Editing American Community Survey (section)

==Controversy==

===Support===
American Community Survey data provides important information that cannot be found elsewhere. The federal government, as well as various businesses, researchers, and local governments use ACS data for planning and decision-making purposes.  ACS data are used by public and business decision-makers to more clearly identify issues and opportunities and more effectively allocate scarce resources to address them.<ref>{{cite web|author=Census Project|title=Letter to Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Science, Justice and Related Agencies 3/17/16|url=https://censusproject.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/business-community-letter-on-fy-2017-budget-3-17-16-senate-cjs.pdf|access-date=August 7, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=American Economic Association|title=The American Community Survey is Essential|url=https://censusproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/aea-stat-statement-in-support-of-acs.pdf|access-date=August 7, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=National Retail Federation|title=The Greatest Survey You've Never Heard Of|url=https://nrf.com/news/the-greatest-survey-youve-never-heard-of|access-date=August 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808043607/https://nrf.com/news/the-greatest-survey-youve-never-heard-of|archive-date=August 8, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> In Fiscal Year 2008, 184 federal domestic assistance programs used ACS-related datasets to help guide the distribution of $416 billion, 29 percent of all federal assistance.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Brookings Institution|title=Surveying for Dollars: the Role of the American Community Survey in the Geographic Distribution of Federal Funds|url=https://www.brookings.edu/research/surveying-for-dollars-the-role-of-the-american-community-survey-in-the-geographic-distribution-of-federal-funds/|access-date=July 14, 2017}}</ref>

The American Community Survey is authorized by 13 U.S.C. § 141 and 13 U.S.C. § 193.<ref name="gao.gov">{{cite web|author=United States Government Accountability Office|title=U.S. GAO – Legal Authority for American Community Survey, B-289852|url=http://www.gao.gov/decisions/other/289852.htm}}</ref> Federal courts have held that the long form is constitutional.

In 2000, the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas|U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas]] ruled that the [[2000 United States census|2000 U.S. Decennial Census]] and its questions did not violate the [[Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourth Amendment]] of the  [[United States Constitution]] or any other constitutional provisions that were alleged in the federal lawsuit initiated by the plaintiffs. The federal district court said responses to census questions are not a violation of an American citizen's right to privacy or free speech.<ref>Morales v. Daley, 116 F. Supp. 2d 801, 820 (S.D. Tex. 2000) " . . . [I]t is clear that the degree to which these questions intrude upon an individual's privacy is limited, given the methods used to collect the census data and the statutory assurance that the answers and attribution to an individual will remain confidential. The degree to which the information is needed for the promotion of legitimate governmental interests has been found to be significant. A census of the type of the 2000 U.S. Decennial Census has been taken every decade / ten years since the first American Census in [[1790 United States census|1790]]. Such a Census has been thought to be necessary for over two hundred and ten years. There is no basis for holding that it is not necessary in the year 2000."</ref>

The U.S. District Court's decision in [[Texas]] was later affirmed by the higher [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit]] on appeal, and the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] denied the petition for a [[writ of certiorari]].<ref>The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the District Court decision on October 10, 2001, 275 F.3d 45. The U.S. Supreme Court denied petition for writ of certiorari on February 19, 2002, 534 U.S. 1135.  No published opinions were filed with these rulings.</ref> A number of other courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have held through the years that the Census and the questions in the Census are authorized by both the Constitution and Congressional statute.<ref>As early as 1870, the Supreme Court characterized as unquestionable the power of Congress to require both an enumeration and the collection of statistics in the census. The Legal Tender Cases, Tex.1870; 12 Wall., U.S., 457, 536, 20 L.Ed. 287. In 1901, a district court said the Constitution's census clause (Art. 1, Sec. 2, Clause 3) is not limited to a mere count of the population and "does not prohibit the gathering of other statistics, if 'necessary and proper,' for the intelligent exercise of other powers enumerated in the constitution, and in such case there could be no objection to acquiring this information through the same machinery by which the population is enumerated". United States v. Moriarity, 106 F. 886, 891 (S.D.N.Y.1901). All of these decisions are consistent with the Supreme Court's recent description of the census as the "linchpin of the federal statistical system ... collecting data on the characteristics of individuals, households, and housing units throughout the country". Dept. of Commerce v. U.S. House of Representatives, 525 U.S. 316, 341 (1999).</ref>

In 2002, the [[General Accounting Office]] confirmed that the U.S. Census Bureau has authority to conduct the survey and "require responses from the public". All individual American Community Survey responses are kept private and are used (along with other ACS responses) to create estimates of demographic characteristics for various geographies. Because of data swapping techniques to ensure confidentiality, it is impossible to figure out how individual people responded based on data from published ACS estimates.<ref name="gao.gov"/>

===Opposition===
Opponents of the American Community Survey disagree with the court's findings about its constitutionality, contending that the survey asks for more information and at a higher frequency than the simple enumeration authorized and required by [[Article One of the United States Constitution|Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution]]. Despite the [[Government Accountability Office]]'s conclusion that the [[U.S. Census Bureau]] has the authority to conduct the survey under {{USC|13|141}} and {{USC|13|193}}, several US representatives have challenged the ACS as unauthorized by the [[Census Act 1920|Census Act]] and a violation of the [[Right to Financial Privacy Act]]. [[United States Representative|U.S. Representative]] (congressman) [[Ron Paul]] of [[Texas]], who opposes ACS, said that the [[Founding Fathers of the United States|founding fathers of the United States]] "never authorized the federal government to continuously survey the American people".<ref>[http://archive.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul192.html "None of Your Business!"] by [[Ron Paul]]</ref>

Those who decline to complete the survey may receive visits to their homes from Census Bureau personnel. Because it is a mandatory survey, it is governed by federal laws that could impose a fine of as much as $5,000 on those who flagrantly refuse to participate.

To date, no person has been prosecuted for refusing to answer the ACS.<ref>{{cite web|title=Americans must answer U.S. Census Bureau survey by law, though agency hasn't prosecuted since 1970|url=http://www.politifact.com/texas/statements/2014/jan/09/us-census-bureau/americans-must-answer-us-census-bureau-survey-law-/|access-date=July 31, 2015|last=Selby|first=W. Gardner}}</ref> [[Kenneth Prewitt]], the former director of the U.S. Census Bureau, said in March 2000 that the [[United States Department of Commerce]] is "not an enforcement agency" and that the parallel [[United States Department of Justice]] in the [[Cabinet of the United States|presidential cabinet]] would be responsible for prosecuting violations, adding that "we don't recommend that".<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=Census Bureau, Census 2000, Director Kenneth Prewitt press briefing on March 30, 2000|url=https://www.census.gov/dmd/www/mar30briefing.html|website=Census.gov|access-date=July 31, 2015|author=United States Census Bureau}}</ref> The Census Bureau prefers to gain cooperation by convincing respondents of the importance of participation while acknowledging that the mandate improves response rates (and thus accuracy) and lowers the annual cost of survey administration by more than $90 million.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mandatory vs. Voluntary Methods|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/methodology/mandatory-voluntary-methods.html|website=Census.gov|access-date=July 31, 2015|author=United States Census Bureau}}</ref>

In 2014, the [[Census Project]], a collaboration of pro-Census business and industry associations, gathered signatures from 96 national and local organizations urging the [[United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform|U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform]] to reject a proposal to make the American Community Survey voluntary.<ref>{{cite web|author=The Census Project|title=Letter to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee|url=https://censusproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/censusprojectacsltr-hr1078markup-march2014-final.pdf|access-date=July 14, 2017}}</ref> Signers included the [[U.S. Chamber of Commerce]], the [[National Association of Realtors]], and the [[U.S. Conference of Mayors]]. The letter cited results from a congressionally mandated test of a voluntary ACS that found that mail response rates would drop "dramatically," by more than 20 percentage points.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Navarro|first1=Alfredo|last2=King|first2=Karen E.|last3=Starsinc|first3=Michael|title=Comparison of the American Community Survey Voluntary Versus Mandatory Estimates|url=https://www.census.gov/library/working-papers/2011/acs/2011_Navarro_01.html|website=Census.gov|access-date=July 14, 2017}}</ref> The resulting loss in quality and reliability would essentially eliminate data for 41 percent of US counties, small cities, towns and villages, many school districts, neighborhoods, remote areas, and American Indian reservations.<ref>{{cite web|author=The Census Project|title=Letter to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee|url=https://censusproject.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/censusprojectacsltr-hr1078markup-march2014-final.pdf|access-date=July 14, 2017}}</ref>