June 12: This week in data legislation
A look at data-related legislative and public policy issues for the week of June 10, 2014.
Data takes center stage in Washington DC
It’s been a busy week in data-related issues in Washington DC. Here’s a look at legislation, budgets, and reports.
APDU introduces member committees
Based on feedback from the recent member survey, APDU is interested in engaging individual members through committees. These committees give members a chance to have a voice in their membership network, while helping carry out APDU’s mission to serve the many needs of data users.
This week in data advocacy
A number of bills and advocacy efforts related to public and open data have been in the news in the past week.
Public data making the rounds in the media
As the appropriations process gears up on Capitol Hill, government officials, advocates, and journalists are making the case for preserving public data.
APDU calling on Congress to restore and modernize BLS budget
APDU is calling on the House and Senate to increase the total BLS budget request to $631.4 million.
APDU Joins 100+ Orgs in Defense of ACS
Good news from the Hill: the move to re-introduce an unpopular bill in committee that would affect the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey has failed.
Late last week, word leaked that House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) would present the bill for markup on Wednesday, March 12. Organized by The Census Project, APDU joined over 100 other organizations in a letter to the committee leadership urging the Census Bureau’s authorizing committee not to bring up the Poe bill, which would make ACS response voluntary, for a vote this week.
APDU Signs on to Letter Concerning Missouri Legislation
The Association of Public Data Users (APDU) joined the Marketing Research Association (MRA) and the American Statistical Association (ASA) to express concern proposed legislation in the Missouri House of Representatives. A proposed bill by Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick (R-158), H.B. 1485, could increase the cost of Missouri state government agencies’ research efforts and jeopardize the representativeness and reliability of that research.