July 3, 2025 – As Americans prepare to celebrate the Fourth of July, the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW) warns that a pillar of our democracy is under threat: the federal statistical system.
Without reliable, independent government data, the American people cannot know the truth about their economy. They cannot hold leaders accountable. And journalists cannot do their jobs. Proposals to weaken or defund statistical agencies like the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census Bureau, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis threaten to blindfold the nation at a moment when clarity is more vital than ever.
These agencies don’t just publish numbers. They provide facts that undergird stock markets, interest rate decisions, wages, rental contracts, and public policy. Reports on inflation, employment, GDP, and poverty are used every day by businesses large and small, by city planners and school boards, by researchers and voters.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made that clear in June when he told Axios’s Neil Irwin: “These data are a huge public good.” He added that the U.S. has led the world in measuring economic activity “for many, many years.” That leadership is now at risk.
In her essay, The Data We Take for Granted, former U.S. Chief Data Scientist Denice Ross describes how these numbers power scientific research, innovation, and transparency across the country. Weakening the integrity or capacity of these agencies would cause lasting harm—not just to journalism, but to the national interest. https://fas.org/publication/the-data-we-take-for-granted/Â
This Fourth of July, SABEW calls on Congress to fully fund and fiercely protect the independence of federal statistical agencies. A free press depends on reliable and fair access to government data. So does every American who wants to know the truth.
SABEW is the largest association of business journalists. The nonprofit organization advocates for the protection of the First Amendment and a free press.
