In recent months, the federal government has eliminated public access to federal datasets, raising concerns and creating challenges for the scientific community. Recognizing the importance of widely accessible research tools, FABBS has expanded our advocacy efforts to track and weigh in on these issues. We have joined The Census Project, a network of national, state, and local organizations that support better data about our economy, our people, and our neighborhoods.
The Census Project is actively calling for an inclusive and accurate decennial census and American Community Survey (ACS) — both of which generate critical, publicly accessible data relied upon by researchers and policymakers. FABBS signed on to a July 2026 letter to Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, urging the administration to secure funding for the U.S. Census Bureau in Fiscal Year (FY) 2027. This funding would ensure the Bureau has sufficient resources to support essential activities, including 2026 Census review and 2030 Census operations. Notably, the continuing resolution (CR) recently passed by the Senate (see FABBS reporting) includes language granting the Bureau flexibility to spend necessary, additional funds in preparation for the 2030 Census.
FABBS has also signed on to a letter drawing attention to the delay in the release of data from the 2025 ACS. Communities, service providers, policymakers, businesses, and researchers depend on the timely release of ACS data to responsibly assess the public’s needs, allocate taxpayer dollars, and make informed decisions.
The current delay in releasing the 2025 ACS data is only one among several issues with public access to federal datasets. According to the April 2026 report, “The Integrity of Public Access to Federal Data: Evaluating Disruptions to Open Government Data,” by Christopher Marcum, since January 2025, approximately 3,000-4,000 datasets have been removed from public access. While these removals are frustrating and unprecedented in scale compared to previous administrations, nearly all of these cuts remain legal under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Data Index’s Federal Data Terminations Tracker is a catalog of all datasets terminated since January 2025.
A webinar co-hosted by The Census Project and MACS 2030, a Minnesota-based organization dedicated to protecting the census and ACS, further explored what is at stake when datasets are unreliable or inaccessible. Data on small population groups in rural areas and marginalized communities are particularly undermined in these cases. Business owners, economists, scientists, and policymakers rely on concrete information about the makeup of this country to understand and respond to changes in their communities.
FABBS, as new members of The Census Project, will continue supporting efforts to restore public access to previously removed federal datasets and advocate for funding towards mandatory community surveys.
