Joe Biden Weighs Spending Millions of Dollars to Study People's Gender

President Joe Biden is considering allocating millions of dollars to collect data on Americans' gender identities.

The U.S. Census Bureau asked the administration on Tuesday for permission to include questions about sexual orientation and gender identity for people 15 and older in the American Community Survey next year. Studying 3.5 million households each year, the ACS is the largest household survey in the United States.

Advocates have argued that without more population data on the LGBTQ+ community, it can be difficult to push for more inclusive policies and government funding that address the needs of those individuals.

The bureau said that while the federal government has taken steps to address a gap in information about the nation's LGBTQ+ community, more research is needed and improvements to measuring those groups would be a "critical step in producing accurate data." It also noted that because the LGBTQ+ population is relatively small, it requires specialized testing and survey methodologies to offer a real snapshot of the group and the economic well-being of these individuals.

"The Federal Statistical System is not able to meet critical, emerging needs for high-quality measures of [sexual and gender minority] populations without improvement and expansion of [sexual orientation and gender identity] measures," the statistical agency said in its 2023 budget report. The request includes a $10 million request for the program change on top of the $325.6 million for its base funding.

The American Community Survey has not previously studied the sexual orientation of the U.S. population, although it has identified same-sex couples living in the same household. A Brookings report released earlier this month estimates that up to 17.3 million individuals go unidentified in the survey because of incomplete questioning.

Brookings noted that because the survey has only been able to collect data on LGBTQ+ people living in same-sex households, "a large portion of the LGBT population" is "not being identified in the ACS, including youth and LGBT individuals who are not in relationships."

Tuesday's request is part of the Census Bureau's growing effort to expand its data collection of the LGBTQ+ population. In 2021, the agency's Household Pulse Survey, a pandemic report measuring how Americans fare economically in response to COVID, marked the first time the federal government sought to capture data on LGBTQ+ Americans in its national surveys.

Biden has vowed to champion LGBTQ+ rights throughout his time in office, signing bills like the Respect for Marriage Act into law, filing lawsuits against Republican-led legislations that target transgender Americans and appointing LGBTQ+ people to top administrative posts.

"For all the progress we've made, we know—we know a real change and real challenges still remain," the president said in a speech at the White House's Pride celebration in June. "When a person can be married in the morning and thrown out of a restaurant for being gay in the afternoon, something is still very wrong in America."

"We need to push back against the hundreds of callous and cynical bills and laws introduced in states targeting transgender children, terrifying families, and criminalizing doctors and nurses," Biden said.

In the 2023 legislative session alone, 496 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced across the United States, according to a tracker from the American Civil Liberties Union. Last month, Canada updated its travel advisory to the U.S., warning members of the LGBTQ+ community that they could face certain barriers and risks when traveling to states with newly enacted laws.

"These bills and laws attack the most basic values and freedoms we have as Americans—that's not hyperbole; that's a fact: the right to be yourself, the right to make your own health decisions, the right to raise your own children," Biden said.

"Too many people in the LGBT community are worried and afraid about their future and their safety," he added. "So today, I want to send a message to the entire community, especially to transgender children: You are loved. You are heard. You are understood. And you belong!"