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Meng Statement on Warnings of Cutting Census Short

September 22, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) issued the following statement after a news report emerged that Census Bureau officials had warned that cutting the census schedule short would lead to "fatal" data problems and create the impression of "politically manipulated results" with the total head count.

"With eight days left to ensure an accurate and full count of all people in the United States, we risk a decade's worth of consequences from bad and incomplete data if Census counting operations are completed on September 30," said Meng. "No matter how you look at the current situation, all signs point to the Trump administration's efforts to erase immigrants' voices from our country. From the citizenship question to a presidential memo that would have blocked immigrants from being counted toward each states' number of seats in the House, this administration is relentless in its drive to achieve this goal. It's sickening and is simply un-American. I urge Census Director Dillingham and Commerce Secretary Ross to heed the advice of those at the Census Bureau who know how important an accurate and total count is. As I've stated countless times before, there are no do-overs with the census; a mistake is a 10-year mistake."

The Census Bureau is slated to end its count on September 30.

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