Support the President’s Census Request for $7.375 Billion; Reject Any Amendment to Reduce Census Funding

Media 06.15,09

Recipient: U.S. House of Representatives

Dear Representative:


On behalf of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), the nation’s oldest, largest, and most diverse civil and human rights coalition, representing more than 200 member organizations, we are writing to urge you to support the $7.375 billion requested by President Obama in funding for the U.S. Census Bureau in Fiscal Year 2010 (FY2010), and to reject any amendments that would reduce census funding. Full funding for the Census Bureau is especially important for the coming fiscal year, when the decennial count will occur – an event that will decide critical issues for the coming decade, including voting representation and federal funding levels for states and localities.


LCCR believes that an accurate census count is a vital civil rights objective. Census data ensure fair, proportionate voting representation for all Americans. Federal funding for key programs like education and health care is determined by census data Further, census data assist federal agencies, like the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, in monitoring discrimination.


The vast majority of the $7.375 billion in the President’s FY2010 request will be used to administer the 2010 count. This funding will support operations crucial to achieving an accurate count, including:



  • opening and staffing additional local census offices;

  • hiring 1.4 million temporary employees to conduct the census;

  • printing more than 140 million census questionnaires;

  • launching a national advertising campaign; and

  • collecting census information from every residential housing unit and group quarters in the country, using the mail, telephone, and door-to-door visits.

If the Census Bureau does not receive full funding, all communities and congressional districts run the risk of a less accurate count because the Bureau will likely be forced to curtail its media outreach, and to hire fewer staff to conduct the count.


To ensure a full and accurate census count in 2010, we urge you to support full funding of the Census Bureau for FY2010. Should you require further information or have any questions regarding this issue, please contact LCCR Census Task Force Co-Chairs Terry Ao, Director of Census & Voting Programs at the Asian American Justice Center, at (202) 296-2300 ext.127, or Arturo Vargas, Executive Director at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, at (213) 747-7606, or Paul Edenfield, LCCR Counsel and Policy Analyst, at (202) 263-2852.


Sincerely,
Wade Henderson, President & CEO
Nancy Zirkin, Executive Vice President