Young, Gallego Introduce Bicameral, Bipartisan Bill to Extend Census Deadline, Ensure Fair and Accurate Count

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Don Young (R-AK) and Congressman Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) introduced bicameral, bipartisan legislation, the 2020 Census Deadline Extensions Act (H.R. 8250), alongside Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Brian Schatz (D-HI). This bill restores the original Census deadline to October 31, 2020 from the September 30, 2020 end date implemented in July. This would allow the U.S. Census Bureau more time to finish data collection and processing, in turn leading to a more thorough and accurate count.

"One of the most important things Alaskans can do to ensure that our state is treated fairly is to fill out the Census," said Congressman Don Young. "Our constitutionally mandated Census only happens once a decade, and the COVID-19 pandemic has made this decade's Census data collection uniquely challenging. Let me be very clear: if Alaska's field staff are unable to finish a thorough and accurate Census, billions in federal funding will be left on the table over the next decade. We must extend the Census deadline. Alaskans deserve to have their roads, schools, recreation areas, and other public services fully funded; our field staff need more time to complete this critical task. I am proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation alongside Senators Murkowski and Schatz, and Congressman Gallego to ensure that the Census deadline is extended so that all Americans are empowered to succeed."

"The administration's plan to end the Census prematurely guarantees an undercount in America's most vulnerable communities. Unless we act, Hispanic, Indigenous, rural, and other minority and hard-to-count communities will be robbed of political representation and lose out on their fair share of trillions of dollars of federal funding directed by the Census," said Congressman Ruben Gallego. "Our nation's Census is enshrined in the Constitution and is a fundamental pillar of our representative democracy. We cannot allow this process to be sabotaged. The Constitution, the courts, and the American people demand that every person, regardless of race, means, immigration status, religion, or location, must be counted. I call on the bipartisan leadership of both Chambers to pass this bill immediately to make that a reality."

In August, Congressman Don Young sent a letter to Census Bureau Director Dr. Steven Dillingham, urging him to reverse plans to move up the field data collection deadline to September 30 from its original date of October 31. Click here for the letter.

Organizations supporting this legislation:

National

• AARP
• AASA, The School Superintendents Association
• AFL-CIO
• The AIDS Institute
• All On The Line
• American Anthropological Association
• American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)
• American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
• American Federation of Teachers (AFT)
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
• American Library Association
• American Statistical Association
• Arab American Institute
• The Arc
• Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF)
• Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)
• Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC
• Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus
• Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO)
• Association of Educational Service Agencies
• Center for American Progress
• Center for Disability Rights
• Center on Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
• Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)
• Coalition of Labor Union Women
• Coalition on Human Needs
• Common Cause
• Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces
• Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA)
• Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics (COPAFS)
• Data Coalition
• Empowering Pacific Islander Community (EPIC)
• Feeding America
• First Focus Campaign for Children
• Forum For Youth Investment
• Generations United
• Girls Inc.
• Government Information Watch
• Great Plains Tribal Chairmen's Association
• Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE)
• Hispanic Federation
• Hmong American Census Network
• Immigrant Legal Resource Center
• Insights Association
• Interfaith Alliance
• Japanese American Citizens League (JACL)
• Jewish Women International
• Justice for Migrant Women
• Justice in Aging
• The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
• LEAP (Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics)
• Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)
• NALEO Educational Fund
• NAACP
• NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF)
• NAPAFASA
• National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
• National Asian Pacific Center on Aging (NAPCA)
• National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE)
• National Association for Business Economics (NABE)
• National Association of Counties (NACo)
• National Association of Jewish Legislators
• National Association of Regional Councils
• National Black Justice Coalition
• National CAPACD
• National Center for Learning Disabilities
• National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
• National Coalition for Literacy
• National Community Action Partnership
• National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)
• National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA)
• National Council of Nonprofits
• National Council on Aging
• National Disability Rights Network (NDRN)
• National Education Association (NEA)
• National Equality Action Team (NEAT)
• National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA)
• National Health Law Program
• National Housing & Rehabilitation Association
• National League of Cities (NLC)
• National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund
• National NeighborWorks Association
• National Organization of Black County Officials, Inc. (NOBCO)
• National Partnership for Women & Families
• National Rural Education Association
• Native Voice Network
• NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
• Nielsen
• Nonprofit Network
• OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates
• Open the Government
• Partnership for America's Children
• People For the American Way
• PFLAG National
• PolicyLink
• Prison Policy Initiative
• PRLDEF
• Population Association of America
• Project On Government Oversight (POGO)
• Public Advocacy for Kids (PAK)
• Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
• Union for Reform Judaism
• United Way Worldwide
• Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA)
• U.S. Conference of Mayors
• Voices for Racial Justice
• YWCA USA
• ZERO TO THREE

State

• Advocates for Children of New Jersey (New Jersey)
• Agenda for Children (Louisiana)
• Alaska Census Working Group – Alaska Counts Campaign (Alaska)
• Aloha United Way (Hawaii)
• Asian American Federation (New York)
• Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta (Georgia)
• Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles (California)
• Asian Law Alliance (California)
• Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council (California)
• Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii (Hawaii)
• Center for Non-Profits (New Jersey)
• Centro Civico Cultural Dominicano (New York)
• Children's Defense Fund – Minnesota (Minnesota)
• Children's Defense Fund – Ohio (Ohio)
• Children's Trust of South Carolina (South Carolina)
• Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) (New York)
• City of Montgomery, Alabama (Alabama)
• Colorado Nonprofit Association (Colorado)
• Common Cause MN (Minnesota)
• Community Action Partnership of North Dakota (North Dakota)
• Community Action Partnership of Utah (Utah)
• Community Foundation for Mason County (Michigan)
• Community Foundation for Muskegon County (Michigan)
• Cook Inlet Housing Authority (Alaska)
• Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (Hawaii)
• Council of Michigan Foundations (CMF) (Michigan)
• CT Association for Community Action (CAFCA) (Connecticut)
• The Foraker Group (Alaska)
• Forefront (Illinois)
• Fremont Area Community Foundation (Michigan)
• Hawai‘i Community Foundation (Hawaii)
• The Henry Ford (Michigan)
• Housing Action Illinois (Illinois)
• Idaho Nonprofit Center (Idaho)
• International Community Health Services (Washington)
• Isuroon (Minnesota)
• Kentucky Youth Advocates (Kentucky)
• Kentucky Nonprofit Network (Kentucky)
• Kids Forward (Wisconsin)
• Lake County Community Foundation (Michigan)
• Los Angeles LGBT Center (California)
• MACS 2020 – Minnesotans for the ACS and 2020 Census (Minnesota)
• Main Street Project (Minnesota)
• Maryland Nonprofits (Maryland)
• Massachusetts Association for Community Action (Massachusetts)
• Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc. (Hawaii)
• Maui Non Profit Directors Association (Hawaii)
• Mecosta County Community Foundation (Michigan)
• Michigan Association of United Ways (Michigan)
• Michigan Nonprofit Association (Michigan)
• Midland Area Community Foundation (Michigan)
• Minnesota Census Mobilization Partnership (Minnesota)
• Minnesota Community Action Partnership (Minnesota)
• Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (Minnesota)
• Minnesota Council on Foundations (Minnesota)
• MN Alliance for Democracy (Minnesota)
• Montgomery Counts Office (Alabama)
• Montana Nonprofit Association (Montana)
• New Jersey Institute for Social Justice (NJISJ) (New Jersey)
• New Mexico Thrives (New Mexico)
• New York State Community Action Association (NYSCAA) (New York)
• Nonprofit Association of Oregon (Oregon)
• North Carolina Center for Nonprofits (North Carolina)
• Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (Oklahoma)
• Oklahoma Policy Institute (Oklahoma)
• Osceola County Community Foundation (Michigan)
• Parents And Children Together (Hawaii)
• Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations (PANO) (Pennsylvania)
• People Serving People (Minnesota)
• PICO California
• Research Advisory Services, Inc. (Arizona)
• Together SC (South Carolina)
• United Way Bay Area (California)
• Virginia Community Action Partnership (Virginia)
• Voices for Racial Justice (Minnesota)
• Washington Nonprofits (Washington)
• West Central Initiative (Minnesota)
• Wildfire: Igniting Community Action to End Poverty in Arizona (Arizona)

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