Veronica Escobar: “I thank Congressman Crow for yielding and for his great work on this amendment. Mr. Chair, the Census aims to count each…”

“I thank Congressman Crow for yielding and for his great work on this amendment. Mr. Chair, the Census aims to count each person living in the United States every 10 years. It is important that we get this count right because the information helps determine a vast array of decisions, from the number of congressional seats to the allocation of Federal dollars. For example, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, my home State of Texas stands to gain three congressional seats. These gains will go a long way for Texans and help bring much-needed funds to every community in the State, but we must ensure an accurate count. With the administration's push to include a citizenship question on the upcoming Census and scare Latino communities like mine into not participating, this amendment underscores the fact that no personally identifiable information can be shared. This amendment will give all residents, regardless of their immigration status, the confidence they need to answer the survey questions freely and to know that their data will be kept safe and secure. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. {time} 1030”