Federal data more at risk, a report from American Statistical Association

The American Statistical Association released a report last year on the growing challenges for federal agencies to collect high-quality data about the country. The year two status report stresses how the situation is worsening.

Declining budgets, staffing constraints, and inadequate statistical integrity protections identified in the 2024 report have intensified in recent months and have further set back efforts to modernize the nation’s statistical infrastructure. Modernization is essential, given declining public willingness to respond to surveys and the need to use multiple data sources to maintain quality. The U.S. decentralized approach makes it harder for agencies to establish collaborative partnerships, innovate, and protect their work from budget pressure—cuts to one agency can affect the entire system. As just one example, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) relies on multiple sources of data from federal statistical and programmatic agencies and the private sector to produce estimates of Gross Domestic Product, Personal Income, and other components of the National Income and Product Accounts.

Along with the ongoing government data takedowns, it seems we’re headed towards a fuzzier path where it’s more difficult to verify or refute anecdotes.