CEN

Created byPermanent Census Office: Act of Mar. 6, 1902, ch. 139, 32 Stat. 51 (moved to Commerce and Labor 1903); Title 13 codified as positive law by Act of Aug. 31, 1954, ch. 1158, 68 Stat. 1012

Head appointed13 U.S.C. § 21: Director appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 'without regard to political affiliation'; fixed 5-year terms beginning Jan. 1, 2012 and every fifth year thereafter; maximum 2 full terms (term structure added by P.L. 112-166, § 3(a), Aug. 10, 2012, 126 Stat. 1291) (PAS)

Removal standardRemovable at will, with a notice requirement — 13 U.S.C. § 21: the Director 'may be removed from office by the President'; the President must 'communicate in writing the reasons for any such removal to both Houses of Congress not later than 60 days before the removal'

Funded underAnnual Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations act (Current Surveys and Programs; Periodic Censuses and Programs accounts); general-fund appropriated, with decennial-census spikes

Congressional oversightHouse Oversight and Government Reform (census jurisdiction) · Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

Inspector generalDepartment of Commerce OIG (PAS IG under the Inspector General Act, 5 U.S.C. § 403)

Judicial reviewAPA suits in district court (e.g., Dept. of Commerce v. New York, 588 U.S. 752 (2019), citizenship question); apportionment itself escapes APA review as presidential action (Franklin v. Massachusetts, 505 U.S. 788 (1992)); 13 U.S.C. § 9 confidentiality is an absolute FOIA Exemption 3 statute (Baldrige v. Shapiro, 455 U.S. 345 (1982))