simple past - Tense used with statistics


I would like to place a statistics in front of the sentence, followed by the agency that has reported it. The findings and reports were done many years ago. Which of the two is correct and why?




  1. Nearly 10 million Americans accept..., the U. S. Office of Public Affairs reports.

  2. Nearly 10 million Americans accept..., the U. S. Office of Public Affairs reported.



Likewise, should it be "Americans accept" or "Americans accepted"?




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