S. 5270: Ensuring a Fair and Accurate Census Act

117th Congress · introduced 2022-12-15 · Government Operations and Politics · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

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Where it came from: introduced 2022-12-15 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Ensuring a Fair and Accurate Census Act

Plain summary

Ensuring a Fair and Accurate Census Act This bill addresses the operations of the Bureau of the Census. Specifically, the bill (1) requires the Deputy Director of the bureau to appoint an employee responsible for optimizing racial and ethnic equity in the decennial census of population; and (2) provides statutory authority for specified advisory committees. The bureau may not include in the census any subject, type of information, or question that was not submitted to Congress. The bureau must submit to Congress a report biannually that (1) describes each component of the operational plan for the subsequent decennial census of population; and (2) includes a detailed statement on the status of all research, testing, and operations that are part of the bureau's comprehensive plan for the decennial census. The bureau must submit to Congress a certification stating that any question that has not appeared on the previous two decennial censuses has been researched, studied, and tested according to established statistical policies and procedures. The Government Accountability Office must review such certification and report to Congress on whether the questions to be included have been researched, studied, and tested according to such policies and procedures. The bureau, by January 1, 2026, and every 10 years thereafter, must transmit to Congress a lifecycle cost estimate for the decennial census of population first occurring after the date of transmittal. The bureau must submit to Congress a report on local-level data and local field operations.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Ensuring a Fair and Accurate Census Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI] reported raising $1.8 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (3)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
CBO cost estimate: The Congressional Budget Office's estimate of how a federal bill would change government spending and revenue. CBO is nonpartisan.
Statute: A written law passed by a legislature. A statute can be changed by a later law; changing a constitution needs an amendment.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-117s5270.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/117/s>

Record fed-us-cong117-s5270 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong117 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong117