Don’t Let America’s Data Infrastructure Collapse

A Quiet Crisis in Federal Data Gathering I write to urge you to act decisively to restore full funding and operational capacity to America’s federal statistical agencies. These agencies form the backbone of our national understanding—of inflation, employment, energy use, productivity, and more. Yet today, that foundation is crumbling. Recent Cuts Undermine Inflation, Employment, and Energy Data On June 4, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced it would reduce data collection for the Consumer Price Index (CPI)—a core measure that underpins monetary policy, federal budgeting, and family financial decisions. Earlier this year, BLS also announced it would eliminate 350 Producer Price Indices, stop publishing regional CPI energy data, and suspend access to restricted-use data. These cutbacks are not isolated. In 2024 and continuing into this year, agencies including the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Energy Information Administration, and the National Agricultural Statistics Service also made damaging cuts due to insufficient funding and staffing. Some agencies are down 15–20% or more in personnel, further straining their ability to provide high-quality data. The Administration’s Budget Deepens the Damage Instead of rebuilding this infrastructure, the President’s FY26 budget proposes more cuts. This is a dangerous mistake. Without urgent intervention, we risk cascading data failures across critical areas of economic and policy planning. Once these capabilities are lost—especially expert staff and longstanding data series—they are expensive and difficult to restore. Congress Must Act Congress must take the lead. You have the opportunity to: • Restore and increase funding in the FY26 appropriations. • Push for lifting hiring freezes and allowing essential contract work to proceed. • Hold oversight hearings on the long-term risks of degrading statistical capacity. The stakes could not be higher. Every American household, business, and policymaker depends on trusted federal statistics to make sound decisions. We cannot afford to lose this cornerstone of economic democracy.