It’s Time to Bring Evidence-Based Policymaking to Congress
BY TAYLOR J. SWIFT
In 2018, Congress passed the bipartisan Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act, which included provisions for making public data machine-readable, appointing Chief Data Officers in federal agencies, and establishing Evaluation Officers and Statistical Officials to oversee data management and policy evaluation. The law has led to the creation of agency learning agendas to help federal agencies identify and prioritize the critical questions they need to answer to improve policies and programs. By all measures, it has been a success and the benefits continue to compound. There is just one major problem with the 2018 law — Congress left the Legislative branch out completely.
This is not actually surprising. Congress routinely under-resources and undervalues its own work, as the Executive branch garners roughly 120 times the funding as the Legislative branch. This leads to what POPVOX Foundation Executive Director Marci Harris refers to as the “Inter-Branch Pacing Problem:”
The irony of the inter-branch pacing problem is that, in many cases, technology advances in the executive branch are undertaken at the direction of Congress…While the Executive branch has moved ahead, Congress neglect[s] its own technological capacity. This contributes to a growing…imbalance that undercuts Congress’ ability to act as a coequal branch of government.
In a rapidly changing world in which data is an increasingly crucial part of decisions in the public and private sector, Congress cannot afford to be left behind. To address this imbalance, former Co-chairs of the House Select Committee on Modernization Reps. William Timmons [R, SC] and Derek Kilmer [D, WA] have introduced a bipartisan House resolution (H.Con.Res.49) to establish a Congressional Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking. This commission would be tasked with reviewing and recommending ways for Congress to better utilize federal data in policymaking.
The Congressional Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking would bring together experts from various fields — including data scientists, academics, and industry leaders — to provide independent and neutral recommendations. This diverse group would identify current data practices, highlight areas for improvement, and develop strategies tailored to Congress' specific needs. This is a cost-effective approach allowing the Legislative branch to begin leveraging data to improve policy effectiveness without the need for extensive new infrastructure or additional staff.
Enhancing Congress' capacity for evidence-based decision-making could lead to more effective resource allocation, improve government services, and bring greater operational efficiency within Congress itself. It is even possible that a culture of evidence-based policymaking (EBP) could help rebuild public trust in Congress, increase accountability, and promote transparency, ultimately strengthening the relationship between Congress and the public at large.
As data becomes increasingly central to decision-making processes, an EBP approach offers the opportunity for Congress to begin addressing its Inter-Branch Pacing Problem, and to ensure that policies are informed, effective, and aligned with the best available data. The proposed Congressional Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking within H.Con.Res.49 offers a pragmatic and low-cost solution to enhance Congress' ability to use data effectively, leading to better outcomes for the government and the public alike.
