CHAIRWOMAN MALONEY'S OPENING STATEMENT

PURPOSE

The hearing will examine the Census Bureau’s strategies and plans for reaching hard-to-count communities in the 2020 Census.

BACKGROUND

• The Constitution requires that the Census count every person in the United States.  The results of the 2020 Census will determine the apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives and the allocation of approximately $1.5 trillion in federal funding.  Some populations, including immigrants, communities of color, children, and people experiencing homelessness, have traditionally been more difficult to count, leading to an undercount on previous censuses.
• The 2020 Census is imminent, with counting set to begin in Alaska on January 21, 2020, and in the rest of the country on April 1, 2020.  The Census Bureau must be fully prepared to count all communities in order to ensure the Census results are accurate, fair, and complete.
• The Committee is very concerned that minority and immigrant communities, as well as rural communities with limited Internet access, are at serious risk of being undercounted in the 2020 Census, jeopardizing their accurate representation in Congress and access to federal funds.
• One major cause for concern is that the Census Bureau has fallen behind its own targets for hiring census workers to reach hard-to-count communities and for hiring partnership specialists who serve as critical liaisons with these communities. 
• The Census Bureau must work closely with local communities to ensure an accurate count, including by addressing fears caused by the Trump Administration’s immigration policies and the failed attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census.