With the federal census looming in 2020, a Florida Democrat is calling for a new task force to review the questions included in it.
U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., brought out the “2020 Census Accountability Act” last week. His office insisted his proposal would “ensure a review process of the decennial census questions and their impact on response rates for minorities, accuracy, redistricting, costs and funding distribution” and would create a task force “to review all new census questions and report to Congress potential decrease in participation and negative impact on census outcome.”
Soto’s office noted the task force would “include representatives from state, local, and tribal governments; academic and non-governmental organizations; and relevant organizations including nonprofits who specialize in census work.”
The Central Florida Democrat made the case for his proposal when he unveiled the legislation.
“It is imperative to get an accurate count of all persons in the United States, regardless of race, citizenship, or legal status,” Soto said before adding that immigrants need to take part in the census. “A decrease in participation from immigrant communities due to fear would discredit the accuracy of the census.”
Soto then took aim at the Trump administration.
“The current administration’s discriminatory immigration policies continue to instill fear among immigrant communities – they are less likely to report crimes or enroll their eligible U.S. citizen children in government health and nutrition programs,” Soto said. We must ensure this trend does not repeat during the critical census count.”
Soto’s proposal won the support of a host of congressional Democrats including U.S. Rep. Al Lawson of Florida who is cosponsoring it.
The bill was sent to the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee last week. So far, there is no companion bill over in the U.S. Senate.
