I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6211 
To improve the collection and publication of statistics relating to the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 25, 2018 
Miss GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N of Puerto Rico introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to 
the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Oversight and Government 
Reform, Education and the Workforce, Agriculture, the Judiciary, and 
Financial Services, 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 improve the collection and publication of statistics relat-
ing to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Puerto Rico Data Collection Equality Act of 2018’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
TITLE I—MATTERS RELATED TO FEDERAL STATISTICAL 
PROGRAMS 
Sec. 101. Plan to include the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in Federal statis-
tical programs. 
Sec. 102. Statistics to be collected and reported by the Census Bureau. 
Sec. 103. National Center for Education Statistics treatment of the Common-
wealth of Puerto Rico. 
Sec. 104. National Agricultural Statistics Service treatment of the Common-
wealth of Puerto Rico. 
Sec. 105. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: Na-
tional Survey on Drug Use and Health. 
Sec. 106. National Center for Health Statistics treatment of the Common-
wealth of Puerto Rico. 
Sec. 107. Bureau of Justice inclusion of Puerto Rico in justice statistics. 
Sec. 108. Energy Information Administration treatment of Puerto Rico. 
TITLE II—MATTERS RELATED TO THE PUERTO RICO INSTITUTE 
OF STATISTICS 
Sec. 201. Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics. 
TITLE III—MATTERS RELATED TO PUERTO RICO’S ECONOMY 
Sec. 301. Annual update of the Report on the Competitiveness of Puerto Rico’s 
Economy. 
Sec. 302. Effect of electric power on the economic growth of Puerto Rico. 
TITLE I—MATTERS RELATED TO 
FEDERAL STATISTICAL PRO-
GRAMS 
SEC. 101. PLAN TO INCLUDE THE COMMONWEALTH OF 
PUERTO 
RICO 
IN 
FEDERAL 
STATISTICAL 
PROGRAMS. 
(a) PLAN.—The head of the Interagency Council on 
Statistical Policy shall develop a plan to collect and pub-
lish statistics regarding the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico 
in the same manner as statistics are collected and reported 
by Federal agencies for the several States. 
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(b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The head of the Interagency 
Council on Statistical Policy, in coordination with the 
heads of appropriate Federal agencies, shall implement 
the plan developed under subsection (a). 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than two years after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, and every two years there-
after, the head of the Interagency Council on Statistical 
Policy shall submit to Congress a report which shall in-
clude— 
(1) a description of the plan developed under 
subsection (a); and 
(2) information on the implementation of such 
plan. 
SEC. 102. STATISTICS TO BE COLLECTED AND REPORTED 
BY THE CENSUS BUREAU. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Bureau of the 
Census, in consultation with the heads of appropriate Fed-
eral agencies, shall include statistics regarding the Com-
monwealth of Puerto Rico collected and reported by the 
Bureau as part of the statistical programs described in 
subsection (b). 
(b) STATISTICAL PROGRAMS DESCRIBED.—The sta-
tistical programs described in this subsection include the 
following: 
(1) Census of Governments. 
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(2) Survey of Business Owners and Self-Em-
ployed Persons. 
(3) Building Permits Survey. 
(4) Quarterly Workforce Indicators. 
(5) American Housing Survey. 
(6) Construction Progress Reporting Survey. 
(7) Housing Vacancy Survey. 
(8) Manufactured Housing Survey. 
(9) Value of Construction Put in Place Survey. 
(10) Current Population Survey. 
(c) NATIONAL ECONOMIC CENSUS.—The Director of 
the Bureau of the Census shall— 
(1) collect and report statistics regarding the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for the Economic 
Census of Island Areas in a manner consistent, in 
terms of both substance and timing, with the collec-
tion and reporting of statistics for the National Eco-
nomic Census; and 
(2) not later than 1 year after the date of en-
actment of this Act, submit to Congress a report 
recommending whether statistics regarding the Com-
monwealth of Puerto Rico should be included in the 
National Economic Census rather than in the Eco-
nomic Census of Island Areas. 
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SEC. 103. NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS 
TREATMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF 
PUERTO RICO. 
The Secretary of Education, acting through the Na-
tional Center for Education Statistics, shall, to the max-
imum extent practicable, collect and publish data for the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in the same manner as 
data is collected and published for the several States. 
SEC. 104. NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE 
TREATMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF 
PUERTO RICO. 
(a) SURVEYS IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO 
RICO.—The Administrator of the National Agricultural 
Statistics Service shall— 
(1) include, to the maximum extent practicable, 
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in the surveys 
conducted by the Service; and 
(2) in the case of agricultural data collection 
that cannot be carried out under the surveys de-
scribed in paragraph (1), identify an alternative 
method of collecting such data from the Common-
wealth of Puerto Rico. 
(b) REPORT ON FEASIBILITY OF SURVEYS IN THE 
COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO.—Not later than 1 
year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Ad-
ministrator of the National Agricultural Statistics Service 
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shall submit a report to Congress that includes rec-
ommendations on the feasibility of conducting surveys in 
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 
SEC. 105. SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH SERV-
ICES ADMINISTRATION: NATIONAL SURVEY 
ON DRUG USE AND HEALTH. 
Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Assistant 
Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use shall sub-
mit to each committee of the Congress a report on the 
status of efforts to include the populations of the Com-
monwealth of Puerto Rico and the other territories of the 
United States in the National Survey on Drug Use and 
Health for fiscal year 2019 and subsequent fiscal years. 
SEC. 106. NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTH STATISTICS 
TREATMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF 
PUERTO RICO. 
Section 306 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 242k) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (n) as sub-
section (o); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (m) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(n) In carrying out this section, the Secretary, act-
ing through the Center, shall take all reasonable steps to 
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collect, evaluate, and make available information with re-
spect to the populations of the Commonwealth of Puerto 
Rico and the other territories to the same extent as the 
Secretary collects, evaluates, and makes available informa-
tion with respect to the populations of the several States.’’. 
SEC. 107. BUREAU OF JUSTICE INCLUSION OF PUERTO 
RICO IN JUSTICE STATISTICS. 
Section 302(d) of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10132(d)) is amend-
ed by inserting after paragraph (2) the following: 
‘‘(3) INCLUSION OF PUERTO RICO IN JUSTICE 
STATISTICS.—To the extent practicable, the Director 
shall gather information from Puerto Rico in car-
rying out the statistical collection, analysis, and dis-
semination functions of the Bureau.’’. 
SEC. 108. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION TREAT-
MENT OF PUERTO RICO. 
The Secretary of Energy, acting through the Admin-
istrator of the Energy Information Administration, shall 
annually update the data and information included on the 
website of the Energy Information Administration in order 
to ensure, to the extent practicable, that the data and in-
formation included on the website with respect to Puerto 
Rico is as inclusive and complete as the data and informa-
tion included on the website with respect to any State. 
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TITLE II—MATTERS RELATED TO 
THE PUERTO RICO INSTITUTE 
OF STATISTICS 
SEC. 201. PUERTO RICO INSTITUTE OF STATISTICS. 
(a) COVERED TERRITORIAL INSTRUMENTALITY.— 
The Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics is deemed to be 
a covered territorial instrumentality subject to the require-
ments of PROMESA (48 U.S.C. 2101, et seq.). 
(b) REPORT ON INSTRUMENTALITY BUDGET FUND-
ING LEVEL.—Not later than December 31 of the first full 
year after the date of the enactment of this Act and of 
each year thereafter, the Oversight Board of Puerto Rico 
shall submit to Congress a report on the Oversight 
Board’s rational, with supporting documentation, for the 
funding level for the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics 
in the most recent approved budget. 
(c) INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE AVAILABLE IN 
ENGLISH.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Puerto Rico Institute of Statis-
tics shall— 
(1) make all communications, publications, in-
formation, and other records of the institute created 
after the date of the enactment of this Act available 
in English to the same or a greater extent as those 
materials are available in Spanish; and 
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(2) publish a plan to make all communications, 
publications, information, and other records of the 
institute created before the date of the enactment of 
this Act available in English to the same or a great-
er extent as those materials are available in Spanish. 
TITLE III—MATTERS RELATED 
TO PUERTO RICO’S ECONOMY 
SEC. 301. ANNUAL UPDATE OF THE REPORT ON THE COM-
PETITIVENESS OF PUERTO RICO’S ECONOMY. 
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York shall annu-
ally update the report titled ‘‘Report on the Competitive-
ness of Puerto Rico’s Economy’’ (published June 29, 
2012). 
SEC. 302. EFFECT OF ELECTRIC POWER ON THE ECONOMIC 
GROWTH OF PUERTO RICO. 
The Secretary of Energy, acting through the Admin-
istrator of the Energy Information Administration, shall 
annually submit to Congress a report on the cost and 
unreliability of electric power in Puerto Rico and how such 
cost and unreliability affects the economic growth of Puer-
to Rico. 
Æ 
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