Bureau of the Census

Legislative Proposal to Share Address List Data Has Benefits and Risks Gao ID: T-GGD-94-184 July 21, 1994

A legislative proposal from the Department of Commerce would allow the Bureau of the Census to share address list data with the U.S. Postal Service, other federal agencies, and local governments. This proposal offers opportunities for the Bureau to improve its address lists, but it also raises privacy and confidentiality concerns about the use of census data. GAO supports the general concept of the sharing of data among federal statistical agencies for statistical purposes as currently under consideration by the Office of Management and Budget. GAO also supports initiatives to facilitate the sharing of address list data between the Postal Service and the Bureau. However, the Commerce Department has not provided sufficient justification to support its request for authority to share the Bureau's address list data with agencies other than the Postal Service.



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