Safeguarding the Census Bureau from politicization

Over the past two centuries, the census has served as a humble yet essential pillar of American democracy. The census is so important that our Founding Fathers prescribed its role in the Constitution. Today, every level of government, from Congress to the local school board, relies on an accurate census count to determine legislative boundaries. And communities across the country rely on the census to fairly distribute more than a trillion dollars in funding for critical services like schools, hospitals and roads.

As chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, I have made it my mission to protect and strengthen the census. But the unprecedented challenges faced by the 2020 Census reveal that this critical institution is at grave risk.

This summer, my committee released new findings from our long-running investigation into the Trump administration’s effort to manipulate the census for partisan political gain by adding a citizenship question to the census questionnaire. After years of obstruction from the Trump administration, we obtained internal documents revealing that President Trump’s Commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, and other political appointees were focused on using a citizenship question to exclude immigrants from congressional apportionment counts—even though this would violate the Constitution’s clear instruction to count every person. As one Republican gerrymandering expert put it, excluding immigrants would confer an advantage to “Republicans and non-Hispanic whites.” 

Documents also show that to cover up this effort, Secretary Ross personally urged the Justice Department to request the citizenship question based on a concocted rationale of protecting voting rights. He then gave false testimony to Congress, denying an interest in apportionment and claiming that he was pursuing the citizenship question “solely” at DOJ’s request.

The Trump administration ultimately failed to add a citizenship question, rebuffed by the Supreme Court because of the administration’s “contrived” and “pretextual” reasoning. Yet the fear and mistrust created by this episode did lasting damage. The 2020 Census undercounted many minority communities, with Latinos undercounted at three times the rate of the previous census.

The Trump administration’s manipulation of the 2020 Census is a wakeup call to just how vulnerable the census is to political interference. With planning for the next census already underway, Congress must act to protect this pillar of our democracy. That is why I have introduced the Ensuring a Fair and Accurate Census Act, a bill that will protect the independence of the Census Bureau.

This bill takes direct aim at the vulnerabilities that led to political interference at the Bureau. It gives the Census director key decision-making authority over the decennial census and limits the number of political appointees at the Bureau. The bill also prohibits future administrations from adding unvetted, politically motivated questions to the census questionnaire by requiring advance notice to Congress, an independent review by the Government Accountability Office, and a certification from the Commerce secretary that any new questions were thoroughly analyzed and tested. 

Four former Census Bureau directors, who served under both Republican and Democratic administrations, have endorsed this legislation to “build greater trust and confidence” in the important work of the Census Bureau. 

We must preserve the integrity of the census so that every American—regardless of party—can have faith that they are receiving the representation and services that they deserve. I hope all my colleagues in Congress will join me in safeguarding this vital democratic institution by supporting the Ensuring a Fair and Accurate Census Act.

Carolyn B. Maloney is chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform.