Issue Background

Historically, the United States government has re-counted the population every 10 years. This decennial census provided basic information concerning the trends in the population’s size and movement. The primary goal of the census was to provide adequate information determining political subdivisions. In 1992, the House Commerce Oversight Subcommittee asked the Census Bureau to create an annual snapshot of demographic information so Congress can react to current trends instead of 10-year-old data. The Census Bureau set up the American Community Survey (ACS) as a pilot program in response to this request and has been given general authority under Title 13 to implement it by congressional funding.

After 10 years of use as a pilot program, the Census Bureau fully implemented the ACS in 2003. In 2006, results from the ACS were released for all areas in the United States with populations of at least 65,000 people. In a press release from the Census Bureau on August 29, 2006, authorities were quick to praise the Survey: “The 2005 ACS presents the first data since Census 2000 on the socioeconomic characteristics of places with populations between 65,000 and 249,999 people.” The release also included education levels, housing values, and language of choice.

The most recent legislation involving ACS came on July 27, 2006, when Congress passed into law H.R. 9, The Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006. In this bill (now Public Law 109-246), section eight amends the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by going beyond the general use of determining political subdivisions by including the ACS in the redistricting process.

In April of 2007, the Census Bureau released research data on single and multi-year estimates in preparation for the 2008 release of official 3-year estimates. All data gathered by the ACS from 1999 to 2005 in the 34 Test Counties will be used to produce data profiles which will include demographic, social, economic, and housing characteristics of the general population.

Issue Description

The American Community Survey is an annual sampling of United States residences, asking questions ranging from basic demographics to the number of bedrooms to the cost of electric bills to commute time. This survey is intended to fill in the gaps which the Decennial Census leaves missing.

The January 10, 2006 Bureau press release explained the procedures:

“Each year, the Census Bureau will mail the mandatory survey to a rolling, random sample of about 3 million households throughout the country and Puerto Rico. Roughly 2.5 percent of the population—about 1-in-40 addresses—will participate in the survey each year. By comparison, 1-in-6 addresses received the Census 2000 long form.”

Although initially established as a pilot program to replace the long form, the fully implemented ACS, now has the potential to add questions of national policy interest or specialized supplements to help identify the situations of special population groups. In recent years, the ACS has replaced the “long form” in the 2010 U.S. Population Census. In addition to counting the population, the long form obtains demographic, housing, social, and economic information from a 1-in-6 sample of households, thus facilitating administration of federal programs and distribution of billions of federal dollars. The American Community Survey will provide annual results by collecting data from 15,000 residents in each of the 31 diverse sites around the country.

Mandatory Requirements

Although the ACS goal is an honorable one of keeping information up-to-date, many see its questions and methods as too intrusive and not justified by the end result. The Census Bureau considers the ACS to be a part of the decennial census and General Accounting Office opinion concurred that response to the census is mandatory under the Census Act. However, congressional overseers have suggested that response to the ACS, based on its replacement of the long form, should be voluntary.

The Census Bureau, however, believe that making the survey mandatory will help them reach their goal of achieving statistical information that will be current and accurate when published. “For the first time, small communities will have timely and accurate information that will help leaders make better decisions about whether to build and locate roads, schools and hospitals. Likewise, businesses will be better able to identify likely markets for their products and services,” said Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon.

Census Bureau press release on January 10, 2005 stated that “information provided by the ACS includes topics ranging from housing values and educational attainment to commute times and language spoken at home.” Questions on the survey—a sample of which can also be found online—also concern indoor plumbing, type of heating, cost of insurance, physical ailments of inhabitants, births of children, and employment status.

If a recipient of the survey neglects to respond, they may be subject to a minimum fine of $100 with the maximum of $5,000, according to 18 USC 3571 and 3559 which (amends Title 13 Section 221 of the USC). The Census Bureau also claims strict confidentiality for survey responses and Bureau employees who do not abide by these policies are subject to a fine of up to $250,000.

Conclusion

Since its beginning, many homeschool families have contacted HSLDA with questions concerning the American Community Survey. To assist with answering many of these questions we have provided the following information. HSLDA will continue to keep you informed as we receive additional information.