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.
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.
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