Senator Schatz Reintroduces Invoice to Defend US Census Information and Accuracy

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US Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) joined 19 senators to reinstate the Census IDEA. This law is designed to protect the accuracy of future censuses and to ensure that any proposed changes to the census are properly investigated, investigated and tested.

“Under the last administration we saw that the appointed presidents were eager to politicize the census with an unconstitutional question about citizenship,” said Schatz. “While we have been able to stop this attempt, we need more protection to stop any kind of political inference in the future.”

Under the last administration, then Trade Secretary Wilbur Ross proposed a new addition to the census that would likely have affected the accuracy of the poll. Without proper studies and testing, last-minute changes or additions, such as the one previously suggested, can deter people from the census and may not result in an accurate population census as required by the U.S. Constitution.

In addition to Schatz, the US Senators Tina Smith (D-MN), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Jeff Merkley (D-CT) supported. OR), Tom Carper (D-DE), Bob Casey (D-PA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Angus King (I-ME), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) , Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Gary Peters (D-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Ben Cardin (D-MD).

The Census IDEA Act would:

• Prevent last-minute operational changes that have not been properly investigated, investigated, and tested for at least three years prior to the next ten-year census date.

• Ensure that subjects, types of information, and questions that have not been submitted to Congress in accordance with applicable law are not considered.

• Request biennial reports on the US Census Bureau’s plan of operations, including the status of its research and testing; a report on the Agency’s operational plan 5 years before the next ten-year census; and request that these reports be publicly available on the Bureau’s website.

• Instruct the US Government Accountability Office to determine and report to Congress that the ten-year census topics, types of information, and questions have been studied, investigated, and tested in the same way as any previous ten-year censuses.

• Apply the provisions of this bill to the ten-year census only, not the mid-decade census or the American community survey.

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The Census IDEA Act is supported by the AASA – the School Superintendents Association, the AFL-CIO, the American Anthropological Association, the American Sociological Association, the Arab American Institute, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC, Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Center for Disability Rights, Center for Legal and Social Policy, Coalition for Humane Immigration Rights, Coalition for Human Needs, Common Cause, Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the US Provinces Good Shepherd Consortium of Social Science Associations, Council of Professional Associations for Federal Statistics, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Belief in Action, Government Information Watch, JACL, LatinoJustice, National Action Network, National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, National Asian Paci Fish-American Families Against Substance Abuse, National Association for Bilingual Education, Na National Education Association, National Equality Action Team, National NeighborWorks Association, National Organization of Black Legislative Women, Nielsen, OCA – Asia-Pacific-American Lawyers, People for the American Way, PFLAG National, Association of Americans, Children’s Public Advocacy and Unitarian Universalist Association.