II
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2885
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
OCTOBER 27, 1999
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs
AN ACT
To provide uniform safeguards for the confidentiality of in-
formation acquired for exclusively statistical purposes,
and to improve the efficiency and quality of Federal
statistics and Federal statistical programs by permitting
limited sharing of records among designated agencies
for statistical purposes under strong safeguards.
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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 Efficiency
Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act:
(1) The term ‘‘agency’’ means any entity that
falls within the definition of the term ‘‘executive
agency’’ as defined in section 102 of title 31, United
States Code, or ‘‘agency’’, as defined in section 3502
of title 44, United States Code.
(2) The term ‘‘agent’’ means a person who—
(A) is designated by a Statistical Data
Center (as designated in section 3) to perform
exclusively statistical activities authorized by
law under the supervision or control of an offi-
cer or employee of that Statistical Data Center;
and
(B) has agreed in writing to comply with
all provisions of law that affect information ac-
quired by that Statistical Data Center.
(3) The term ‘‘identifiable form’’ means any
representation of information that permits informa-
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tion concerning individual subjects to be reasonably
inferred by either direct or indirect means.
(4) The term ‘‘nonstatistical purpose’’ means
any purpose that is not a statistical purpose, and in-
cludes any administrative, regulatory, law enforce-
ment, adjudicatory, or other purpose that affects the
rights, privileges, or benefits of a particular identifi-
able respondent.
(5) The term ‘‘respondent’’ means a person
who, or organization that, is requested or required
to supply information to an agency, is the subject of
information requested or required to be supplied to
an agency, or who provides that information to an
agency.
(6) The term ‘‘statistical activities’’—
(A) means the collection, compilation,
processing, or analysis of data for the purpose
of describing or making estimates concerning
the whole, or relevant groups or components
within, the economy, society, or natural environ-
ment; and
(B) includes the development of methods
or resources that support those activities, such
as measurement methods, models, statistical
classifications, or sampling frames.
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(7) The term ‘‘statistical purpose’’—
(A) means the description, estimation, or
analysis of the characteristics of groups without
regard to the identities of individuals or organi-
zations that comprise such groups; and
(B) includes the development, implementa-
tion, or maintenance of methods, technical or
administrative procedures, or information re-
sources that support such purposes.
SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF STATISTICAL DATA CENTERS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Each of the following is hereby
designated as a Statistical Data Center:
(1) The Bureau of Economic Analysis in the
Department of Commerce.
(2) The Bureau of the Census in the Depart-
ment of Commerce.
(3) The Bureau of Labor Statistics in the De-
partment of Labor.
(4) The National Agricultural Statistics Service
in the Department of Agriculture.
(5) The National Center for Education Statis-
tics in the Department of Education.
(6) The National Center for Health Statistics
in the Department of Health and Human Services.
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(7) The Energy Consumption Division of the
Energy Information Administration in the Depart-
ment of Energy.
(8) The Division of Science Resources Studies
in the National Science Foundation.
(b) DESIGNATION.—In the case of a reorganization
that eliminates, or substantially alters the mission or func-
tions of, an agency or agency component listed in sub-
section (a), the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget, after consultation with the head of the agency
proposing the reorganization, may designate an agency or
agency component that shall serve as a successor Statis-
tical Data Center under the terms of this Act, if the Direc-
tor determines that—
(1) the primary activities of the proposed Sta-
tistical Data Center are statistical activities specifi-
cally authorized by law;
(2) the proposed Statistical Data Center would
participate in data sharing activities that signifi-
cantly improve Federal statistical programs or prod-
ucts;
(3) the proposed Statistical Data Center has
demonstrated its capability to protect the individual
confidentiality of any shared data; and
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(4) the laws that apply to the proposed Statis-
tical Data Center are not inconsistent with this Act.
(c) NOTICE AND COMMENT.—The head of an agency
seeking designation as a successor Statistical Data Center
under this section shall, after consultation with the Direc-
tor of the Office of Management and Budget, provide pub-
lic notice and an opportunity to comment on the con-
sequences of such designation and on those determinations
upon which the designation is proposed to be based.
(d) PROHIBITION AGAINST INCREASE IN NUMBER OF
CENTERS.—No action taken under this section shall in-
crease the number of Statistical Data Centers authorized
by this Act.
SEC. 4. STATISTICAL DATA CENTER RESPONSIBILITIES.
The Statistical Data Centers designated in section 3
shall—
(1) identify opportunities to eliminate duplica-
tion and otherwise reduce reporting burden and cost
imposed on the public by sharing information for ex-
clusively statistical purposes;
(2) enter into joint statistical projects to im-
prove the quality and reduce the cost of statistical
programs;
(3) safeguard the confidentiality of individually
identifiable information acquired for statistical pur-