Deafblind DATA Act

Sponsor: April McClain Delaney (Democratic-MD)April 17, 2025

AI-generated ?

Report an error

Introduced

In Committee

Passed One Chamber

Passed Both Chambers

Signed into Law

Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Census Bureau would publicly count deafblind Americans to help improve support and services.

This bill would require the Census Bureau to start counting deafblind Americans by cross-referencing existing survey data. This new public count, updated yearly starting in 2026, would help researchers and policymakers better understand the needs of deafblind individuals and improve support services. The bill ensures that no personal information would be shared.

What Would Change

Today, the Census Bureau collects data on people with hearing difficulties and vision difficulties separately. After this bill, the Census Bureau would combine that existing data to count individuals who are both deaf and blind, and would publish a public table with this information every year starting in 2026.

Key Provisions

Requires the Census Bureau to publish a yearly public table of deafblind Americans starting in 2026.
Includes details like age, sex, race, job status, education, and income in the public table, sorted by state.
Ensures no personal information of individuals is ever published in the public table.
Requires the Census Bureau to report to Congress on how to best collect and share this data, within 180 days of the bill becoming law.

View on Congress.gov

HR 2947 · 119th Congress · April 17, 2025 · AI Summary by gemini-2.5-flash · 8/10

Deafblind DATA Act

What Would Change

Key Provisions

Lobbying Activity