On June 25, House Republicans released the text of their proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) appropriations bill, which funds, among other things, the U.S. Census Bureau.
The bill provides the Census Bureau with $1.354 billion�an amount that is well below both the agency�s FY 2024 funding level ($1.382 billion) and the Administration�s FY 2025 budget request ($1.6 billion).
Once again, the bill includes a provision, Section 559, that would prohibit any funds being spent to include persons �unlawfully �in the United States from the apportionment of Congress. A concerning new provision, Section 621, would prohibit enforcement of the mandatory response requirement on the decennial headcount and the American Community Survey (ACS), while also restricting the Bureau�s ability to conduct non-response follow-up operations across all of its surveys. This provision would have a devastating impact on not only the 2030 Decennial Census, but also on the ACS, the Current Population Survey, and other major surveys that have multiple follow up contact strategies to ensure complete coverage of all geographies and population subgroups. The language of both provisions is shared below.
SEC. 559. None of the funds made available by this or any other Act may be used to allow the United States Census Bureau to include aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States in rendering apportionment determinations in subsequent decennial censuses.
SEC. 621. None of the funds in this Act may be used to enforce involuntary compliance, or to inquire more than twice for voluntary compliance with any survey conducted by the Bureau of the Census.
Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, released a statement criticizing the overall bill.
On June 26, 8:30 a.m. the House CJS subcommittee will meet to consider or �mark up� its bill. The meeting will be broadcasted on the House Appropriations Committee�s website. The full House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider the bill on Tuesday, July 9th.
