Federal statistics form the foundation and are the standard for private statistics. Reliable and accurate statistics are increasingly used in complex models of the economy and society that have become important tools for management of large business concerns and for policy planning in governmental bodies. Reductions in government funding threaten the statistical system. These effects undermine assumptions of the quality of federal statistics, which will, in turn, have great negative effects not only on the foundation of the federal statistical system and the Census, but also on private statistics. Further, eliminating the central statistical group in the Office of Management and Budget will result in the loss of coordination in such matters as common definitions and common classificatory schemes that have enormous implications for comparability of data for analysis across surveys and among agencies and for the quality and usefulness of federal statistics. Statistics on society and the economy may be thought of as public goods that further the public interest as well as private interests. Hence they are properly the responsibility of the federal government. (PN)