The Economic Census is the foundation of all Federal economic statistics. The census benchmarks national statistical profiles that show economic and household trends. FY 2000 is the sixth and last year in the six year cycle of the 1997 Economic census. The Bureau will begin the release of more than 500 industry, geographic, and special Economic Census products, including data products using the new North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). FY 2000 is also the first year in the 2002 Economic Census cycle, therefore planning for that census will begin.

Census of Governments

24

4,594

0

-276

The Census of Governments is the only source of comprehensive and uniformly classified data about the economic activities of state and local governments. The census provides performance benchmarks and shows economic trends and general financial health and stability of those governments. FY 2000 is the first year in the five year cycle of the 2002 Census of Governments. The focus for FY 2000 is planning for the census.

Decennial Census

2,597

1,057,836

+313

+1,771,709

As mandated by the Constitution, the Decennial Census provides the official population counts for determining the number of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and for determining how the districts are defined for those seats. The Decennial Census provides detailed information on small areas and population groups that are used by state and local governments, business and private citizens for planning activities. Funding for this program will include funding for the national sample for comparison between the American Community Survey and Census 2000 data. Census data is also used by Federal agencies to implement programs and to distribute over $100 billion in Federal funds each year.

FY 2000 is the critical year in which the Bureau will launch Census 2000. In the Spring of 2000, every American household will receive a census questionnaire, either in the mail or by hand. The major data collection (i.e., enumeration) activities will occur between April and September. The enumeration will include the use of well-established statistical sampling techniques which will result in the most cost-effective and accurate census ever. Once data collection is complete, data processing will continue to assure the accuracy of the census results. Funding is included to collect American Community Survey national sample data for benchmarking against Census 2000 results, which is vital for elimination of the long form from the 2010 Decennial Census. Other FY 2000 activities will include continued implementation of Census 2000 public outreach and marketing efforts, collecting data on populations living in nontraditional households, and ensuring that the American public has multiple ways to respond to Census 2000. The Administration remains fully committed to the use of sampling in the Decennial Census. Without sampling, the cost of the decennial census will increase and its accuracy, especially with regard to groups that are traditionally undercounted, will decrease.

Geographic Support

246

42,532

-11

-9,126

The Geographic Support program goal is to determine the correct location of every business establishment, farm, and residence in the U.S. and its territories. The activity's major components include the Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER) data base and the Master Address File (MAF). TIGER provides maps and other geographic information; MAF provides residential addresses for the Nation. TIGER and MAF are important because they provide essential information and products for conducting many of the Bureau's programs. The decrease in FY 2000 reflects a shift of resources for MAF maintenance work from Geographic Support to the Decennial Census. It also reflects the completion of the acquisition of replacement computer hardware to process the TIGER data base.

ECONOMIC AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

Economic and Statistical Analysis (ESA) provides a wide range of economic statistics and analyses that describe the U.S. economy. This budget provides for the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), a principal Federal statistical agency, and the Economics and Statistics Administration's Headquarters, which supports economic policy decisions with information on economic events and the workings of the economy. ESA Headquarters also includes STAT-USA (funded through the ESA Revolving Fund), a one-stop shop for the delivery of economic, business, and trade-related data to customers around the country.

BEA is the Nation's economic accountant, integrating and interpreting large volumes of diverse data to draw a comprehensive, up-to-date picture of U.S. economic activity. Through its national, regional, and international accounts, BEA produces such widely-used statistical measures as gross domestic product (GDP), corporate profits, personal outlays and saving, state personal income, and the balance of payments. BEA's economic statistics are a vital part of the Federal statistical system, and they provide government, businesses, households and individuals with critical information on the workings of the economy, including

economic growth, regional economic development, and the Customer Service Nation's position in the world economy.

PERFORMANCE

Data Quality

Data users rely on BEA to produce and disseminate accurate, timely, and relevant economic statistics, and many of them want increased electronic accessibility to BEA data. In response, BEA has streamlined its website to allow users with any browser to access and download data more quickly and efficiently. It has expanded the information available on its website to include complete issues of Survey of Current Business (its monthly journal), the methodologies used to prepare the economic accounts, and BEA's new Catalog of Products. BEA also produces CD-ROMs that provide regional economic information and data, comprehensive estimates of the Nation's capital stock, and the contents of the Survey of Current Business.

Working with data users, BEA developed a comprehensive
strategic plan to maintain and improve the quality of GDP and
other economic accounts data. This plan has specific
milestones to develop new and improved measures of output
and prices; better measures of investment, saving, and
wealth; and improved measures of international transactions.
As outlined in ESA's 2000 Congressional budget submission,
the funding requested in FY 2000 would permit BEA to
undertake critically needed projects to update and revamp the
accounts. These include projects to resolve the persistent Computer Re-Engineering
"statistical discrepancy between economic growth as
measured by the output accounts and by the income accounts
to treat expenditures on computer software as capital
investment, to develop more accurate estimates of the growth
in output and productivity for financial services and insurance,
and to expand the coverage of international trade in volatile
and rapidly growing services.

Although BEA has expanded and modernized its information technology, including the retirement of its aging mainframe computer and the migration of all applications to its local area network, there is still much re-engineering to be done. When this work is completed, BEA analysts will have the analytical tools that take advantage of real time data manipulation to improve the accuracy, timeliness, comprehensiveness, and accessibility of BEA data.