	Government Statistics: Proposal to Form a Federal Statistical Service

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: We are pleased to be here today to discuss the proposed creation of a new Federal Statistical Service, which would be formed by consolidating the Bureau of the Census and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) from the Department of Commerce and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from the Department of Labor. These 11 agencies, which include Census, BEA, and BLS, together spend approximately $1.1 billion. Coordination within the federal statistical system has also been limited by statutes that restrict data sharing among statistical agencies in order to protect the confidentiality of individuals, businesses, and organizations that provide data. enhancing the efficiency of operations, enhancing adherence to professional standards, establishing clear national priorities for statistical programs, and ensuring the quality of data. While Canada’s centralized system may appear to offer several advantages over the U.S. system, several factors need to be considered as part of the comparison. The United States is a much larger nation and has a larger and more complex economy than Canada. The task facing the federal statistical system in the United States thus is larger and more complex than that facing Statistics Canada. The Canadian statistical system is much smaller than the U.S. system. The Canadian public has accepted that a government agency will have broad access to all government records for statistical purposes. In our view, reorganizing statistical agencies would impose similar requirements for successful implementation. Oversight

Sustained congressional oversight will be needed to ensure the effective implementation of the reorganization envisioned under H.R.
Why GAO Did This Study

GAO discussed proposed legislation that would create a Federal Statistical Service by consolidating the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) any reorganization of these agencies should consider the principles of coordination, goal orientation, organization, implementation, and oversight; (2) coordination among statistical agencies is limited by statues that restrict data sharing, and the proposed legislation would not specifically remove those restrictions or restrictions affecting other statistical agencies; (3) goals to consider in establishing the new agency could include enhanced operational efficiency, adherence to professional standards, national priorities for statistical programs, and enhanced data quality; (4) alternatives for addressing problems in the federal statistical system include privatization, improving the current decentralized system by increasing data sharing, consolidating Census, BEA, and BLS, or consolidating additional federal statistical agencies; (5) while Canada's centralized statistics agency appears to offer advantages over the U.S. system, the United States is a much larger and more complex nation than Canada, the Canadian statistical system is much smaller, and the Canadian public has accepted that a government agency will have broad access to statistical information; (6) adequate planning will be necessary for successful implementation of a consolidated statistical agency; and (7) sustained congressional oversight will be required to ensure successful implementation of a consolidated agency.