Thank you to House Appropriations LHHS Subcommitte

The Honorable Rosa DeLauro, Chair

House Appropriations Committee

Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education

Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Tom Cole, Ranking Member

House Appropriations Committee

Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education

Washington, DC 20515 

Dear Chairman DeLauro and Ranking Member Cole,

As chair and co-chair of the Friends of BLS, we write to thank you for your support for the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the FY 2020 appropriations. BLS data provides enormous value to the U.S. economy, including for small businesses and large businesses alike, and for policymakers. No other agency provides the labor market, workforce and consumer price data upon which we, our members, and so many more rely.

We appreciate your recognition of the importance of BLS to our nation’s data infrastructure by providing the agency with additional funding. BLS faces many challenges as it continues to produce high quality labor and economic data, including the need to invest in staff development, improve information technology, and modernize its data collection efforts. This funding will help BLS innovate its technology, methods and staff so that it remain the gold standard.

We look forward to working with you again on FY 2021. Thank you for supporting this crucial agency and its role in evidence-based policy making.

With sincere gratitude,

Erica Groshen

Chair, the Friends of BLS

Former Commissioner, BLS 2013-2017

Cynthia Clark

Co-Chair, the Friends of BLS

Executive Director, Council of Professional Association’s on Federal Statistics