On October 26, PAA President Robert Hummer and APC President Sara Curran presented remarks to members of the White House Equitable Data Working Group (EDWG). The EDWG, which established as was as part of Presidential Executive Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, has two primary objectives: 1) identify inadequacies in our existing Federal data collection
Dr. Hummer and Dr. Curran presented six primary recommendations, which reflected input from PAA members nationwide. The recommendations urged EDWG to endorse:
- Improving the U.S. Vital Statistics System
- Improving the Census-based count of young children
- Enhancing the Survey of Income and Program Participation
- Improving collection & dissemination of immigration/migration/refugee/asylee data
- Prioritizing funding for the Federal Statistical Research Data Centers
- Encouraging geocoding and geomatching of data
Their remarks also urged the Biden Administration to support robust, increased funding for the federal statistical agencies and to involve them as the EDWG develops and implements specific recommendations.
Other PAA and APC officials who attended the meeting were: Dr. Hedy Lee, Co-Chair, PAA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee; Dr. Joseph Hotz, Chair, PAA Committee on Population Statistics; and Dr. William O’Hare, member, PAA/APC Government and Public Affairs Committee.
Dr. Hummer and Dr. Curran’s remarks available here.