Legal status under the rules of congress set in the census act of 1790. The president s decision to release this illegal memo now appears designed to inflict maximum damage to the accuracy of the ongoing 2020 census. In just two weeks, the Census Bureau will start visiting the homes of millions of people who have not yet responded to the census. The president s latest attack on immigrants could sew fear and confusion in communities across the country, and could lead many people to decide not to participate. This will hurt communities that are already undercounted, underrepresented, and underfunded. Addressing the chaos caused by the president s memo will drain valuable resources from the Census Bureau, which is already struggling to administer the 2020 census in the middle of an unprecedented pandemic. And it will further divide our country at a time when we need unity. Of course, this is not the first time that President Trump has attempted to politicize the census. For more than two years, he tried to add a Citizenship Question even though the Census Bureaus own studies showed it would depress Response Rates in many communities. When this committee investigated secretary ross and other Administration Issue officials denied they were trying to exclude immigrants were congressional apportionment, and instead, claimed falsely that the department of justice needed citizenship data to enforce the Voting Rights act. The Supreme Court saw through their explanation, calling it, quote, contrived, end quote. And blocking the addition of the Citizenship Question. And when secretary ross and attorney general barr refused to turn over documents about the real reason for the Citizenship Question, the house held them both in contempt. Now the president is trying again to weaponize the census, to hurt immigrants and help republicans. As a nation, we depend on the census to be nonpartisan, fair and accurate. As i told director dillingham the next time he appeared before us. Our partnership requires it and our community relies on it and our democracy depends on it. Were here today at this emergency hearing because the Trump Administration is threatening this cornerstone of our democracy. We will hear from four former Census Bureau directors who oversaw the census during both republican and democratic administrations. They will share their views on the president s unprecedented attempts to manipulate the census count and why its important to count every person in the United States. Then we will hear directly from the current Census Bureau director, dr. Dillingham, i expect dr. Dillingham to give us an honest assessment of how the president s memo could impact the accuracy of the census and what the bureau is doing to address this risk. I thank all of our witnesses for participating today and i look forward to your testimony. I now recognize the distinguished Ranking Member, mr. Comer, for an Opening Statement. Chairman maloney, i appreciate you calling this hearing today on the 2020 census. Let me begin by saying unequivocally, the 2020 census is counting every resident in the United States, regardless of citizenship status. Any assertions to the contrary are scare tactics which have the consequence of reducing participation in the census. The census is underway now. I want to encourage every american to complete their census form, starting in august, census enumerators will be fanning out across the country to count nonresponding households. I encourage everyone to engage with the enumerator if they come to our door. If youre concerned about that, complete census now on mycensus or my 2020 census. Gov. I wish the hearing today were an oversignature hearing of the 2020 census because covid19 created a lot of operational challenges for the census. Unfortunately, this committee has conducted no oversight of these impacts. Once again, democrats are focusing their efforts on political issues, know the basic Good Government oversight this committee is charged with conducting. Last week, President Trump took a very important step to ensuring the sanctity of our nations elections and equal representation under the constitution. The president directed the secretary of commerce to report apportionment county for the house of representatives which excludes nonlegal residents in the United States, including Illegal Immigrants. All americans should care about who is being included in the apportionment count. Including Illegal Immigrants in the count for representation in congress only dilutes the representation of all americans who vote in elections and makes a mockery of our basic principle of one person, one vote. The president s action restores the concept of representational government envisioned by the constitution. In a country so closely divided as the United States, Illegal Immigrants and noncitizens have a material effect on representation. Representation should matter to everyone. Its a simple question of fairness. Predictbly, the democrats liberal Interest Groups have already filed lawsuits against the president , like the sound and fury surrounding the Citizenship Question shall the legal questions about the president s action are likely to wind up at the Supreme Court. This hearing today is a democrats first shot across the bow of chief Justice Roberts and the other Supreme Court justices. The intimidation of the Supreme Court begins today. I urge us all to focus on the task at hand, the completion of the 2020 census count now underway. With that, i yield back. Thank you. Now i would like to introduce our witnesses. Our first panel is composed of former census directors. We are grateful to have their expertise. Our first witness today is mr. Vincent baraba, who served as census director from 1973 to 1976 and again from 79 to 1981. Then we will hear from kenneth pruitt, who served as the census director from 1998 to 2001. Next we will hear and go to robert m groves, who served as the census director from 2009 to 2012. And finally, we will go to don h. Thompson who served as census director from 2013 to 2017. The witnesses will be muted so we can swear them in. Unmuted so we can swear them in. Witnesses, please raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm that the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing, but the truth, so help you god . I do. I do. Let the record show that the witnesses answered in the affirmative. Thank you. Without objection your written statements will be made a part of the record. With that, you are now recognized for your testimony. Thank you. The time is here formulated in 1928 stated then a then designed situation is real, they are real in their consequence. In essence, surfaces the potential when situations by people is real, they are real in their consequences, with the current action is that by many approaches he has taken to assure that he achieves his real objective. That is to make sure less people will be counted in states with large minority populations, which President Trumps position he has taken. They will have their representation in congress and other legislative districts reduced as well. And they will receive fewer governmentalcations based on the census count, however, the incorrect perception of possible direct harm by filling out the form by noncitizens is not correct because it is against the law. Many Census Bureau employee any Census Survey information that identifies a individun ind communications the fbi and other Government Entities do not have the legal right to access this information. Violating the confidentiality of respondent is a federal crime with serious counts including a federal prison sentence up to five years, a fine up to 250,000 or both. In fact, when the protections have been challenged, title 13s confidentiality degree has been upheld in the courts. I will provide how the Census Bureau and other agents Work Together, late in that afternoon, four fbi agents arrived in colorado springs, armed with a search warrant, authorizing them to seize the census documents, including completed questionnaires in the course of their investigation and the alleged questionnaire immediately informed of the situation and contacted the director of the fbi. After a flurry of phone calls from employees in colorado we agreed to a mutually satisfactory that could be reached while that remained in the custody of the Census Bureau. Ultimately the documents were placed in a secure room protected by two locks with one key held by the fbi and the other by a local official. Under this arrangement only employees were allowed to enter the room. A fbi agent had to be present when the door was open. While the door was unlocked, an agent stationed outside the room could monitor the activity of the census personnel. The Census Bureau brought in experience bureau enumerators from outside the denver area to reintervi reinterview. The original questionnaires with those the Census Bureau officials prepared a report that described all discrepancies uncovered, but did not reveal any confidential information. Mrs. Chairwoman, i served as Census Bureau for president s of both political parties. In 1980 provided the secretary of commerce with the Census Bureau statement showing the population of the states and number of representatives to which each state is entitled which he then forwarded to the president. I was also proud of the fact that our Outreach Program to low income and minority population led to an estimated jump nearly 97 of our population. In 1980 census was also a clear demonstration of the nonpartisan manner the census should be conducted. It would be during the republican presidency and successfully implemented as designed and planned during the democrats presidency. It will be up to congress and the press to make sure that this information is being by the president that true motivation [inaudible]. The census belongs to the people not the president. An entire population of persons in the United States should participate willingly in the 2020 census and a moment to reaffirm our founders intent that everyone be counted. Thank you. Thank you so much for your testimony and your service. We will now hear from dr. John eastman, professor, professor of law and Community Service director. Center for constitutional jurisprudence, dale valor school of law and senior fellow claremont institute. Dr. Eastman. [inaudible] should we go to another one . We seem to have some technical problems. Were going to go to the next speaker after dr. Eastman and come back to him because there seems to be a problem with connecting with him. Thank you. We will now turn to dr. Pruitt. Mr. Pruitt, you are now recognized. Thank you very much, madam chairwoman. We know this discussion will include concern about the in putting the noncitizens, and or the illegals in the apportionment count. I just have three things to say about that. First, weve never done it. The census has never done it. Second, they cant do it by asking questions, youre not going to knock on the door and say are you, or are you not. Third, the administrative records of inadequate to do it. So, even if its a good idea, we dont yet know that we can do it, that the Census Bureau can do it and with that as my starting point, i want to go on and say some things about the larger census as the Ranking Member invited us to do. We all know that were about 62 with respect to response with respect to selfreporting. But that leaves, you know, more than a third of the population uncounted. And i have to really stress this point. Nonresponse followup, hard to count, very difficult census territory as we all know, and we are not in control. We as the Census Bureau, we as the congress, we as the white house. Covid is control whether the Census Bureau will be able to do this count successfully before the end of the year, which theyre now on that schedule. And we know about 15 of the American Population has already told us and told that they do not intend to cooperate with the census. So, id like to make two, three quick points. How do i define the census. The bureau will know as no other unit of government can if the numbers can reapportion federal funds for a decade. It knows that the census count is the denominator of every Vital Statistics we rely on, whether the number whether its the number of consumer products, whether its different rate of infection across the population subgroups on the pandemic and so forth. Every number that we use for 10 years is anchored to the quality of the census. Secondly, the bureau knows that these statistical facts can easily damage the flawed numbers that will be produced, that will inflict on society, will create serious damage for this society and its not pretty. 10 years of Homeless Veterans because we mislocate their sorry, mislocate their hospitals, 10 years of Tropical StormDisaster Relief thats too little and too late because Traffic Congestion is underestimated, 10 years of poor planning for school districts, because they have flawed estimates of how many first graders will show up. 10 years in misled chamber of commerce because of predictions of population growth and characteristics are off base. We know that will be the consequences of a census that does not count as best it can. Quite separate from who is in the apportionment count, we have to start with a good census. The third thing i would say about this is the bureau will not want to inflict the damage that flawed numbers will produce. The Census Bureau is too honorable, faithful to its constitutional duty. And the enormous burden whether to release substandard results. I urge the congress to share the burden. I would ask the congress to please appoint using the National Academy of sciences or some other apolitical trusted institution of its choosing to about produce predetermined Quality Metrics that can assess if the final 2020 numbers reasonably match what the bureau knows they should be. And the burr bureau has very good estimates from the acs, and estimates how many people across the states all the way down to the census track levels. And so, if we could have this special group of experts to sort of create the metrics by which we will judge if we have an adequate census to do what its supposed to do and if not, what step should the country take . Take . Thank you. Were going to return to dr. Eastman if we have solved the difficulties of reaching him. Dr. Eastman. Lets try this again. Can you hear me now . Yes, we can. Very good. Thank you. Chairman maloney, Ranking Member and members of the committee thank you for inviting me to participate in this important hearing. I actually think President Trumps directive is not only good policy, but perfectly constitutional. And i want to address real quickly something mr. Pruitt said. I think theres a confusion here between the two purposes that we use the census for. One is for apportionment set out by article 1 section 2 of the constitution. The other exercising Congress Spending power or its commerce power is to do a whole myriad of other things like allocate federal resources, determine where were going to need schools and va hospitals, and what have you. President trumps order addresses the apportionment part of it, has nothing to do with the total count. I think the political theory underlying the reason we have an apportionment clause is extremely important. So let me begin with that. We get our political theory from the declaration of independence, it sets out universal principles, all men are created equal, that we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, but we apply the principles in a context. The declaration starts off talking about one people separating themselves from another. The theory of Representative Government is that it is based on the consent of the people could be governed. Not on the consent of people elsewhere, but the particular people setting up the government. Now thats principles, the consent of the governed, the Representative Government theory find themselves into the text. Constitution. Right from the very beginning, it says we the people of the United States. It doesnt say we the people of the world or we the people of any foreign nationals who hap