119-hr2947

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2947 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 2947

To require the Bureau of the Census to collect information on deafblind 
 individuals, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 April 17, 2025

Mrs. McClain Delaney (for herself, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Mr. Cohen, 
 Ms. Crockett, Mr. Davis of North Carolina, Mr. Doggett, Mr. 
 Fitzpatrick, Mr. Goldman of New York, Mr. Fields, Mr. Lawler, Mr. 
 Mannion, Mr. McGarvey, Mr. Mullin, Ms. Norton, Mr. Takano, and Ms. 
 Tlaib) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To require the Bureau of the Census to collect information on deafblind 
 individuals, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Deafblind Disabled 
Americans Table Approximation Act'' or the ``Deafblind DATA Act''.

    (b) 

=== Findings ===
-Congress finds the following:

    (1) Individuals who are deafblind experience concomitant 
 hearing and vision loss that may prevent access to information, 
 cause severe communication challenges, and interfere with 
 social and emotional well-being. In children, deafblindness may 
 impact development and educational attainment, while in adults, 
 deafblindness may interfere with employment and other areas. 
 The National Center on Deafblindness estimates 10,000 children 
 and 40,000 adults are deafblind, the National Association of 
 Regulatory Utility Commissioners estimates 70,000-100,000 
 people are deafblind, and the Helen Keller National Center for 
 Deafblind Youths and Adults estimates 2.47 million Americans 
 have combined hearing and vision loss.

    (2) It is difficult to determine the precise number of 
 individuals who experience combined hearing and vision loss, 
 and estimates from various national counts offer radically 
 different estimates.

    (3) An accurate, centralized count of all individuals who 
 are deafblind in the United States is necessary to effectively 
 serve the unique needs of this population. Without a 
 comprehensive national picture of this population, individuals 
 who are deafblind may not receive the support necessary to 
 access information, communicate effectively, and better their 
 social and emotional well-being.

    (4) The Bureau of the Census currently does not count 
 individuals who experience combined hearing and vision loss. 
 Through the American Community Survey, the Bureau does collect 
 data on those who are deaf or have ``serious difficulty 
 hearing'' and those who are blind or have ``serious difficulty 
 seeing even when wearing glasses''. However, this data is not 
 cross referenced to provide information about those who have 
 both limitations.

    (5) Some people who experience combined hearing and vision 
 loss identify as deafblind or as a part of the deafblind 
 community.

    (6) By cross-referencing this existing data to establish a 
 count of all respondents to the American Community Survey who 
 experience concomitant hearing and vision loss, an estimate of 
 the United States deafblind population may be calculated.

SEC. 2. REPORT AND PUBLICATION ON DEAFBLIND INDIVIDUALS.

    (a) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Bureau of the Census shall 
submit to Congress a report on the feasibility of publishing the table 
described in subsection

    (b) and the feasibility of expanding data 
collection on individuals who experience combined hearing and vision 
loss in the American Community Survey (or any successor survey).

    (b) Publication of Table.--

    (1) In general.--Beginning in 2026 and each year 
 thereafter, the Director of the Bureau of the Census shall 
 publish, on the public website of the Bureau, a table 
 summarizing respondents to the American Community Survey (or 
 any successor survey) who answered ``Yes'' in such Survey to 
 being both deaf and blind. The table shall include the 
 following information, sorted by the State in which such 
 respondent resides:
        (A) The sex, race, and age of any such respondent.
        (B) Economic characteristics of any such 
 respondent, including employment status, educational 
 attainment, earnings, and poverty status.

    (2) Limitation.--The Director shall ensure that no 
 personally identifiable information of any individual is 
 published under paragraph

    (1) .
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