Association of Public Data Users

c/o APB Associates

28300 Franklin Rd

Southfield, MI 48034

December 6, 2006 

The President

The White House

Washington, DC

Dear Mr. President:

I am writing on behalf of the Association of Public Data Users (APDU) to express our concerns about the future of the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

We urge you to appoint a highly skilled individual, widely respected in the scientific community, to replace C. Louis Kincannon as the Census Bureau director. As an association of organizations that not only are important users, but also disseminators of census data for public and private sector planning and decision-making, we believe it is critical that the next director have a strong appreciation of data users’ needs for accessible, high quality data.

The Census Bureau has several very important tasks to accomplish in the near future, including preparation and testing for the 2010 census, continuation of data collection and dissemination of data from the American Community Survey, and the 2007 Economic Censuses. We are concerned that the information produced in these activities be of the highest quality and reliability.

This is one of the most significant appointment decisions you will make during the remaining two years of your presidency. As data users, we urge an expeditious, transparent, and apolitical process of selecting the next top leaders of the Census Bureau.

                                                                                      Sincerely,

                                                                                      Deborah A. Gona, Ph.D.

                                                                                      President

cc: Secretary of Commerce