Statistical Agency Integrity and Independence Act of 2025

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4907 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4907

  To protect the integrity, impartiality, and independence of Federal 
statistical agencies by establishing fixed terms and for-cause removal 
              protections for the heads of such agencies.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 5, 2025

 Mr. Whitesides (for himself, Mr. Garcia of California, Mr. Horsford, 
Ms. Stevens, and Mr. Landsman) introduced the following bill; which was 
 referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition 
     to the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, and the 
 Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To protect the integrity, impartiality, and independence of Federal 
statistical agencies by establishing fixed terms and for-cause removal 
              protections for the heads of such agencies.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Statistical Agency Integrity and 
Independence Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The people of the United States, its financial markets, 
        its businesses, and its policymakers rely on the timely, 
        credible, and impartial data produced by Federal statistical 
        agencies to make informed decisions.
            (2) The credibility of Federal statistics depends on public 
        confidence that the data are produced by agencies that are free 
        from political influence, manipulation, or censorship.
            (3) The heads of the principal Federal statistical agencies 
        serve as the chief stewards of this public trust, and their 
        professional independence is paramount.
            (4) Structures that grant operational and decisional 
        independence, such as those established for the Board of 
        Governors of the Federal Reserve System, provide a proven model 
        for insulating critical government functions from short-term 
        political pressures.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to strengthen public trust 
in Federal statistics by insulating the leadership of principal 
statistical agencies from political interference through the 
establishment of fixed terms of office, staggered appointments, and 
clear, for-cause protections against arbitrary removal.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Covered statistical agency.--The term ``Covered 
        Statistical Agency'' means each of the following:
                    (A) The Bureau of the Census, Department of 
                Commerce.
                    (B) The Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of 
                Labor.
                    (C) The National Center for Education Statistics, 
                Department of Education.
                    (D) The Bureau of Justice Statistics, Department of 
                Justice.
            (2) Head of a covered statistical agency.--The term ``Head 
        of a Covered Statistical Agency'' means the Director, 
        Commissioner, or Administrator who is the highest-ranking 
        official of a Covered Statistical Agency.

SEC. 4. APPOINTMENT AND TERM OF OFFICE OF HEADS OF COVERED STATISTICAL 
              AGENCIES.

    (a) Appointment.--The Head of each Covered Statistical Agency shall 
be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of 
the Senate.
    (b) Term.--The term of office for the Head of a Covered Statistical 
Agency shall be six years. The terms shall be staggered to ensure that 
no more than two such terms expire in any given calendar year.
    (c) Service After Expiration of Term.--The Head of a Covered 
Statistical Agency may continue to serve after the expiration of their 
term until a successor has been appointed and confirmed.
    (d) Vacancy.--Any individual appointed to fill a vacancy in the 
office of the Head of a Covered Statistical Agency occurring before the 
expiration of the term for which their predecessor was appointed shall 
be appointed for a full term of six years.

SEC. 5. REMOVAL FROM OFFICE.

    (a) Standard for Removal.--The President may remove the Head of a 
Covered Statistical Agency only for cause.
    (b) Definition of Cause.--For the purposes of this section, the 
term ``for cause'' shall mean proven inefficiency, neglect of duty, or 
malfeasance in office. A determination of cause may not be based on the 
substance, conclusions, or timing of any statistical data, report, or 
release prepared by the agency.

SEC. 6. GUARANTEES OF PROFESSIONAL INDEPENDENCE.

    (a) Final Authority.--The Head of a Covered Statistical Agency 
shall have final and unencumbered authority over the professional and 
technical decisions of the agency, including:
            (1) The methodologies, procedures, and scientific processes 
        used to collect and analyze data.
            (2) The content of all statistical reports, press releases, 
        and other official publications.
            (3) The timing and scheduling of the release of statistical 
        data, which shall be made public in advance and may only be 
        altered for technical, non-political reasons, with any such 
        alteration being accompanied by a public, written explanation.
    (b) Personnel.--No political test or qualification shall be used in 
the appointment, evaluation, or promotion of any professionally 
qualified employee of a Covered Statistical Agency.

SEC. 7. TRANSITION PROVISIONS.

    (a) Initial Staggered Terms.--To establish the staggered terms 
required by section 4(b), the initial appointments made under this Act 
shall be for terms of varying lengths as determined by the President, 
provided that:
            (1) The first three appointments shall be for a term of six 
        years.
            (2) The next four appointments shall be for a term of four 
        years.
            (3) The remaining three appointments shall be for a term of 
        two years.
            (4) All subsequent appointments shall be for a full term of 
        six years as prescribed in section 4(b).

SEC. 8. SEVERABILITY.

    If any provision of this Act, or the application of such provision 
to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the 
remainder of this Act and the application of the remaining provisions 
to any other person or circumstance shall not be affected.
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