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Freedom from Government Surveys Act
To provide that participation in the American Community Survey is voluntary.
Summary
This Act makes participation in the American Community Survey voluntary. The bill amends federal law to remove penalties for refusing or neglecting to answer questions on the survey. It also requires the Secretary of Commerce to include a statement on the American Community Survey indicating that participation is voluntary.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
1 cosponsor
- Rep. Moore, Barry [R-AL-1] (R-AL)
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to W. Gregory Steube’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- CHENEY BROTHERS $7,800
- NEXTGEN MANAGEMENT $6,600
- STEPHENS, INC. $6,600
- NEPTUNE WELLNESS SOLUTIONS $6,600
- COOLTODAY $6,600
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for W. Gregory Steube → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- Jul 29, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. · house
- Jul 29, 2025 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 29, 2025
Mr. Steube introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
A BILL
To provide that participation in the American Community Survey is voluntary.
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 “Freedom from Government Surveys Act”.
SEC. 2. VOLUNTARY NATURE OF AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY.
(a) No Penalty for Failure To Respond.—Section 221 of title 13, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(d) Voluntary Nature of American Community Survey.—Subsection
(a) shall not apply to any person who refuses or neglects to answer any question on the American Community Survey (or any successor survey).”.
(b) Clarification of Voluntary Nature on Survey.—Section 193 of title 13, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by striking “In advance” and inserting the following:
“(a) In General.—In advance”; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
“(b) Clarification of Voluntary Nature of American Community Survey.—The Secretary shall include on the American Community Survey (or any successor survey) a statement that participation in the survey is voluntary.”. <all>
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