Section 556 Talking Points

View a PDF of Talking Points here.

Oppose Section 556 of the House CJS Bill and Protect the Census

Section 556 of the House FY 2026 Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) appropriations bill would require the U.S. Census Bureau to exclude persons who are unlawfully in the United States from the state population totals used to apportion seats in the House of Representatives after each census. The House should reject section 556 because it seeks to achieve a clearly anti-constitutional purpose. This provision has nothing to do with border security or immigration policy. The Constitution requires a count of every person living in the U.S. on Census Day for apportionment and representation purposes.