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Congress must defend Census funding

The Census is an important cornerstone of our system of government and has been taken every 10 years since 1790. Census data determines reapportionment in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Electoral College, and overall representation at the state and local levels.

Census data also informs the annual allocation of over $2 trillion in federal funding for infrastructure, health care, child care, education, rural housing and business development, first responders, and money for veterans. And 2030 is a big year because for the first time, the census will provide more diverse identification options for people from the Middle East and North Africa and Hispanic residents.

Congress is currently in negotiations on funding bills for FY 2025, which must pass by September 30th. One key issue is adequate funding for the U.S. Census. We are disappointed that the House proposes to cut Census Bureau funding to $1.354 billion―an amount that is well below both the agency’s FY 2024 funding level ($1.382 billion), the Administration’s FY 2025 budget request ($1.6 billion), and independent census experts’ request of $2 billion.

Add your name to call on Congress to increase the census budget to $2 billion and oppose any proposals to cut its funding.

Right-wing members of the House are pushing to cut census funding and some want to exclude non-citizens from the count, which would be unconstitutional. Asking a citizenship question on the census will create anxiety and fear and lead to an undercount of millions of documented people who live in mixed immigration status households―including nearly 5.5 million children. Cutting census funding means more people in historically undercounted groups―including people with low incomes, Black and brown people, and young children―will be left out of the count, leaving them under-represented and their communities underfunded.

An undercount of these vulnerable communities means less money for Medicaid, public schools, housing, nutrition, and other critical services and programs.

Add your name to call on Congress to increase the census budget to $2 billion and oppose any proposals to cut its funding.

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Virtual Event Virtual Event

Webinar: How to Use Upcoming Poverty, Income, and Health Insurance Data

September 5 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Virtual Event Virtual Event

In an election year, it’s especially important to assess where we’ve made progress, and what’s held us back.

Please join us on Thursday, September 5th, at 1 pm ET, for a webinar to prepare you for the annual Census Bureau release of state and local poverty, income, and health insurance data.

The Census Bureau will release national poverty, income, and health insurance data on September 10, followed by state and local data on these and many other topics from the American Community Survey on September 12.

Every year, it’s important to understand income and health insurance trends – but it’s especially important now, because the nation experienced a dramatic reduction in child poverty as a result of the 2021 Child Tax Credit, only to see poverty surge after the CTC was allowed to expire. What has happened since? Have the Biden Administration’s vigorous efforts to promote Affordable Care Act health insurance, along with more generous premium tax credits, resulted in fewer uninsured people?

We’ll help you get ready to find and use the information coming out starting September 10 – with insightful analyses about poverty and health coverage, and practical instructions on how to navigate the Census Bureau’s website – so you can get the state/local data you need, and know how to find breakdowns by age, race, and ethnicity, and how to show trends over time.

List of speakers:

  • Christopher Wimer, Director of the Center on Poverty and Social Policy at the Columbia University School of Social Work
  • Stan Dorn, Director, Health Policy Project, UnidosUS -Deborah Weinstein, Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs
  • Ellen Teller, Chief Government Affairs Officer, Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), Moderator

If you are interested in the webinar but cannot join us, please register anyway. All registrants will receive the recording, slides, and follow-up information. We welcome you to forward this to other advocates who may be interested.

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Date:
September 5
Time:
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Event Categories:
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Website:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_rdamq0yeQfGN03pYSuS1ag
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Organizer

Coalition on Human Needs