Americans’ public needs are not being adequately met as long as the federal data gaps for US territories persist. Melissa Braybrooks, an economist for the Office of Insular Affairs, spoke on behalf of the United States House Committee on Natural Resources. She explained problems caused by gaps in data from US territories and their effect on equity. Today, the five US territories—Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands—are often left out of federal data reports. A report from the Government Accountability Office shows how this leads to less information about the communities, farming, the environment, and how businesses operate in these areas.
Without complete data, it is hard for leaders to fully understand the needs of these communities. Collecting full and accurate data from all Americans, including those in the territories, helps create strong and fair solutions that serve everyone.
The GAO has a proposed solution. They suggest that the Office of Management and Budget study the costs and challenges of including the territories in all federal data collection efforts. A coordinated federal plan would help make sure that every American, no matter where they live, is represented fairly in policymaking.
The Office of Insular Affairs plans to evaluate the GAO’s recommendation to address historic data inequities and highlight other relevant factors to consider when implementing long-term solutions. Melissa Braybrooks addresses the need to understand the context of “why” territories are excluded in the first place in this list.
Currently, there is no comprehensive understanding as to why the US territories are excluded from federal statistics; therefore, identifying a remedy for this inequity has proven difficult. Whether this barrier is from administrative, agency-level, or funding sources, the root of this issue has not been scoped.
Possible reasons could be a lack of data stemming from the territories’ unique position. Since they are not states, they are often treated differently by the US laws and systems. Their geographical distance from the states also causes gaps in communication and makes it harder to track local problems. Time zone differences and distance can slow the flow of important information.
These missing pieces make it hard for the government to forecast revenue, build budgets, and design effective programs. The House Committee on Natural Resources panel stated that missing data also blocks people in the territories from getting access to federal help programs, which in turn ”makes it harder to formulate policy and provide adequate resources for the roughly 4 million US residents living in the territories. Many territories face high poverty rates and are often hit by natural disasters, the United States Census Bureau shared, because of “their unique climate and location, island areas are at increased risk for severe weather, including tropical storms, typhoons, and hurricanes.” Yet they have less access to important health and financial aid programs compared to people living in the fifty states.
This underrepresentation in federal data leads to unfair outcomes. Many people, especially people of color, are left without the support they need. Millions of Americans are affected when their communities are not accounted for properly; without this data, they “have far less access to the nation’s major health and economic security programs.”
A concrete understanding of why this exclusion would provide data to give leaders the tools they need to make smarter, stronger choices that benefit everyone. Making sure territories are included is a key step toward fairness and equity in government programs and services, and provides a better understanding of why this barrier exists in the first place.
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