Trouble ahead for Census and e-gov funding

Senate plans to reduce requested Census Bureau 2006 funding would suspend the American Community Survey and increase the cost of the next decennial census, the White House said in a Statement of Administration Policy.The bureau’s American Community Survey is a new nationwide short-form survey that will replace the long paper form.Senate funding for Census would be $725.4 million, which is $150 million, or 17 percent, below the administration budget request and $17.4 million lower than last year’s appropriation.The administration also urged the Senate to fund the President’s E-Government Initiatives. “The Senate bill contradicts current statutory requirements for the executive branch to reduce duplication and increase efficiency in governmentwide IT investments,” said the SAP, which comes out of the Office of Management and Budget.The bill also creates unnecessary executive branch management challenges and denies savings for taxpayers, the administration said. The bill provides no funds for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to contribute to Commerce-wide e-government activities and exempts the International Trade Administration from guidance that promotes cost recovery.