Information about these notices was provided by IPUMS at the U of Minnesota

[See a related news item: "Data Checkup framework for assessing the health of federal data collections"]

Federal Register Notice: American Community Survey (ACS) and Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS)

The Department of Commerce is gathering comments on proposed changes to the ACS and PRCS through next Tuesday, February 17. The changes include the introduction of an internet self-response option for the PRCS (as is already used in the ACS) and the implementation of modernized race and ethnicity standards. The updated race and ethnicity standards are set under Statistical Policy Directive 15. The Census Bureau provides a page outlining its extensive research on race and ethnicity and its testing to develop the updated standards.

[See also, "Take Action: American Community Survey" from dataindex.us]

Federal Register Notice: MEPS-Household Component (MEPS-HC)

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is accepting comments via the Federal Register through March 2 about changes to the MEPS-HC. The notice references minor changes to question phrasing, a change to the respondent sex question, and the removal of questions about counseling and treatment, birth control, aspirin use, and gender. The notice also reports the discontinuation of two supplements: (1) the Diabetes Care Supplement (DCS), which was fielded annually for 2000-2025 (we do not expect the 2023-2025 data to be released) and (2) the Medical Care Self-Administered Questionnaire (ESAQ), which was slated for a single year of data collection in 2024, with no data yet released. Those interested in these components of the MEPS-HC data for their research may want to respond. If your work is not affected by these changes, you may also use this opportunity to describe the general importance of MEPS-HC data for your research agenda.

Federal Register Notice: Contingent Worker Supplement

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is accepting comments through April 13 via the Federal Register about proposed changes to the Contingent Worker Supplement of the Current Population Survey. The proposed changes will update the collection of digital platform work in the supplement scheduled for July 2026.