In the latest feature examining the state of the US data infrastructure, the Count on Stats team spoke with three experts on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Katharine Abraham was BLS commissioner from 1993–2001, and Erica Groshen was BLS commissioner from 2013–2017. Ken Poole is the chief executive officer of the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness and longtime and widely recognized leader in the BLS data user community.
fiscal year
Congress Finalizes FY13 Budgets
Weeks before President Obama released his FY14 budget request and six months into the fiscal year, Congress finalized the FY13 budget. For the most part, the budgets for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), and federal statistical agencies are their FY12 budgets reduced by the sequestration cut of 5.1%. The cuts will mean fewer and smaller grants for NIH and NSF and program cuts, hiring freezes, and reduced travel for the federal statistical agencies.