The Honorable Hal Rogers Chairman Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies House Committee on Appropriations 2406 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Jeanne Shaheen Chair Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Senate Committee on Appropriations 506 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Matt Cartwright Ranking Member Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies House Committee on Appropriations 2102 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Jerry Moran Ranking Member Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Senate Committee on Appropriations 521 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Rogers, Ranking Member Cartwright, Chair Shaheen, and Ranking Member Moran:
The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is a nonpartisan independent watchdog that champions reforms to achieve a more effective, ethical, and accountable federal government that safeguards constitutional principles. POGO submits the enclosed requests for funding and report language for the Department of Justice, the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, and the Department of Commerce’s U.S. Census Bureau, to be included in the fiscal year 2025 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.
Thank you for considering these proposals to strengthen government accountability and oversight.
Sincerely,
Faith Williams Director, Effective and Accountable Government Program Project On Government Oversight
Enclosures: 3
cc: The Honorable Kay Granger, Chairwoman, House Committee on Appropriations The Honorable Patty Murray, Chair, Senate Committee on Appropriations The Honorable Rosa DeLauro, Ranking Member, House Committee on Appropriations The Honorable Susan Collins, Vice Chair, Senate Committee on Appropriations
Requesting $2 Billion to Fund the U.S. Census Bureau in FY 2025
Appropriations Committee: Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Agency: U.S. Census Bureau Type of Request: Funding request
Background: In addition to congressional apportionment, data from the decennial census helps direct trillions of dollars in federal assistance to states and communities.1 Those funds are used for building and maintaining hospitals, roads, schools, and housing; supporting veterans; feeding children and families; fostering economic development; and more.2 he census needs to be adequately funded — every year — to ensure an accurate and complete count of those served by these investments. Fiscal year 2025 is the first year of the development and integration phase of the 2030 Census, when initial tests of field operations are conducted.3 These operations are essential to a successful Census in 2030.
The Census Bureau’s Post-Enumeration Survey found 14 states had statistically significant errors in the statewide populations counted for the 2020 decennial census.4 The implications of miscounts are wide ranging. Undercounts can mean that states and communities receive insufficient funding for federal programs, and overcounts could result in communities being misclassified and missing out on federal programs entirely.5
Critically, there is real overlap between the target communities for many federal programs and the populations that the Census Bureau has historically found hard to count, which include people of color, people in low-income communities, people experiencing homelessness, immigrants, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ people.6 Adequately funding the Census Bureau in the years between each decennial census will allow it to ensure the count is accurate, reduce government waste, and appropriately assist the communities Congress intends to support.
Proposed Funding: To fulfill its mission and pursue other essential operational innovations, the Project On Government Oversight recommends Congress provide the U.S. Census Bureau with $2 billion in fiscal year 2025.
Data Collection on Facial Recognition Technology Use by State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies
Appropriations Committee: Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Agency: Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance Type of Request: Report Language
Background: The proliferation of facial recognition technology alongside rapid advancements in artificial intelligence raises concerns about the disparate impact of the deployment and use of this technology, particularly in historically marginalized communities around the country. On May 25, 2022, President Biden signed Executive Order 14074 on “Advancing Effective, Accountable Policing and Criminal Justice Practices to Enhance Public Trust and Public Safety,” which included provisions requiring the Attorney General, Secretary of Homeland Security, and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to jointly develop a report assessing law enforcement agencies’ use of facial recognition technology, other technologies using biometric information, predictive algorithms, data storage, and access regarding such technologies.7 The scope of the forthcoming report is anticipated to only address federal law enforcement use of these technologies. For a full examination of the use of facial recognition technology, it is important to acquire data on the state and local law enforcement agencies that use Department of Justice funds to deploy and use the technology.
Proposed Report Language: Not later than 180 days after the enactment of this Act, the Department of Justice shall provide a detailed public report on the use of Department of Justice funds by state and local law enforcement agencies to purchase and use facial recognition technology, as well as contracts with entities that provide access to facial recognition technology. The report shall also include a list of agencies that have used Department of Justice funds on facial recognition technology. It shall include the aggregate total of Department funds, as well as individual total costs by state and local law enforcement agencies used to purchase and use the technology as well as cost of any contracts providing access to the technology.
Death in Custody Reporting Act Implementation
Appropriations Committee: CJS Agency: Department of Justice Type of Request: Report Language
Background: Congress reauthorized the Death in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA) in 2014, directing the Department of Justice to collect data on deaths that occur in the custody of local, state, and federal law enforcement and corrections agencies.8 DCRA also instructed the Attorney General to submit, within two years, a report to Congress analyzing that data and proposing ways to reduce deaths in custody, and it allows the Attorney General to reduce the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant allocations to noncompliant states. The following language was enacted in the fiscal year 2023 CJS explanatory statement:
Death in Custody Act [DCRA] Reporting.—Within 90 days of enactment of this act, the Attorney General shall submit a report outlining the Department’s plans to implement the DCRA. The report shall address the quality of the data the Department has collected to date and consider ways to improve the quality and transparency of future data collected, including implementing DOJ’s 2016 proposed collection plan. It shall also include a timeline for the public release of the report required by the DCRA.9
In September 2022, the Government Accountability Office found that the Justice Department’s fiscal year 2021 data on state deaths was missing nearly 1,000 deaths that were reported in public sources, and that over two-thirds of all records collected under DCRA were missing required information.10 There has been no public update on data quality and compliance since then. However, reporting has suggested that deaths in custody are frequently miscategorized in ways that obscure the true series of events leading to those deaths.11 It is crucial for Congress to continue engaging with the Justice Department to ensure that DCRA is fully complied with and yields accurate information to facilitate efforts to prevent deaths in custody.
Proposed Report Language: Death in Custody Act [DCRA] Reporting.—Within 90 days of enactment of this act, the Attorney General shall submit a report outlining the Department’s progress in implementing the DCRA. The report shall include an assessment of the compliance rate in fiscal years 2022 and 2023 for both the Bureau of Justice Statistics and Bureau of Justice Assistance DCRA reporting programs. It shall also report on the Department’s efforts to ensure the accuracy of data submitted under the DCRA, with particular attention to measures to ensure that causes of death are properly categorized.
Related Content
Dollars and Demographics: How Census Data Shapes Federal Funding Distribution
U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2020 CENSUS: Lessons Learned from Planning and Implementing the 2020 Census Offer Insights to Support 2030 Preparations, GAO-22-104357 (February 2022), 4, https://www.gao.gov/assets/720/719018.pdf.
Government Accountability Office, Deaths in Custody: Additional Action Needed to Help Ensure Data Collected by DOJ are Utilized, GAO-22-106033 (September 20, 2022), https://www.gao.gov/assets/d22106033.pdf.
