Morning. Thank you, mr. Chair. Yes, sir. I want to thank you for your patience. I will recognize you for your fiveminute openings. Mr. Cummings is coming. He graciously told me to go ahead and start. From my left to right, mr. Robert goldencough. Mr. David pounder, director of Information TechnologyManagement Issues at the Government Accountability office. Ms. Carol rice, department of Commerce Office of inspector general. Ms. Gupta, leader on civil rights. I think all of you have testified before. Green means go, yellow means run through the light. Yellow is speed up, get through it as quick as you can. And red, youre going to get stopped. I wont stop you right at five minutes because its really important. But your Opening Statement is part of the record. So with that, mr. Goldenkoff. Chairman gowdy, Ranking Member cummings and the rest of the committee, in recent years we have identified a number of operational, management and other challenges that raise serious concerns about the bureaus ability to conduct a Cost Effective enumeration. And in february 2017 we added the 2020 census to our list of high risk government programs. My remarks today will focus on two such challenges, implementing Design Innovations aimed at controlling costs and developing reliable cost estimates that better account for risks and inform annual budget requests. My colleague will then discuss the challenges the bureau faces in implementing and securing critical i. T. Systems. As secretary ross mentioned, it is now projected to cost 15. 6 bltds. Management and oversight will be needed in the short time remaining until census day to ensure systems are fully tested. To help control costs while maintaining ak rast ras si, the bureau will use new procedures for 2020 including greater use of collection methods, administrative records in place of collected by enumerators. They have not been used to a great extent in prior di at all. The bureau is currently conducting the 2018 end to end test. The tests began in august 2017 and is scheduled to run through april of 2019. Essentially a dress rehearsal for the actual enumeration, the 2018 test is the bureaus final chance to ensure it will perform under operational conditions. In may 2017 because of budgetary constraints the bureau descoped the test and only plans to conduct a complete test in rhode island. The washington and West Virginia sites will only address address canvassing. This is not the first time the bureau has curtailed its testing. The bureau cancelled field components of a 2017 test. Without sufficient testing across a range of groups, operational problems can go undiscovered and the opportunity to refine procedures and systems will be lost. Another risk factor is the quality of the bureaus estimate of the cost of the 2020 census which does not conform to best practices. Cost estimates can help an agency manage complex assignments and make funding decisions and provide oversight. However, the bureaus 2015 cost estimate only partially met the characteristics of two best programs and minimally met the other two. Additionally the bureau has not yet publicly released an update to its 2015 cost estimate. Yet several events since then eindicate that the life cycle cost will be substantially higher than the original estimate of 12. 5 billion. The bureaus preparations for 2020 have been further complicated by ongoing vacancies in the positions of census director and deputy director. Although acting leadership has since been named, turnover in the top ranks makes it difficult to ensure accountability and continuity as well as to mitigate risks and control costs over the longterm. This concludes my prepared remarks. I will now turn it over to my colleague. Thank you for inviting us to testify on the bureaus plans to deliver and secure key technologies for the 2020 census. These technologies can improve our nations Response Rates and secure citizens data. This technology has not been effective lly planne ened or ma and much work remains to deliver it. Schedule, security and cost growth,ly expand on each of these. The bureau needs to deliver 43 systems for 2020. Some are new systems in infrastructure while others are changes to existing systems. Clearly the internet response capability, mobile devices and the centralized Operations Component are critical systems. These systems need to be ready for the end to end test that started in august to ensure they are integrated appropriately. The bureau has missed many milestones and currently only 4 of the 43 have completed development and testing. Many of these systems have key delivery dates in early 2018 so they can be included in the end to end test. The mobile device application has been running behind schedule for some time. And we have serious concerns about the Timely Delivery of the fraud detention system. Im not sure id agree with the secretarys comment this morning that the systems are on schedule. The appendix in our statement lays out each of these 43 systems delivery dates. We are especially concerned that schedule pressure and late deliveries will lead to inadequate testing. The bureau needs to minimize the threat of phishing, secure about 400,000 mobile devices, ensure security of Cloud Services and properly configure all systems. To ensure all systems are as secure as possible, the bureau needs to assess security controls, fix known deficiencies and have the proper signoff to ensure that each system is authorized to operate. This process is critical since 43 systems contain personally identifiable information. The bureau has such a process, but we have concerned about whether there will be ample time to complete all the Security Work given the late delivery dates of the system and whether shortcuts will be taken due to pressure to authorize pro mat e prematurely. All 43 systems need to be reauthorized. Finally, we have concerns about cost growth associated with these technologies and have had these concerns for some time. The sedcap program has overr overrun about 400 million. The latest from the bureau is that i. T. Costs were about 3. 4 billion but that total did not include about 1. 4 billion, bringing the total cost closer to 5, not 3. 5. The new life cycle estimate includes this additional billion and a half that was previously unaccounted for. We will be tracking these costs closely because given the remaining work and past mismanagement we remain concerned about cost growth in this area even with builtin contingencies. Schedule security and cost growth are Major Concerns we will continue to monitor for the congress. Thank you for holding this hearing. Ms. Rice. Good afternoon, chairman, go gowdy. I appreciate the opportunity to testify about the bureaus 2020 life cycle cost estimate. We all support the bureaus ultimate goal. But over the last several years we have produced a number of reports that have found weaknesses in the how the bureau allocates costs, collects cost data and estimates cost for the 2020 census. My testimony today provides additional found that the bureaus 2020 census life cycle cost estimate cannot be validated. Second, much of our work throughout this decade reveals cost overruns, unaccounted for cost, and decreased cost avoidance. To the first point, the bureaus cost estimate is not auditable. It takes into account more than 100 inputs, but when we tried to verify their accuracy during the 2014 census test, there was no supporting documentation. Additionally, we evaluated the interactive review portion of the inoffice canvassing operation and found that the estimate was derived from undocumented verbal communications. This lack of documentation prevented us from oauditing the estimated cost avoidance the bureau reported to stakeholders. Similarly, we identified three instances where the census test failed to capture cost data that could validate and update the cost estimate. The 2014 census test and the 2015 address validation test included to collect data in the field, but it didnt. Finally, during the 2015 census test, we found that the bureau could not differentiate between the cost performing versus administrative activity. It could not determine whether the new methods were more effective and more efficient than achieved by just reducing administrative burden. We also reported weaknesses with how the bureau accounts for cost. In auditing the process for implementing the fy 14 budget cuts, we found the bureau recorded employee costs based on predetermined budget allocations instead of the actual hours worked. In addition, we found multiple instances where contractor costs were not charged to the correct activity. All of these accounting and estimation weaknesses prevent the bureau from making informed decisions. Second, were concerned about cost overruns, unaccounted for costs, and decreased cost avoidance. For example, the bureau initially projected spending 650 million for the cap program, and now its estimated at 965 million, and i think based on what the secretary just said, it will be higher. One audit our audit of the canvassing test also found substantial overruns. The bureau estimated that spending for inoffice center canvassing would be 44 million between fy 16 to 19, but our review found it would cost nearly three times that amount at 125 million. Finally, our evaluation of the 2016 census test identified unaccounted for costs, redesigned operations. We found that the operational control system allowed enumeraters to make more contact attempts than the cost estimate accounted for. So the expectation was they would go up to six times, and we found them going many, many more times. Were also concerned about the increased unresolved rate. As observed in the test, the potential need to expend Additional Resources that are not currently accounted for in the bureaus cost estimate. In conclusion, we applaud the Census Bureau for undertaking several major initiatives to modernize the decennial operation. We recognize that not all the innovations will perform as expected and that some of the 2020 cost savings may not materialize. However, for stakeholders to have confidence in the cost estimates, the bureau must strengthen its Cost Accounting processes by documenting inputs and tracking all project costs correctly. Im encouraged by the recent efforts to improve the life cycle cost estimates. The bureau started linking documentation to the variables in its estimate and as we have just heard, the secretarys task force worked closely with the bureau to improve that estimate. We are looking forward to reviewing that final product. So thank you very much for inviting me. Im pleased to answer any questions. Thank you, ms. Rice. Chairman gowdy, Ranking Member cummings and members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to be here. Its a coalition of more than 200 International Organizations that has been deeply engaged in the last several cycles of the decennial census. We share this committees concerns and interested in a modern, secure, and Cost Effective 2020 census. Technology can facilitate easy and lest costly participation in the census however, to uphold its constitutional duty and insure an accurate and fully inclusive count, Congress Must allocate resources to count underresourced communities. It must also provide funding for comprehensive Risk Management in preparations for realtime backup methods and operations, and were pleased to submit for the record two reports about the risk posed by technology and the records in the 2020 census. The primary and overarching goal of the census is a fair and accurate enumeration of all People Living in the United States on census day, and the goal of a census that is equally successful in all communities is really nonnegotiable. These arent as the chairman said, republican goals or democratic goals. Theyre shared american goals and achieving them is going to be very key to our representative system of government. But insufficient, uncertain, and frequently late annual funding has delayed and derailed testing and preparations as you have heard already. Most at risk are our operations that are specifically designed to enumerate historically hard to count communities. The Census Bureau needs a rampup in spending for a dress rehearsal, ark checkter and feel infrastructure, and a campaign that is going to encourage people to participate, and therefore, at the back end, help keep census costs in check. We support the proposal and congresswoman maloneys new bill. You have that before you, but the senses has political consequences, in fact, the constitution says as much by basing congressional apportionment and equal representation on the population count, but the conduct must be strictly nonpartisan and must strive to achieve an accurate account in all communities. Unfortunately, even with careful planning, we may be looking at an environment that could yield significant undercounts in poor communities, rural areas, communities that are recovering from natural disasters, communities of color as well as undercounts of children, immigrants, and others who have a palpable mistrust of government, who have deep concerns about cybersecurity and the security of their information as well as in Rural Communities where the Digital Divide is particularly pronounced. There are hard to count communities in every state, and hard to count populations in communities of all sizes, from large urban areas to smaller cities, to rural and remote communities, including American Indian tribal lands and reservations, and just two points to note for both members here, nearly 10 of census tracks in South Carolina are hard to count per Census Bureau research, and 27 of baltimores population live in hard to count census tracks. We fear the strict Budget Constraints congress has imposed add to these formidable barriers. The Census Bureau is going to attempt to minimize underaccounting but is going to be hampered by a smaller footprint in the field. When your constituents arent counted in the census, they remain invisible for the next ten years. There arent any doovers and no question that the Census Bureau must get it right for the first time because all of our members of congress, county officials, mayors, school principals, veterans, advocates, businesses large and small, and indeed all of us in the United States, have to live with the results of it for the next ten years. So the Leadership Conference and our member organizations look forward to working with all of you to insure a Cost Effective, secure, and above all, an accurate and inclusive census in every single one of our nations communities. Thank you. I want to thank all four of your for your Opening Statements. I also want to thank you for doing it in less than five minutes, which is something that members of congress cannot do. So i hope you consider running some time. Mr. Cummings, my friend from maryland. Certain populations, groups, have historically been undercounted in dissenial census. Specifically minorities such as africanamericans, hispanics, and American Indians on reservations are counted at rates much lower than others. Ms. Gupta, what are some of the reasons these groups are undercounted . Well, i think thats one significant reason and its particularly of concern right now is that mistrust of the federal government and whether communities will be whether their information when filling out the census will be safe and not used for enforcement purposes or and the like. Its particularly i would say right now in immigrant communities. Theres also a real concern around the Digital Divide and what that might do, and i would say even more acute in Rural Communities. As well as, you know, real concerns around cybersecurity and whether their information is going to be breached and the like. A lot of these harder to count communities, communities of color, theres a lot of mobility in these communities. They need to be have trusted partners in the field from the census, whether its through organizations like the ones that make up the Leadership Conference or through trusted partnerships with the Census Bureau to have messengers that are explaining the purpose of the census, why its important to be counted, and thats why the Partnership Program and the communications aspect of the census need to be adequately funded, because without there, theres no chance of getting an accurate account, and that will fail the entire census and the country. One thing that secretary ross said to the chairman the other day is that the cost of labor, he thinks, has to go up because you have to get a certain kind of person, the kind that you just talked about. And to get i was trying as you were talking, i was trying to figure out, how do you penetrate that . How do you attack that problem . Because if people are not trusting of government, if theyre worried about immigration issues, and maybe not for themselves but for family members, and then theres some people that just dont even know what the census is. All they know is that the government is knocking on their door. And any time the government is knocking on their door, they assume its something bad. I know because i live in a neighborhood like that. So how do you attack that . I really think its critical that the census have, the bureau have the infrastructure around a communications issuing and a <