Trump Census Budget: Too Little, Too Late

Trump Census Budget: Too Little, Too Late

Earlier this week the Trump administration released its FY 2018 census budget proposal to Congress. It wasn�t much better than the so-called �skinny budget� proposal released in April.

President Trump proposes just a $51 million increase in Census Bureau funding for FY 2018. But, next year�s census planning calls for a huge 700,000-household test in three states of the decennial count�s new census-taking techniques relying on the internet and IT to cut costs and provide for a fair and accurate census. It can�t be done by skimping on decennial planning funds.

The chart below shows how decennial planning money was allocated each year over the past 40 years. In each previous decennial census, a large ramp-up occurred in the �8� year of the decennial cycle.

If President Trump�s budget is enacted, the nation could be facing an historic census disaster. It�s up to Congress to save the 2020 Census!