I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8859 
To require the Bureau of the Census to collect information on deafblind 
individuals, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 27, 2024 
Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. WILLIAMS of New 
York, Ms. NORTON, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. TONKO, Mr. DAVIS of North 
Carolina, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, 
Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. LAWLER, Mr. GOLDMAN of New York, Mr. 
JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. CROCKETT, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. 
HARDER of California, Mrs. PELTOLA, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. MORELLE, and 
Mr. CA´RDENAS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Oversight and Accountability 
A BILL 
To require the Bureau of the Census to collect information 
on deafblind individuals, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Deafblind Disabled Americans Table Approximation 
Act’’ or the ‘‘Deafblind DATA Act’’. 
(b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Individuals who are deafblind experience 
concomitant hearing and vision loss that may pre-
vent access to information, cause severe communica-
tion challenges, and interfere with social and emo-
tional well-being. In children, deafblindness may im-
pact development and educational attainment, while 
in adults, deafblindness may interfere with employ-
ment and other areas. The National Center on 
Deafblindness estimates 10,000 children and 40,000 
adults are deafblind, the National Association of 
Regulatory Utility Commissioners estimates 70,000– 
100,000 people are deafblind, and the Helen Keller 
National Center for Deafblind Youths and Adults es-
timates 2.47 million Americans have combined hear-
ing and vision loss. 
(2) It is difficult to determine the precise num-
ber of individuals who experience combined hearing 
and vision loss, and estimates from various national 
counts offer radically different estimates. 
(3) An accurate, centralized count of all individ-
uals who are deafblind in the United States is nec-
essary to effectively serve the unique needs of this 
population. Without a comprehensive national pic-
ture of this population, individuals who are deafblind 
may not receive the supports necessary to access in-
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formation, communicate effectively, and better their 
social and emotional well-being. 
(4) The Bureau of the Census currently does 
not count individuals who experience combined hear-
ing and vision loss. Through the American Commu-
nity Survey, the Bureau does collect data on those 
who are deaf or have ‘‘serious difficulty hearing’’ 
and those who are blind or have ‘‘serious difficulty 
seeing even when wearing glasses’’. However, this 
data is not cross referenced to provide information 
about those who have both limitations. 
(5) Some people who experience combined hear-
ing and vision loss identify as deafblind or as a part 
of the deafblind community. 
(6) By cross referencing this existing data to 
establish a count of all respondents to the American 
Community Survey who experience concomitant 
hearing and vision loss, an estimate of the United 
States deafblind population may be calculated. 
SEC. 2. REPORT AND PUBLICATION ON DEAFBLIND INDI-
VIDUALS. 
(a) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Bureau 
of the Census shall submit to Congress a report on the 
feasibility of publishing the table described in subsection 
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(b) and the feasibility of expanding data collection on indi-
viduals who experience combined hearing and vision loss 
in the American Community Survey (or any successor sur-
vey). 
(b) PUBLICATION OF TABLE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning in 2026 and each 
year thereafter, the Director of the Bureau of the 
Census shall publish, on the public website of the 
Bureau, a table summarizing respondents to the 
American Community Survey (or any successor sur-
vey) who answered ‘‘Yes’’ in such Survey to being 
both deaf and blind. The table shall include the fol-
lowing information, sorted by the State in which 
such respondent resides: 
(A) The sex, race, and age of any such re-
spondent. 
(B) Economic characteristics of any such 
respondent, including employment status, edu-
cational attainment, earnings, and poverty sta-
tus. 
(2) LIMITATION.—The Director shall ensure 
that no personally identifiable information of any in-
dividual is published under paragraph (1). 
Æ 
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