The House Oversight Committee has asked the Government Accountability Office to evaluate the Census Bureau‘s readiness to conduct an end-to-end test in 2018 as part of the bureau’s preparedness strategy for 2020 Census.According to a letter sent Wednesday to GAO Director and Comptroller Gene Dodaro, the request includes a report on the status of a commercial-off-the-shelf product procurement, test and implementation strategy.
GAO will also assess the Census Bureau’s efforts to design and implement a strategy to carry out 2020 Census as well as the products and systems to be utilized and tested during the 2018 end-to-end test to identify and address potential issues.
Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and panel member Mark Meadows (R-California) also seek an analysis on the Bureau’s alternative method to conduct the 2020 Census in case current methods fail testing as well as the security measures planned for the final system.
Lawmakers have also requested for an evaluation of the Census Bureau’s timeline for action to prepare for the 2018 test and the implementation of the 2020 Census products.
The Census Bureau has launched a modernization and automation program called Census Enterprise Data Collection and Processing program designed to replace outdated methods using COTS products.
