Opening Statement of Ranking Member Serrano at Appropriations Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee Hearing on the Census

As Prepared for Delivery

Thank you, Chairman Culberson, and I would like to join you in welcoming the Director of the U.S. Census Bureau, the Honorable John H. Thompson, the Chief Information Officer of the U.S. Census Bureau, Kevin Smith, the Director of Strategic Issues of the Government Accountability Office, Robert Goldenkoff, and the Director of Information Technology of the Government Accountability Office, David Powner, to the subcommittee.

I am pleased to return as the Ranking Member of this subcommittee at a crucial time for the Census Bureau.  Preparations for the 2020 Census are at a critical juncture, and there is a serious need to ensure sufficient funding both for the decennial census and for the many other surveys and products that the Bureau undertakes. I believe all of us here can agree on the vitally important role that the 2020 Census and the American Community Survey play in producing reliable information on housing, demographics, and socio-economic conditions in our country, and I believe that it is this Committee’s job to provide the Bureau with the resources to do its job.

Since 1790, a national census of our population has been conducted every 10 years, as required by the U.S. Constitution. With each census, additional information has been incorporated to help us better understand and address the challenges we face as a nation. Incorrect census data has serious and lasting implications for our communities. We have an obligation to ensure that the Bureau is able to accurately account for every household and that all of the collected statistical data remains properly secured.

The President’s ‘skinny’ budget for fiscal year 2018 includes $1.5 billion dollars for the Census Bureau.  My concern is that this funding level falls short of what is needed to help ramp-up ongoing preparations for both the 2020 Census and the other important surveys conducted by the Bureau, as the requested total is actually $133.6 million below President Obama’s request for the previous fiscal year.  Normally we would expect to see significant increases in the Bureau’s budget at this point in the decade, as we get closer to the decennial census.  Underfunding and delays in enactment of the Bureau’s budget have already had consequences.  For example, last year the Bureau discontinued plans for the 2017 Puerto Rico census test. The overall funding track for the Bureau is well behind the levels previously appropriated for the 2000 and 2010 Censuses, and I am seriously concerned that the Bureau won’t be able to match the historic levels of compliance from the 2010 Census.

I am aware that the Bureau intends to save money through several innovations, including by implementing an online self-response option. Although the internet self-response surveys have a Spanish language option, we must prioritize the field testing of a full Spanish language survey prior to the 2020 Census. It is also important to test non-traditional addresses located in Puerto Rico and on tribal reservations. 

I am also concerned about the steps needed to reduce the anxiety that generally arises throughout minority communities during the census count. These feelings of distrust are at an all-time high as the new President continues to use anti-immigrant rhetoric. In prior cycles, the Bureau conducted significant media and partnership campaigns to help participants understand the confidentiality of the surveys and to increase trust and participation in this important process.  However, if we continue limiting the Bureau’s resources, we run the risk of facing similar challenges to those of the 1990 Census- which had an extremely high non-response rate.

Additionally, migrating from traditional methods of paper survey collections to an internet based model, without robust cybersecurity funding, will ultimately put respondents at risk, should they opt to use technology. In a world with growing cybersecurity threats, the collection and protection of personal information online should be prioritized. We should continue to safeguard individuals using electronic devices and ensure the public’s trust that their confidential response data will remain private.

Thank you once again to both the Census Bureau and to GAO for testifying today, and I look forward to discussing these important issues with all of you.

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Congressman José E. Serrano has represented The Bronx in Congress since 1990. He is a senior member of the Appropriations Committee.