Uncovering Changes to Federal Data: 05/24/2025 — 05/30/2025 ICR Roundup
by Melanie Klein
Since January 20, 2025, new Presidential Actions, such as Executive Orders and Proclamations, have required federal agencies to subtly adjust what information they gather and how they ask for it. This is especially true when it comes to language about gender and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Federal data collections leave a digital trail on RegInfo.gov as they evolve, but some footprints are easier to spot than others.
Tracking ICR Activity
Between May 24 and May 30, 2025, 101 Information Collection Requests (ICRs) were submitted. Of those, 32 ICRs were submitted specifically in response to Presidential Actions (bringing the May total to 102).
Of the Presidential Action-driven ICRs submitted between May 24 and May 30, 2025, 72% requested a “no material or nonsubstantive change to a currently approved collection.” This means minor changes can be made without extending the collection’s expiration date. Because these revisions don’t trigger a public comment period or a notice in the Federal Register, they can easily fly under the radar and move through a fast approval process.
Between May 24 and May 30, 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) stood at the forefront of these changes, having submitted 26 ICRs in response to Presidential Actions. The majority of the HHS submissions came from ACF (16 ICRs), with the remainder from the CDC (3 ICRs), SAMHSA (3 ICRs), CMS (2 ICRs), and the NIH (2 ICRs).
Presidential Actions Behind These Changes
Carefully reviewing each ICR allowed us to pinpoint exactly which Presidential Actions agencies cited to justify their proposed changes:
31 ICRs driven by EO 14168: Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, January 20, 2025
7 ICRs driven by EO 14151: Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing, January 20, 2025
6 ICRs driven by EO 14148: Initial Recissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions, January 20, 2025
1 ICR driven by Proclamation 10925: Adjusting Imports of Automobiles and Automobile Parts into the United States, March 26, 2025
6 Notable Examples
To illustrate how Presidential Actions have shaped recent updates to data collections, here are 6 notable examples:
CDC’s National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)
The CDC/NCHS submitted a nonsubstantive change request on May 28, 2025, for the National Health Interview Survey. Citing EO 14168, the change memo states that the agency deleted two questions: “Do you currently describe yourself as male, female, transgender, nonbinary, or another gender?” and “(If ‘Another gender’ is selected) What term do you use to describe your gender?”
CMS’s End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Medical Evidence
CMS submitted a nonsubstantive change request on May 27, 2025, for the End Stage Renal Disease Medical Evidence Report Medicare Entitlement and/or Patient Registration. Citing EO 14168, the agency reformatted a question from “Sex Assigned at Birth, on Your Original Birth Certificate” to “What is Your Sex.” The change memo also cites EO 14151, stating the numbers of four questions that were removed, though it does not specify their content. By reviewing the form in the previous ICR, it appears that questions about gender, race, ethnicity, and country/area of origin or ancestry were deleted. Notably, the EO does not explicitly mention or require the removal of questions about race, ethnicity, or origin.
CDC’s Project SHIELD
The CDC submitted a nonsubstantive change request on May 28, 2025, for Project SHIELD (Surveillance of HIV-related service barriers among individuals with early or late HIV diagnoses). Citing EO 14168, the change memo states that the agency removed multiple questions and response options related to gender identity. Additionally, it revised the question on sexual orientation to exclude the options “queer” and “same-gender loving.”
ITA’s Automobile Parts Tariff Offset
The International Trade Administration (ITA) submitted a new collection on May 30, 2025, requesting emergency approval to be able to collect information from automobile manufacturers who are impacted by tariffs. Citing Proclamation 10925, the request states “that within 30 days of the date of the order the Secretary of the Department of Commerce (Commerce) shall establish a process by which automobile manufacturers could submit documentation supporting eligibility for an import adjustment offset amount.”
SAMHSA’s Information Collections
SAMHSA submitted three ICRs, all of which make changes to the information collected about gender and sexual orientation.
On May 28, 2025, a nonsubstantive change request was submitted for the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention Online Reporting Tool (CORT). Citing EO 14168, the change memo states that the agency replaced gender with sex and removed references to sexual orientation, harm reduction, and the disparities impact statement.
On May 30, 2025, a nonsubstantive change request was submitted for the SAMHSA Unified Performance Reporting Tool (SUPRT). Citing EO 14168, the change memo also states that the agency replaced gender with sex and removed sexual orientation questions.
On May 28, 2025, a revision request was submitted for the Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) Program Monitoring. While no EO was cited, the prior ICR stated that the annual TTA reports would present, at a minimum, the “percentages of participants of each gender and sexual orientation,” but the most recent ICR replaced this with “percentages of participants of each sex.”
ACF’s ORR Unaccompanied Alien Children Bureau
The ACF’s Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) Bureau submitted three ICRs on May 28, 2025: a collection on Unaccompanied Alien Children Assessments for Children and Sponsors, a collection on Home Study and Post-Release Services for Unaccompanied Alien Children, and a collection on Incident Reporting for the Unaccompanied Alien Children Bureau. Citing EO 14168, all three replace “Gender” with “Sex,” offering only “male” and “female” as response options. Additionally, they require replacing “Unaccompanied Child” and “UC” with “Unaccompanied Alien Child” and “UAC” wherever they appear. Each also collects additional information on gang affiliation.
How to Stay Informed
Our ICR tracker at dataindex.us is updated daily with newly scraped data to surface these changes as they are proposed. We review every ICR on a weekly basis so you don’t have to, and our Tuesday blog posts highlight the latest developments. These quiet shifts in the federal data landscape may seem small, but they deserve our attention.
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