Cortez Masto Cosponsors Bill to Extend Census Bureau Deadlines and Provide Resources to Ensure Accuracy of 2020 Census

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) in legislation to address the significant challenges facing the Census Bureau as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Fair and Accurate Census Act would provide requested extensions of statutory deadlines and appropriate $400 million for the Census Bureau to address the impacts of the coronavirus on the 2020 Census.

“It is vital for local, state and tribal governments that the Census Bureau is able to conduct a thorough 2020 Census that accurately counts all of Nevada’s communities. An accurate count is necessary to ensure that Nevada gets every federal dollar it needs and is entitled to in order to recover from the coronavirus pandemic and invest in our state. I will continue to work hard to ensure that every Nevadan is counted.”

BACKGROUND:

The Fair and Accurate Census Act ensures that the Census Bureau counts are done with transparency and accountability requirements recommended by GAO and will do the following:

• Appropriate $400 million to the Census Bureau for the 2020 Census, provided the amounts be used to address the impacts of the coronavirus on the 2020 Census and to support enhanced 2020 Census activities. 
• Extend 2020 Census statutory deadline for submitting apportionment data, the data used to determine how many Representatives each state is allotted, from December 31, 2020 to April 30, 2021.
• Extend 2020 Census statutory deadline for transmitting redistricting data to states and localities from March 31, 2021 to July 31, 2021.
• Require the Census Bureau to transmit monthly reports to relevant Congressional committees on decennial census operations.
• Provide a temporary, narrow exemption to institutions of higher education from Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 privacy protections for the purpose of enumerating students during the 2020 Census.
• Prohibit the Census Bureau from compiling, producing, or publishing any data products in connection with the 2020 decennial census of population that include topics that were not part of the 2018 End-to-End Census Test or the Commerce Secretary’s submission to Congress of the topics to be included in the 2020 Census.

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