Senator Sykes Urges Congress To Fully Fund 2020 Census
April 2, 2018
Vernon Sykes News
State Senator Vernon Sykes (D-Akron) recently introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution 22 urging the federal government to fully fund the 2020 census.
“There are already concerns about full census preparation and implementation due to the brand new online questionnaire system and an additional citizenship question,” said Senator Sykes. “What we don’t need is an even more complicated process because the census isn’t funded properly.”
Although Congress allocated $2.8 billion for the Census Bureau in an omnibus spending bill signed in late March, advocates have said that lawmakers will need to approve more funding in fiscal years 2019 and 2020 to ensure a smooth and accurate data collection process.
“Ohio lawmakers need to come together and call on Congress to pass necessary funding for the census,” continued Senator Sykes. “The census requires significantly more investment in order to avoid at-risk communities being undercounted and to ensure fair congressional representation. An accurate count also means that Ohio will get the necessary federal dollars to support programs like Medicaid, SNAP and Head Start – programs Ohioans rely on.”
Census data is collected every ten years to count the population of the United States. This data is used to properly allocate seats for the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures, to provide critical information for state and local governments and to determine federal funding assistance for state and local programs.
“There are already concerns about full census preparation and implementation due to the brand new online questionnaire system and an additional citizenship question,” said Senator Sykes. “What we don’t need is an even more complicated process because the census isn’t funded properly.”
Although Congress allocated $2.8 billion for the Census Bureau in an omnibus spending bill signed in late March, advocates have said that lawmakers will need to approve more funding in fiscal years 2019 and 2020 to ensure a smooth and accurate data collection process.
“Ohio lawmakers need to come together and call on Congress to pass necessary funding for the census,” continued Senator Sykes. “The census requires significantly more investment in order to avoid at-risk communities being undercounted and to ensure fair congressional representation. An accurate count also means that Ohio will get the necessary federal dollars to support programs like Medicaid, SNAP and Head Start – programs Ohioans rely on.”
Census data is collected every ten years to count the population of the United States. This data is used to properly allocate seats for the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures, to provide critical information for state and local governments and to determine federal funding assistance for state and local programs.