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Today, Representative Jack Bergman introduced the American Community Survey (ACS) Choice Act, a bill which prevents Americans from being harassed if they choose to not complete the American Community Survey.

“Throughout my time in Congress I’ve heard from constituents who were being harassed by federal workers or threatened with legal action for choosing to not complete the American Community Survey. The ACS Choice Act will take the commonsense step of allowing those who don’t wish to provide such unnecessary personal information to the federal government to opt out without the fear of fines or other repercussions. We must protect individual liberty at the expense of the government’s thumb – not the other way around,” Rep. Bergman said.

The U.S. Census – completed every 10 years – is an important, constitutionally-mandated process that is used to determine congressional districts and allocate federal spending. The ACS, however, is a separate, longer survey sent to a sample of more than 3 million households every year and includes far more specific and personal questions, taking roughly four times as long to complete as the decennial Census.

Federal law states that those who refuse to complete the ACS will face a fine of up to $100. However, the Census Bureau has not actually fined or prosecuted anyone for failing to respond to a survey since 1970 – making this a toothless threat used to pressure participation.

The ACS Choice Act takes the commonsense step of removing the penalty for refusing to complete the American Community Survey. It will not alter the requirement to complete the 10-year Census, nor remove the penalties for providing intentionally incorrect answers.

Read the full text of the bill here.