I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4907 
To protect the integrity, impartiality, and independence of Federal statistical 
agencies by establishing fixed terms and for-cause removal protections 
for the heads of such agencies. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 5, 2025 
Mr. WHITESIDES (for himself, Mr. GARCIA of California, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. 
STEVENS, and Mr. LANDSMAN) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition 
to the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, and the Judici-
ary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 
case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To protect the integrity, impartiality, and independence of 
Federal statistical agencies by establishing fixed terms 
and for-cause removal protections for the heads of such 
agencies. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Statistical Agency In-
tegrity and Independence Act of 2025’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) The people of the United States, its finan-
cial markets, its businesses, and its policymakers 
rely on the timely, credible, and impartial data pro-
duced by Federal statistical agencies to make in-
formed decisions. 
(2) The credibility of Federal statistics depends 
on public confidence that the data are produced by 
agencies that are free from political influence, ma-
nipulation, or censorship. 
(3) The heads of the principal Federal statis-
tical agencies serve as the chief stewards of this pub-
lic trust, and their professional independence is 
paramount. 
(4) Structures that grant operational and 
decisional independence, such as those established 
for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, provide a proven model for insulating crit-
ical government functions from short-term political 
pressures. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to 
strengthen public trust in Federal statistics by insulating 
the leadership of principal statistical agencies from polit-
ical interference through the establishment of fixed terms 
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of office, staggered appointments, and clear, for-cause pro-
tections against arbitrary removal. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) COVERED STATISTICAL AGENCY.—The term 
‘‘Covered Statistical Agency’’ means each of the fol-
lowing: 
(A) The Bureau of the Census, Depart-
ment of Commerce. 
(B) The Bureau of Labor Statistics, De-
partment of Labor. 
(C) The National Center for Education 
Statistics, Department of Education. 
(D) The Bureau of Justice Statistics, De-
partment of Justice. 
(2) HEAD OF A COVERED STATISTICAL AGEN-
CY.—The term ‘‘Head of a Covered Statistical Agen-
cy’’ means the Director, Commissioner, or Adminis-
trator who is the highest-ranking official of a Cov-
ered Statistical Agency. 
SEC. 4. APPOINTMENT AND TERM OF OFFICE OF HEADS OF 
COVERED STATISTICAL AGENCIES. 
(a) APPOINTMENT.—The Head of each Covered Sta-
tistical Agency shall be appointed by the President, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Senate. 
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(b) TERM.—The term of office for the Head of a Cov-
ered Statistical Agency shall be six years. The terms shall 
be staggered to ensure that no more than two such terms 
expire in any given calendar year. 
(c) SERVICE AFTER EXPIRATION OF TERM.—The 
Head of a Covered Statistical Agency may continue to 
serve after the expiration of their term until a successor 
has been appointed and confirmed. 
(d) VACANCY.—Any individual appointed to fill a va-
cancy in the office of the Head of a Covered Statistical 
Agency occurring before the expiration of the term for 
which their predecessor was appointed shall be appointed 
for a full term of six years. 
SEC. 5. REMOVAL FROM OFFICE. 
(a) STANDARD FOR REMOVAL.—The President may 
remove the Head of a Covered Statistical Agency only for 
cause. 
(b) DEFINITION OF CAUSE.—For the purposes of 
this section, the term ‘‘for cause’’ shall mean proven ineffi-
ciency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. A deter-
mination of cause may not be based on the substance, con-
clusions, or timing of any statistical data, report, or re-
lease prepared by the agency. 
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SEC. 6. GUARANTEES OF PROFESSIONAL INDEPENDENCE. 
(a) FINAL AUTHORITY.—The Head of a Covered Sta-
tistical Agency shall have final and unencumbered author-
ity over the professional and technical decisions of the 
agency, including: 
(1) The methodologies, procedures, and sci-
entific processes used to collect and analyze data. 
(2) The content of all statistical reports, press 
releases, and other official publications. 
(3) The timing and scheduling of the release of 
statistical data, which shall be made public in ad-
vance and may only be altered for technical, non-po-
litical reasons, with any such alteration being accom-
panied by a public, written explanation. 
(b) PERSONNEL.—No political test or qualification 
shall be used in the appointment, evaluation, or promotion 
of any professionally qualified employee of a Covered Sta-
tistical Agency. 
SEC. 7. TRANSITION PROVISIONS. 
(a) INITIAL STAGGERED TERMS.—To establish the 
staggered terms required by section 4(b), the initial ap-
pointments made under this Act shall be for terms of vary-
ing lengths as determined by the President, provided that: 
(1) The first three appointments shall be for a 
term of six years. 
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