# 119-s-265: Freedom from Government Surveys Act

119-s-265, Freedom from Government Surveys Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Risch, James E. [R-ID] (R-ID); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-265
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-265
- Congress: 119
- Title: Freedom from Government Surveys Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-01-28
- Sponsor: Sen. Risch, James E. [R-ID] (R-ID)
- Cosponsors: 4
- Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Makes the American Community Survey voluntary.** This bill would amend Title 13 to make answering the ACS optional, state that refusing or skipping any question carries no penalty, and require the Census Secretary to include a clear notice on the survey that participation is voluntary. It would recast nonresponse rules into a nonpenalty framework and does not create new funding or enforcement powers in the text.

## Cosponsors (4)

- Sen. Hyde-Smith, Cindy [R-MS] (R-MS), 2025-01-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Daines, Steve [R-MT] (R-MT), 2025-01-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Crapo, Mike [R-ID] (R-ID), 2025-01-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Lummis, Cynthia M. [R-WY] (R-WY), 2025-01-28T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- American Community Survey becomes voluntary: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would make taking the American Community Survey voluntary. You would not face penalties under 13 U.S.C. §221 for refusing to answer ACS questions. The Census Bureau would have to include a clear statement on the survey that participation is voluntary. The change would apply to…

## Related bills

- 119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act
- 119-s-3752: SAVE America Act
- 119-s-1241: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025
- 119-s-1162: SHORT Act
- 119-s-401: Fair Access to Banking Act
- 119-s-199: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide special rules for the taxation of certain residents of Taiwan with income from sources within the…

## Sources
- [119-s-265 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/265)

## Related
- [119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1748)
- [119-s-3752: SAVE America Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3752)
- [119-s-1241: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1241)
- [119-s-1162: SHORT Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1162)
- [119-s-401: Fair Access to Banking Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-401)
- [119-s-199: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide special rules for…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-199)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-265 (as of 2026-04-21).