Congressman Steven Horsford Leads Letter to Demand Adequate Census Funding for 2020
Washington, D.C. — This week, Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) and members of the Tri-Caucus—comprised of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC)—and the Congressional Census Caucus sent a letter to House Leadership and appropriators urging them to ensure the United States Census Bureau receives robust funding in the next spending package to ensure a fair and accurate 2020 Census.
"An accurate census count next year is vital to ensure our communities are not underrepresented and to push back against those in power who try to deny us our Constitutionally-mandated equal voice and representation," Congressman Horsford said. "It is critical that the upcoming census count is robustly funded. This funding will guarantee that our constituents are not missed in the 2020 count and denied their rights to equitable federal funding and representation in government."
As Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus' 2020 Census Task Force, Congressman Horsford joined by a total of 87 Members of Congress, requested "a full year allocation that at minimum matches the Senate Committee on Appropriations approved amount of $7.284 billion for Periodic Censuses and Programs, including $6.696 billion for the 2020 Census, and that ideally is closer to the House-approved levels of $8.175 billion and $7.5 billion, respectively."
This funding should be in addition to the $1.02 billion that will be carried over from fiscal year 2019 to fiscal year 2020. The full text of the letter can be found here.
Congressman Horsford's mission as head of the CBC's 2020 Census Task Force is to reduce the undercounting of African Americans across the country, to ensure adequate representation in government and accurate allocation of federal funds for programs like Head Start, Title I Grants, the Child Care and Development Fund, Pell Grants, Medicaid, and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP). More than 3.7 million African Americans were missed or not counted in the 2010 census. An inaccurate count in 2020 could result in a misallocation of $800 billion in federal funds.
Congressman Horsford, via his work in the task force, plans to maximize participation in the 2020 Census through:
Funding/Administration Oversight – Maximizing Census funding via the appropriations and legislative process and ensure transparency for how the Trump Administration administers resources to Black communities and propose bills to address aspects of the census that currently disadvantage African Americans
Private Sector Engagement – Actively engage the philanthropic community to help close any funding gaps and ensure funds strategically flow into Black communities
Communications and Public Engagement – Ensure that all 55 members of the caucus are active participants in caucus led social and earned media outreach, including district-based public events in hard-to-count communities
Congressman Horsford will continue to lead the CBC's task force while also engaging with communities in his district to encourage enthusiastic participation in the upcoming count. The Congressman's office will be hosting a census job fair and host various events around increasing participation in Nevada's Fourth Congressional District in the new year.