From Faith in Public Life (http://www.faithinpubliclife.org):
The administration is planning to end the constitutionally required U.S. Census before the revised completion date. The early completion threatens undercounting of children and vulnerable populations throughout the United States. An undercount of marginalized populations will cut funding to a wide range of programs that have funding formulas derived from Census data, and potentially lowering representation of vulnerable populations in Congress.
Contact Your Members of Congress to Ensure COVID Census Funds are Available—request they protect the U.S. Census by adding language to the COVID bill to ensure the Census is not shortened and an accurate count is taken during the pandemic. Find contact information:
- Senator Robert Casey: http://casey.senate.gov
- Senator Pat Toomey: http://toomey.senate.gov
- Your Representative: http://www.house.gov
Although Pennsylvania’s census response rate is 3 percentage points above the national rate of 62.8%, many counties across the Commonwealth are lagging behind. In 2010, Pennsylvania achieved an 81.8% response rate.
Low census responses come at a cost. Estimates show that every Pennsylvanian not counted in the Census amounts to roughly $2,100 in lost federal funding for critical programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Head Start, and the National School Lunch Program.
The Census count also determines the number of congressional districts the state will have. Currently, Pennsylvania has 18 congressional seats, but with slow population growth in comparison to other states, it has lost five seats since the 1990 census.
The Wolf Administration has been coordinating outreach efforts across the state to drive up the response rate. The state is particularly targeting “hard-to-count populations,” including immigrants, communities of color, older adults, rural communities, LGBTQ individuals and residents experiencing economic hardship or homelessness.
As an act of discipleship, help count everyone!
Be a good neighbor and participate in the 2020 Census. Spread the word about the importance of completing the sentence by using these downloadable materials. If you belong to a business or group involved in community outreach, such as your congregation, please consider joining your local Complete Count Committee.
It’s not too late to apply for a temporary part-time position with the 2020 Census. LAMPa Policy Council member Terry Brown signed up to be an enumerator when he recognized the need to reach out to his neighbors in rural Upper Central Pennsylvania to obtain an accurate count.
Terry said, “I signed up because I know it is important to maintain proper representation in Washington, D.C. It is also important for funding infrastructure and other improvements. I am paid for what I am doing and mileage. It is very interesting.”
Your help is especially important for getting the word out to our neighbors living in our traditionally hard-to-count communities. Some of the Pennsylvanians who are most likely to be missed in our census count include children, immigrants, and people of color. Rural households and residents experiencing economic hardship or homelessness are also likely to be missed. Our population count determines the federal support Pennsylvanians receive for the next ten years for education, healthcare, housing, food security, roads, and more.
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