbecame separate departments, theCensus Office remained in Commerce. Census law is codified in Title 13 of the U.S. Code. Title 13, Section 21(a)(1), provides that the Census Bureau shall beheaded by a Director of the Census, appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, without regard to political affiliation. Section 21(a)(2) stipulates that Such appointment shall be made from individuals who have a demonstrated ability in managing large organizations and experience in the collection, analysis, and use ofstatistical data. Section 21(b)(1) sets the director's termofoffice at five years, beginning on January 1, 2012, and every fifth year thereafter and specifies that an individualmay not serve more than 2 full terms as Director. Under Section 21(b)(2), any individual appointed to fill a vacancy in such position, occurring before the expiration of the termfor which such individual's predecessorwas appointed, shallbe appointed for the remainder of that term. The Director may serve after the end ofthe Director's termuntilreappointed oruntil a successorhas been appointed, butin no event longer than 1 year after the end of such term. Section 21(b)(3) permits the President to remove a director andrequires the President to communicate in writing the reasons for any s uch remov al to both Houses of Congress not later than 60 days before theremoval. Because the Census Bureau is a Commerce Department agency, the Secretary of Commerce has official responsibility for its functions. In practice, however, the Secretary delegates much of this responsibility to the bureau director. Accordingto Title 13, Section 21(c), The Director shallperformsuch duties as may be imposed upon the Directorby law, regulations, or orders ofthe Secretary. The director, in turn, may delegate some duties to others who are more immediately involved in, and more knowledgeable about, thebureau's detailed, day-to-day operations. Director's Responsibilities The broad responsibilities delegated to the director, concerning data collection, processing, quality control, confidentiality protection, and dissemination, are summarized below. Decennial Census The decennial census of population andhousing, under Title 13, Section 141, is the largest and probably most visible ofthe director's responsibilities. The census is a count, as nearly complete and accurate as possible, of every person whose usualresidenceis in the United States. The constitutionalreasonfor taking the census is to have an updated basis for apportioning seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Census data also are used to redraw legislative boundaries within states; to produce population estimates and projections; in formulas thathelp allocate federal funds, estimated by nongovernmentalres earch at more than $1.5 trillion annually, to states and localities; and by subnationalgovernments,businesses, nonprofit organizations, and researchers for various other purposes. American Community Survey Closely related is the American Community Survey (ACS), which the bureau implemented nationwide in 2005 and 2006. The ACS replaced the decennialcensus long form that, from 1940 to 2000, collected detailed socioeconomic and housing data froma sample of U.S. residents as the census was administered. The ACS is sent monthly to small population samples. It covers more than 3.5 million households a year in every U.S. county and the District of Columbia. Quinquennial Censuses The quinquennial economic census and census of governments also are under director's purview. The economic census originated when, according to the Census Bureau, Congress respondedto a rapid increase in industrial activity by instructing 1810 cens us enumerators to take an account of the several manufacturing establishments and manufactures they were to visit. The contemporary economic census is authorized under Title 13, Section 131. The bureau calls this census the foundation for measuring U.S. businesses and their economic impact. The census reaches nearly 4million businesses, large, medium, and small, covering most industries and all geographic areas ofthe United States. https :/c rs repy 9 June 8, 2021