To the subcommittee as well as the oversight committee. We are delighted to have you. Lets see. Without objection i want to wave onto the subcommittee, stephen horseford from nevada who wanted to ask questions. By unanimous consent we grant that privilege. I want to thank witnesses for their ongoing cooperation, you and your staff have been truly excellent partners in this oversight process. Thank you for your work, i learned from my district staff, you toward Silver Spring in montgomery county, maryland, these are diverse high density areas with high concentration of immigrants where a variety of languages are spoken and i appreciate your coming out to take out our community, my district director kevin connor met with your staff and was encouraged by the bureaus preparation so i thank you and your staff for your hard work. We have a lot to accomplish before 2020. We were embroiled in a battle over the Citizenship Question. Now that the administration is forced to stand down, the effor
It has taken the bureau ten years of careful planning and preparation to make this census successful, but there is still much more work to be done. The census begins in january of 2020 in remote alaska and then in march everywhere else and between now and then the bureau has to finalize its communications campaign, conduct Robust Community outreach, finish hiring trusted local staff and perform final testing for dozens of critical i. T. Systems. As outlined in our constitution, the purpose of the census is to count every person in the country, but given the chaos and the confusion and the administration has generated as a result to include an untested citizenship question, the bureau has significant work to do to restore public trust in the census and to ensure that the Response Rates do not decline as a result. We need to make sure that everyone is able to respond to the census though the new online form or in whatever way they can including people without good internet access. People
Distrust of the government im 35 of africanamericans and 32 of hispanics are very concerned about the census being used against them. Similarly, 39 of people who are not English Proficient and 34 of those born outside the u. S. Are afraid to respond. So theres a lot of fear in our communities that weve got to strive to overcome. The president s executive order and immigration policies and the threatened raids all strike fear in the hearts of many of the communities that are already mistrustful of government. And even though the question will not be on the 2020 census. There is a test in the field right now where 240,000 families are being asked the Citizenship Question. Why is that . This decision to pose the Citizenship Question to hundreds of thousands of people after the Supreme Court rejected it seems hard to reconcile with the reality of the Supreme Court decision and the unbroken defeat of the question in the lower district courts. So now we face the threat of prolonged confusion
Campaigns with social media and undercut risks. The Senate Homeland security and Governmental Affairs Committee Hearing is one hour and 45 minutes. I want to welcome our witnesses and im hoping the separation between the witnesses doesnt indicate anything here. I will enter the record and get right to the Ranking Member to the witness testimony. Thank you mr. Chairman. The 2,020t 2,020th and this wile as a roadmap for the next decade determining how billions of dollars of federal resources and congressional representation will be divided among the states and the results of this we all undoubtedly impact every community in america and every person must be counted. The account isnt just about understanding how many people live in our country, this is about ensuring that the Community Across america has access to the resources that they need to grow and succeed. These resources to combating the Opioid Crisis and other health emergencies. First responders and Disaster Relief agencies where
Right to the Ranking Member to the witness testimony. Thank you mr. Chairman. The 2,020t 2,020th and this wile as a roadmap for the next decade determining how billions of dollars of federal resources and congressional representation will be divided among the states and the results of this we all undoubtedly impact every community in america and every person must be counted. The account isnt just about understanding how many people live in our country, this is about ensuring that the Community Across america has access to the resources that they need to grow and succeed. These resources to combating the Opioid Crisis and other health emergencies. First responders and Disaster Relief agencies where they direct Emergency Response efforts. Local businesses also use the data to help decide where to invest in factories and stores and in my home state of michigan, 29 billion in annual federal name is on the line. For every person not counted, michigan stands to los lose as h as 1,800, funds