S. 265 would make participation in the American Community Survey completely voluntary by eliminating penalties for refusing to answer questions on the survey. Currently, federal law allows the Census Bureau to fine people who don't respond to the survey, but this bill would remove that enforcement mechanism. The legislation also requires the Census Bureau to clearly state on the survey itself that participation is voluntary. The bill affects households that receive the American Community Survey, which is sent to a sample of American homes annually to gather demographic and economic data used for planning and research. There is no specific funding or timeline mentioned in the bill, as it simply modifies existing census authority rather than creating new programs.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.