WASHINGTON— Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12), Vice Chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, issued the following statement after the Supreme Court ruled on Department of Commerce v. New York.
“I am extremely happy that the Supreme Court has prevented the Trump administration from introducing the citizenship question in the 2020 Census. The ruling confirms Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross was completely dishonest when he claimed the administration needed a citizenship question to better enforce the Voting Rights Act.”
“But the administration still has time to present new reasoning and to get the question approved by the lower courts. That would be a big mistake and harmful to our economy, and I will keep fighting to preserve the integrity of the 2020 Census.”
“Studies show the citizenship question would result in an undercount of millions of people because immigrants, newly naturalized Americans and their families would be hesitant to take part in a survey they believe could be used against them. That could deprive those communities of congressional representation and billions in federal funding for infrastructure and essential services.”
“An undercount of that magnitude would make the 2020 Census less accurate, which would hurt our economy. Economists rely on information provided by the decennial census to help calculate everything from GDP to unemployment, while businesses draw on census-based data to plan investments. Without an accurate count, companies and policymakers would be forced to make major decisions without accurate data for a decade to come.”
“In fact, more than a dozen companies made that point to the Supreme Court in amicus briefs. Companies from Lyft to Levi Strauss said they rely on census data to determine where to build new locations and how to market products. Market research firm Nielsen said the citizenship question would have ‘a lasting and negative impact’ on some of America’s largest consumer product manufacturers, retailers and media companies. I am pleased the justices made a decision that will stop the administration from undermining data that are essential to our economic vitality, and I will keep working to keep the question off the census.”
Congresswoman Maloney is co-chair of the House Census Caucus and introduced the Census IDEA Act in this Congress, which mandates at least a three-year review process for each question proposed to the decennial census.
Press contact: Randy Woods; Randy_Woods@jec.senate.gov; (202) 224-2599
