Van Hollen, Reed Push Back on Trump Administration’s Attempt to Play Political Games with the Census
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Jack Reed (D-RI) sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross urging him to reverse the Trump Administration’s decision to cut Census data collection operations short by one month. The Senators stress that the misguided decision will be devastating to the accuracy of the 2020 Census and disproportionately impact hard-to-count communities. According to estimates, for every uncounted resident Maryland risks losing out on $18,000 in federal funding over ten years.
As a result of the new September 30 deadline, there are only 55 days left for Census door knockers to go door-to-door to collect responses from 37 percent of the country – and 32 percent of Marylanders – who didn’t self-respond. These efforts are further complicated by the prevalence of COVID-19 and mistrust in many communities spurred by the Trump Administration’s attempts to politicize the Census.
“This appears to be yet another effort to sabotage a successful Census, which include the Administration’s earlier attempts to add an unnecessary and divisive citizenship question and the recent issuance of a memorandum seeking to exclude undocumented immigrants for apportionment purposes. Ending operations early, especially Nonresponse Follow Up, will disproportionately disadvantage hard-to-count communities,” the Senators noted.
“A full accounting of everyone present in the United States is required by the Constitution and is critical to the allocation of trillions of dollars of federal funding and proper Congressional apportionment. Data derived from the Decennial Census influences decisions made across all levels of government and by businesses of all sizes. Rushing the completion of the Census, distorting response rates, and short-circuiting data assurance activities will have disastrous consequences that will reverberate for years to come,” the letter continues.
“We urge you to immediately reverse this decision and take all necessary steps to ensure a full, fair, and accurate Decennial Census,” the Senators wrote.
In addition to Van Hollen and Reed, the letter was signed by Senators Kamala Harris (D-CA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Patty Murray (D-WA), Cory A. Booker (D-NJ), Angus S. King, Jr. (I-ME), Tina Smith (D-MN), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NM), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Tom Carper (D-DE), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
The full text of the letter is available here and below.
Dear Secretary Ross:
We write to express our deep concern and opposition to the Administration’s decision to end Census field data collection activities by September 30 – one month earlier than previously planned. This self-imposed curtailment of operations will have a devastating impact on the accuracy and completeness of the Decennial Census.
The Decennial Census has faced unique challenges due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). With field operations delayed and reduced significantly in order to help ensure the safety of respondents and Census employees, ending operations early will make an accurate and complete count impossible.
This appears to be yet another effort to sabotage a successful Census, which include the Administration’s earlier attempts to add an unnecessary and divisive citizenship question and the recent issuance of a memorandum seeking to exclude undocumented immigrants for apportionment purposes. Ending operations early, especially Nonresponse Follow Up, will disproportionately disadvantage hard-to-count communities.
A full accounting of everyone present in the United States is required by the Constitution and is critical to the allocation of trillions of dollars of federal funding and proper Congressional apportionment. Data derived from the Decennial Census influences decisions made across all levels of government and by businesses of all sizes. Rushing the completion of the Census, distorting response rates, and short-circuiting data assurance activities will have disastrous consequences that will reverberate for years to come.
As such, we urge you to immediately reverse this decision and take all necessary steps to ensure a full, fair, and accurate Decennial Census.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,