Senators Appeal for More 2020 Census Funds

In the US, a group of senators has written to Senate leadership asking for additional funding for the Census Bureau, which they say is needed to address the operational changes resulting from the current public health crisis.

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham recently announced that the Bureau will delay the start of field operations to June 1st, and extend self-response and field data collection to October 31st. However, the Bureau has indicated that it will be unable to meet the current statutory deadlines if the count is extended to this latter date. The group of senators, led by Democrat Senator Brian Schatz (pictured), have acknowledged the need to work on the delays in statutory deadlines sought by the Administration, but say this must be combined with an estimated extra $1.5 billion in funding, to ensure every person is counted.

The group say extra funds would be used for personal protective equipment (PPE) for census workers, call center staff, and other employees; for additional mailings to households that have not self-responded; to target hard-to-count communities; and for special operations to hand-deliver census packets to rural and remote communities - for instance on American Indian reservations and areas recovering from natural disasters. In addition, they recommend a portion should be used for changes in the Bureau's communication plan, including for adverts and social media.

In the letter, the group stated: 'As the Census Bureau delays field operations and extends the enumeration period, the agency must do more to ensure that every person is counted once, only once, and in the right place'.