13 U.S.C. § 131: Collection and publication; five-year periods

The Secretary shall take, compile, and publish censuses of manufactures, of mineral industries, and of other businesses, including the distributive trades, service establishments, and transportation (exclusive of means of transportation for which statistics are required by law to be filed with, and are compiled and published by, a designated regulatory body), in the year 1964, then in the year 1968, and every fifth year thereafter, and each such census shall relate to the year immediately preceding the taking thereof. sole proprietorships; partnerships; and corporations. The Bureau of the Census of the Department of Commerce shall include in its Business Census for 1992 and each such succeeding census data on the number of corporations which are 51 per centum or more owned by women. Not later than one hundred and eighty days after the effective date of this section [ Oct. 25, 1988 ], the Office of the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration (hereinafter referred to in this subsection as the ‘Office’) shall conduct a study and prepare a report recommending the most cost effective and accurate means to gather and present the data required to be collected pursuant to subsections (a) and (b). The Department of Commerce and the Department of Labor shall provide the Office such assistance and cooperation as may be necessary and appropriate to achieve the purposes of this subsection.”