GAO: Efforts to better understand, address data gaps in territories not coordinated

While U.S. territories have made efforts to enhance their statistics with support from the U.S. Department of the Interior, efforts to better understand and address data gaps in the territories are not coordinated across the principal statistical agencies, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s report published last Thursday.

GAO found that principal statistical agencies generally have not conducted research to examine the costs, benefits, and feasibility of actions to expand the scope of federal statistical products to include the territories.

GAO said accurate and robust federal statistics could help territorial and federal officials better understand the implications of and potential solutions to various challenges that U.S. territories face.

GAO recommended that the director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget ensure that the U.S. chief statistician develops a coordinated, government-wide approach for federal statistical agencies to use, in consultation with the U.S. territories and other stakeholders, to examine the costs, benefits, and feasibility of including territories in statistical products and, as appropriate, identify ways to address any data gaps.

In April 2022, Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (D-MP), along with Rep. Raul M. Grijalva of Arizona and all insular area congressional delegates, requested for such GAO report, highlighting the challenges of the insular areas face with the absence of current population, economic, labor force, or agricultural data.

Sablan and other insular area congressional delegates requested GAO comptroller general Gene L. Dodaro for a review of the data collection gaps related to the U.S. territories.

Sablan said in his e-kilili newsletter over the weekend that ultimately, GAO in its report last Thursday has recommended that the federal government develop a coordinated plan to examine the benefits of including the Marianas and other insular areas in statistical products on a regular basis.

“Timely and accurate data is crucial for informing decisions and achieving progress in our islands,” the delegate said.

According to GAO report’s conclusion, under its coordination role for the federal statistical system, the Office of the Chief Statistician of the U.S. is positioned to develop an approach for statistical agencies to examine the costs, benefits, and feasibility of including territories in statistical products and, as appropriate, identify ways to address any data gaps.

GAO said developing such an approach for agencies to use consistently, in consultation with territories and other stakeholders as needed, would help improve the transparency of statistical decisions.

GAO said this could also help produce better data on the territories to inform policymakers’ decisions on programs and initiatives such as those they have discussed in this report.

GAO said as they have previously reported, the U.S. territories of the CNMI, Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands continue to face a range of economic challenges, including declining populations in all territories.

GAO said quality statistics are critical to helping the territories and federal agencies better understand and respond to those challenges.

GAO’s report examines the extent and causes of territories data gaps in publicly available federal statistical products, implications of federal funding to the territories resulting from data gaps, and examples of costs and benefits of addressing the data gaps.

GAO said territories face many data gaps, primarily because federal agencies do not include them in many federal statistical products.

GAO said a mix of cost, geographic, technical, and other issues contribute to these gaps.

These gaps, GAO said, can limit understanding of the conditions and resource needs of the territories.

Territories have taken steps to mitigate data gaps through local data collection.

GAO found that treatment of the territories differs across agencies in the federal statistical system, and efforts to collect and report data on the territories are limited and uncoordinated.

GAO said as available data and their prior reporting indicate, the five territories face similar challenges to sustained economic growth: outmigration and population loss; high cost of energy and imported goods; increasing vulnerability to frequent and severe episodes of extreme weather; and undiversified economies based on few industries with limited job opportunities.

GAO said the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated some of these conditions in several territories by decreasing tourism.

Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan