Why Does the Government Spend About Six Billion Dollars a Year

Why does the government spend about six billion dollars a year to gather, analyze, and publish statistics?

A) Accurate data is necessary when lawmakers are deliberating on policy issues.
B) Special interest groups advocate the publication of data in their field in order to support their individual causes.
C) Such spending is the result of lobbyist presence on Capitol Hill.
D) The amount of money spent on data analysis results from the inefficiency and overlapping structure of the bureaucracy.
E) While politicians seldom argue over gathering data, they generally come to a standstill when actual policies are at hand and cannot agree on how to spend the money.