With the time to prepare for the 2020 census now past halfway, the bipartisan leaders of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have asked the GAO to report and make recommendations regularly regarding the status, fiscal management, and risks associated with it.
Of particular concern, a letter to GAO said, are efforts to reengineer field operations, including reliance on technology and workflow changes; efforts to limit in-field door-to-door address canvassing to only those areas determined to be most in need of updating; accuracy of the Census Bureau’s lifecycle cost estimates and cost models; reliability of its integrated master schedule; and any other aspects of management and planning that may require the committee’s attention.
The Bureau is to soon release its preliminary design that will include plans to achieve cost savings as well as research and testing efforts.
GAO already has issued a series of reports regarding census preparations, including one questioning the estimates of the cost of planned Internet-based responses and whether the Bureau will achieve projected savings from making greater use of information from other agencies.