tical purposes under section 12 of the Federal Energy Ad-
ministration Act of 1974 (15 United States Code 771).
(e) PREEMPTION OF STATE LAW.—Nothing in this
Act shall preempt applicable State law regarding the con-
fidentiality of data collected by the States.
(f) STATUTES REGARDING FALSE STATEMENTS.—
Notwithstanding section 102, information collected by an
agency for exclusively statistical purposes under a pledge
of confidentiality may be provided by the collecting agency
to a law enforcement agency for the prosecution of submis-
sions to the collecting agency of false statistical informa-
tion under statutes that authorize criminal penalties (such
as section 221 of title 13, United States Code) or civil
penalties for the provision of false statistical information,
unless such disclosure or use would otherwise be prohib-
ited under Federal law.
(g) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act shall be
construed as restricting or diminishing any confidentiality
protections or penalties for unauthorized disclosure that
otherwise apply to data or information collected for statis-
tical purposes or nonstatistical purposes, including, but
not limited to, section 6103 of title 26, United States
Code.
TITLE I—CONFIDENTIAL
INFORMATION PROTECTION
SEC. 101. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
(1) Individuals, businesses, and other organiza-
tions have varying degrees of legal protection when
providing information to the Federal Government for
strictly statistical purposes.
(2) Pledges of confidentiality by the Federal
Government provide assurances to the public that in-
formation about individuals or organizations or pro-
vided by individuals or organizations for exclusively
statistical purposes will be held in confidence and
will not be used against such individuals or organi-
zations in any Federal Government action.
(3) Protecting the confidentiality interests of in-
dividuals or organizations who provide information
for Federal statistical programs serves both the in-
terests of the public and the needs of society.
(4) Declining trust of the public in the protec-
tion of information provided to the Federal Govern-
ment adversely affects both the accuracy and com-
pleteness of statistical analyses.
(5) Ensuring that information provided for sta-
tistical purposes receives protection is essential in
continuing public cooperation in statistical pro-
grams.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this title are the
following:
(1) To ensure that information supplied by in-
dividuals or organizations to an agency for statistical
purposes under a pledge of confidentiality is used ex-
clusively for statistical purposes.
(2) To ensure that individuals or organizations
who supply information to the Federal Government
for statistical purposes will neither have that infor-
mation disclosed in identifiable form to anyone not
authorized by this Act nor have that information
used for any purpose other than a statistical pur-
pose.
(3) To safeguard the confidentiality of individ-
ually identifiable information acquired under a
pledge of confidentiality for statistical purposes by
controlling access to, and uses made of, such infor-
mation.
SEC. 102. LIMITATIONS ON USE AND DISCLOSURE OF DATA
AND INFORMATION.
(a) USE OF STATISTICAL DATA OR INFORMATION.—
Data or information acquired by an agency under a pledge
of confidentiality and for exclusively statistical purposes
shall be used by officers, employees, or agents of the agen-
cy exclusively for statistical purposes.
(b) DISCLOSURE OF STATISTICAL DATA OR INFOR-
MATION.—
(1) Data or information acquired by an agency
under a pledge of confidentiality for exclusively sta-
tistical purposes shall not be disclosed by an agency
in identifiable form, for any use other than an exclu-
sively statistical purpose, except with the informed
consent of the respondent.
(2) A disclosure pursuant to subparagraph
(b)(1) above is authorized only when the head of the
agency approves such disclosure and the disclosure
is not prohibited by any other law.
(3) This section does not restrict or diminish
any confidentiality protections in law that otherwise
apply to data or information acquired by an agency
under a pledge of confidentiality for exclusively sta-
tistical purposes.
(c) RULE FOR USE OF DATA OR INFORMATION FOR
NONSTATISTICAL PURPOSES.—A statistical agency or
unit shall clearly distinguish any data or information it
collects for nonstatistical purposes (as authorized by law)
by a rule that provides that the respondent supplying the
data or information is fully informed, before the data or
information is collected, that the data or information could
be used for nonstatistical purposes.
(d) DESIGNATION OF AGENTS.—A statistical agency
or unit may designate agents, by contract or by entering
into a special agreement containing the provisions re-
quired by section 2, who may perform exclusively statis-
tical activities, subject to the limitations and penalties de-
scribed in this Act.
SEC. 103. FINES AND PENALTIES.
Whoever, being an officer, employee, or agent of an
agency acquiring information for exclusively statistical
purposes, having taken and subscribed the oath of office,
or having sworn to observe the limitations imposed by sec-
tion 102 of this title, comes into possession of such infor-
mation by reason of his being an officer, employee, or
agent and, knowing that the disclosure of the specific in-
formation is prohibited under the provisions of this Act,
willfully discloses the information in any manner to a per-
son or agency not entitled to receive it, shall be guilty of
a class E felony and imprisoned for not more than 5 years,
or fined not more than $250,000, or both.
TITLE II—STATISTICAL
EFFICIENCY
SEC. 201. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
(1) Federal statistics are an important source
of information for public and private decision-mak-
ers such as policymakers, consumers, businesses, in-
vestors, and workers.
(2) Federal statistical agencies should continu-
ously seek to improve their efficiency. Statutory con-
straints limit the ability of these agencies to share
data and thus to achieve higher efficiency for Fed-
eral statistical programs.
(3) The quality of Federal statistics depends on
the willingness of businesses to respond to statistical
surveys. Reducing reporting burdens will increase re-
sponse rates, and therefore lead to more accurate
characterizations of the economy.
(4) Enhanced sharing of business data among
the Bureau of the Census, the Bureau of Economic
Analysis, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics for ex-
clusively statistical purposes will improve their abil-
ity to track more accurately the large and rapidly
changing nature of U.S. business. In particular, the
statistical agencies will be able to better ensure that
businesses are consistently classified in appropriate
industries, resolve data anomalies, produce statis-
tical samples that are consistently adjusted for the
entry and exit of new businesses in a timely manner,
(2) To reduce the paperwork burdens imposed
on businesses that provide requested information to
the Federal Government.
(3) To improve the comparability and accuracy
of Federal economic statistics by allowing the Bu-
reau of the Census, the Bureau of Economic Anal-
ysis, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to update
sample frames, develop consistent classifications of
establishments and companies into industries, im-
prove coverage, and reconcile significant differences
in data produced by the three agencies.
(4) To increase understanding of the United
States economy, especially for key industry and re-
gional statistics, to develop more accurate measures
of the impact of technology on productivity growth,
and to enhance the reliability of the Nation’s most
important economic indicators, such as the National
Income and Product Accounts.
SEC. 202. DESIGNATION OF STATISTICAL AGENCIES.
For purposes of this title, the following shall here-
after be referred to as Designated Statistical Agencies:
(1) The Bureau of the Census in the Depart-
ment of Commerce,
(2) The Bureau of Economic Analysis in the
Department of Commerce, and
(3) The Bureau of Labor Statistics in the De-
partment of Labor.
SEC. 203. RESPONSIBILITIES OF DESIGNATED STATISTICAL
AGENCIES.
Designated Statistical Agencies shall:
(1) identify opportunities to eliminate duplica-
tion and otherwise reduce reporting burden and cost
imposed on the public in providing information for
statistical purposes;
(2) enter into joint statistical projects to im-
prove the quality and reduce the cost of statistical
programs; and
(3) protect the confidentiality of individually
identifiable information acquired for statistical pur-
poses 
by 
adhering 
to 
safeguard 
principles,
including—
(A) emphasizing to their officers, employ-
ees, and agents the importance of protecting
the confidentiality of individually identifiable in-
formation,
(B) training their officers, employees, and
agents in their legal obligations to protect the
confidentiality of individually identifiable infor-
mation and in the procedures that must be fol-
lowed to provide access to such information,
(C) implementing appropriate measures to
assure the physical and electronic security of
confidential data,
(D) establishing a system of records that
identifies individuals accessing confidential data
and the project for which the data were re-
quired, and
(E) being prepared to document their com-
pliance with safeguard principles to other agen-
cies authorized by law to monitor such compli-
ance.
SEC. 204. SHARING OF BUSINESS DATA AMONG DES-
IGNATED STATISTICAL AGENCIES.
(a) A Designated Statistical Agency may provide
business data in an identifiable form to another Des-
ignated Statistical Agency under the terms of a written
agreement among the agencies sharing the business data
that specifies—
(1) the business data to be shared;
(2) the statistical purposes for which the busi-
ness data are to be used;
(3) the officers, employees, and agents author-
ized to examine the business data to be shared; and
(4) appropriate security procedures to safe-
guard the confidentiality of the business data.
(b) The provision of business data by an agency to
a Designated Statistical Agency under this title shall in
no way alter the responsibility of the agency providing the
data under other statutes (including the Freedom of Infor-
mation Act and the Privacy Act) with respect to the provi-
sion or withholding of such information by the agency pro-
viding the data.
(c) Examination of business data in identifiable form
shall be limited to the officers, employees, and agents au-
thorized to examine the individual reports in accordance
with written agreements pursuant to this section. Officers,
employees, and agents of a Designated Statistical Agency
who receive data pursuant to this title shall be subject to
all provisions of law, including penalties, that relate:
(1) to the unlawful provision of the business
data that would apply to the officers, employees, and
agents of the agency that originally obtained the in-
formation; and
(2) to the unlawful disclosure of the business
data that would apply to officers, employees, and
agents of the agency that originally obtained the in-
formation.
(d) NOTICE.—Whenever a written agreement con-
cerns data that respondents were required by law to report
and the respondents were not informed that the data could
be shared among the Designated Statistical Agencies, for
exclusively statistical purposes, the terms of such agree-
ment shall be described in a public notice issued by the
agency that intends to provide the data. Such notice shall
allow a minimum of 60 days for public comment.
SEC. 205. LIMITATIONS ON USE OF BUSINESS DATA PRO-
VIDED BY DESIGNATED STATISTICAL AGEN-
CIES.
(a) Business data provided by a Designated Statis-
tical Agency pursuant to this title shall be used exclusively
for statistical purposes as defined by this Act.
(b) Publication of business data acquired by a Des-
ignated Statistical Agency shall occur in a manner where-
by the data furnished by any particular respondent are
not in identifiable form.
SEC. 206. CONFORMING CHANGES IN LAW.
(a) DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE.—Section 1 of the
Act of January 27, 1938 (15 United States Code 176a)
is amended by—
(1) striking ‘‘The’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as
provided in the Confidential Information Protection
and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002, the’’;
(2) chapter 10 of title 13, United States Code,
is amended by adding after section 401 the fol-
lowing:
‘‘SEC. 402. PROVIDING BUSINESS DATA TO DESIGNATED
STATISTICAL AGENCIES.
‘‘The Bureau of the Census may provide business
data to the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau
of Labor Statistics (‘Designated Statistical Agencies’) if
such information is required for an authorized statistical
purpose and the provision is the subject of a written agree-
ment with that Designated Statistical Agency, or their
successors, as defined in the Confidential Information
Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002.’’; and
(3) the table of sections for chapter 10 of title
13, United States Code, is amended by adding after
the item relating to section 401 the following:
‘‘402. Providing business data from the Bureau of the Census to Designated
Statistical Agencies.’’.
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