The House voted Jun. 13 to partially fund the Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), saving what is considered an essential tool for assessing how well government assistance programs are working. The President's FY2007 budget omitted funding for the program, but Rep. José Serrano (D-NY) succeeded in gaining approval for partial funding in the FY2007 Science, State, Justice and Commerce Appropriations Bill. The Serrano amendment calls for $10 million for the program, falling about $30 million short of full funding, but, thanks to Serrano, the SIPP is on a path to moderate preservation. The program, which began in 1984, gauges how well, or how poorly, government assistance programs deliver on their promises, by providing comprehensive information about such programs, and the people they are designed to help. The Census Bureau initiated the SIPP to "collect source and amount of income, labor force information, program participation and eligibility data, and general demographic characteristics to measure the effectiveness of existing federal, state, and local programs." The SIPP data collection program is unique in that it provides access to information not only on program participation, but also data on income, wealth, and various other measures of economic wellbeing. The SIPP is considered a superior data set because, unlike similar government income surveys, it tracks the same families over a period of two to four years. It produces a much clearer picture of how American families are progressing. The SIPP has proven to be an invaluable tool for policy makers. Its' unrivaled scope and depth of data have enabled government program managers, researchers, journalists, and politicians to better evaluate and judge government programs. The SIPP has provided insight into areas of American economic and social concerns such as health insurance coverage rates, immigration, unemployment and pensions, welfare reform effects, the Food Stamp Program, and poverty rates. With the House having decided to at least partially fund the SIPP, it is now up to the Senate to save the program as it takes up its Science, State, Justice and Commerce Appropriations Bill.