# Commerce Revises 2030 Census Data Collection

The Department of Commerce is advancing significant changes to the 2030 Census data collection process, including eliminating race and ethnicity questions for the first time since 1790 and modifying residency criteria by excluding certain noncitizens such as refugees and asylees from the population count. These changes are part of a broader initiative to integrate administrative data across federal agencies, reduce survey burdens, and improve data accuracy through enhanced interagency data sharing, including partnerships with the U.S. Postal Service to boost census response rates. The proposed rule and related efforts have raised constitutional and legal concerns from advocacy groups and experts, highlighting potential impacts on congressional apportionment, redistricting, and public health research. Public comments on the proposed rule are encouraged, signaling ongoing opportunities for stakeholder engagement.

- **Why this matters:** Procurement professionals should anticipate evolving requirements for data collection technologies, survey administration, and interagency data integration supporting the 2030 Census.
- Agencies and contractors involved in census operations may need to adapt to new data standards and privacy considerations stemming from the elimination of race and ethnicity questions.
- The emphasis on administrative data sharing and partnerships suggests increased demand for secure data exchange platforms and analytics services.
- Organizations should evaluate how these changes affect contract scopes, compliance obligations, and opportunities for innovation in census-related services.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Information Technology
**Topics:** Digital Infrastructure, Regulatory Compliance
**Published:** September 19, 2026

### Government Entities
- Department of Commerce (Commerce)
- U.S. Census Bureau
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
- Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
- Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

### Key Quotes
> If you throw that off, if you remove that benchmark, you are unmooring pretty much almost all of the insights garnered across the United States3 And that99s priming the United States for an economic disaster.
> — Howard Fienberg

> Excluding anyone living in the U.S. from the population count is a violation of the Constitution99s 14th Amendment.
> — Terry Ao Minnis

> Race and ethnicity are just decidedly meaningful variables in the United States.
> — Chris Dick

### Sources
- [The Census Bureau Overrun With Staffers From MAGA Think Tank](https://www.reddit.com/r/fednews/comments/1wkekrh/the_census_bureau_overrun_with_staffers_from_maga) - reddit-fednews
- [Inside Commerce efforts to break data siloes and improve integrity - Nextgov/FCW](https://www.nextgov.com/digital-government/2026/09/inside-commerce-efforts-break-data-siloes-and-improve-integrity/416057) - Nextgov/FCW