By Martha Heberlein

As I’m sure you can tell from our multitude of blogs – we at CCF love the ACS! With its large sample size, it’s allowed us (and all our friends out in the states) to dig into data in smaller slices of the country.

With the recognition that once-a-decade data collection is not sufficient in our rapidly changing society, the continuous measurement of the ACS is designed to supplement the decennial Census with more up-to-date information. The ACS samples 3.5 million households annually from all states and counties. It asks questions looking at demographics, social, economic, and household characteristics, including questions on age, race, income, benefits, and education.

This wealth of information does more than just make us data dorks happy. According to a recent Brookings study, 184 federal assistance programs used ACS datasets to direct the allocation of $416 billion. State governments received the bulk of these fund, with Medicaid accounting for 62.8% (or $261.1 billion) of ACS-guided funding.

But it’s not just important for allocating (and monitoring) government programs. Businesses rely on these data to provide vital market information, with household spending and income being especially helpful in guiding their decision-making.

Back in May, the House voted to end funding for the ACS. Today, the Joint Economic Committee will conduct a hearing on the ACS examining the economic impact of ending the survey. In this era of budget-cutting austerity, having reliable data to help inform policy makers can only help lead to wise decisions. Without such information, we’d all be “flying blind” as Tom Beers, executive director of the National Association of Business Economists, says.