Fair and Accurate Census Act
This bill extends the deadline for the U.S. Census Bureau to complete the 2020 decennial census of population and related tabulations and provides $400 million to address the impacts of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) on the census and to support enhanced census activities.
The bill requires the bureau to report specified information, such as (1) the total number of field staff, sorted by category; (2) the anticipated schedule of census operations; (3) total spending on media, advertisements, and partnership specialists; and (4) post-enumeration survey schedule and completion progress, including anticipated schedule for release of results from the coverage measurement survey.
An institution of higher education may provide to the bureau information requested for purposes of enumeration for the 2020 decennial census of population, subject to certain public notice requirements. The institution may not provide any information to the bureau on an individual's immigration or citizenship status.
The bureau may not compile, produce, or publish any data product or tabulation as part of, in combination with, or in connection with the 2020 decennial census of population or any such census data that includes topics specific to the 2020 census that were not part of a report submitted on March 28, 2017, and the 2018 End-to-End Census Test conducted in Providence County, Rhode Island.
The bill provides funding for specified activities, including expanded communications and advertising targeted to low self-response communities in rural and urban areas, Alaska Native villages, and on tribal lands.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4048 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4048
To modify the deadlines for completing the 2020 decennial census of
population and related tabulations, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 23, 2020
Ms. Harris (for herself and Mr. Schatz) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To modify the deadlines for completing the 2020 decennial census of
population and related tabulations, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Fair and Accurate Census Act''.
SEC. 2. CENSUS DEADLINE MODIFICATION.
Notwithstanding the timetables provided in subsections (b) and (c)
of section 141 of title 13, United States Code, and section 22(a) of
the Act entitled ``An Act to provide for the fifteenth and subsequent
decennial censuses and to provide for apportionment of Representatives
in Congress'', approved June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a(a)), for the 2020
decennial census of population--
(1) the tabulation of total population by States required
by subsection (a) of such section 141 for the apportionment of
Representatives in Congress among the several States shall be--
(A) completed and reported by the Secretary of
Commerce (referred to in this section as the
``Secretary'') to the President within 13 months after
the decennial census date of April 1, 2020; and
(B) made public by the Secretary not later than the
date on which the tabulation is reported to the
President under subparagraph (A);
(2) the President shall transmit to Congress a statement
showing the whole number of persons in each State, and the
number of Representatives to which each State would be entitled
under an apportionment of the then existing number of
Representatives, as required by such section 22(a), and
determined solely as described therein, within 14 days after
receipt of the tabulation reported by the Secretary; and
(3) the tabulations of populations required by subsection
(c) of such section 141 shall be completed by the Secretary as
expeditiously as possible after the census date of April 1,
2020, taking into account the deadlines of each State for
legislative apportionment or districting, and reported to the
Governor of the State involved and to the officers or public
bodies having responsibility for legislative apportionment or
districting of that State, except that the tabulations of
population of each State requesting a tabulation plan, and
basic tabulations of population of each other State, shall be
completed, reported, and transmitted to each respective State
within 16 months after the decennial census date of April 1,
2020.
SEC. 3. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR 2020 CENSUS.
On the first day of each month during the period beginning on the
date of enactment of this Act and ending on July 31, 2021, the Director
of the Bureau of the Census shall submit to the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate, the Committee on Oversight and Reform of
the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Appropriations of
the House of Representatives a report regarding the 2020 decennial
census of population that contains the following information:
(1) The total number of field staff, sorted by category,
hired by the Bureau compared to the number of field staff the
Bureau estimated was necessary to carry out the census.
(2) Retention rates of the field staff described in
paragraph (1).
(3) Average wait time for call center calls and average
wait time for each language provided.
(4) Anticipated schedule of census operations.
(5) Total appropriations available for obligation for the
census and a categorized list of total disbursements.
(6) Nonresponse Follow-up, Update Enumerate, and Update
Leave completion rates by geographic location.
(7) Anticipated schedule and completion rates for Group
Quarters (including Service-based Enumeration and Targeted Non-
Sheltered Outdoor Location operations), Enumeration of
Transitory Location, and Remote Alaska operations.
(8) Self-response rates by geographic location.
(9) Total spending to date on media, advertisements, and
partnership specialists, including geographic and
demographically targeted breakdowns of the spending.
(10) Post-enumeration schedule and subsequent data
aggregation and delivery progress.
(11) Post-enumeration survey schedule and completion
progress, including anticipated schedule for release of results
from the coverage measurement survey.
SEC. 4. PROVIDING BUREAU OF THE CENSUS ACCESS TO INFORMATION FROM
INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
including section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act (20
U.S.C. 1232g) (commonly known as the ``Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act of 1974''), an institution of higher education may, in
furtherance of a full and accurate decennial census of population,
provide to the Bureau of the Census (referred to in this section as the
``Bureau'') information requested by the Bureau for purposes of
enumeration for the 2020 decennial census of population.
(b) Application.--
(1) Information.--In carrying out subsection (a), an
institution of higher education--
(A) may only provide the Bureau with information
requested on the official 2020 decennial census of
population form; and
(B) may not provide any information to the Bureau
on the immigration or citizenship status of any
individual.
(2) Notice required.--
(A) In general.--Before providing information to
the Bureau under subsection (a), an institution of
higher education shall--
(i) give public notice of the categories of
information that the institution plans to
provide; and
(ii) allow 10 days after giving public
notice for a student to inform the institution
that any or all of the information designated
may not be released without the prior consent
of the student.
(B) Prohibition.--An institution of higher
education may not provide the Bureau with the
information of any student who has objected to the
provision of that information under subparagraph (A).
(3) Use of information.--Information provided to the Bureau
under subsection (a) may only be used for the purposes of
enumeration for the 2020 decennial census of population.
(c) Definition of Institution of Higher Education.--In this
section, the term ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning
given the term in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1002).
(d) Sunset.--The authority under this section shall expire at the
conclusion of 2020 decennial census operations.
SEC. 5. LIMITATION.
The Bureau of the Census may not compile, produce, or publish any
data product or tabulation as part of, in combination with, or in
connection with, the 2020 decennial census of population or any such
census data produced under section 141(c) of title 13, United States
Code, that includes topics specific to the 2020 decennial census that
were not part of--
(1) the report submitted under section 141(f)(1) of that
title on March 28, 2017; and
(2) the 2018 End-to-End Census Test conducted in Providence
County, Rhode Island.
SEC. 6. FUNDING.
(a) Appropriation.--There is appropriated to the Bureau of the
Census, out of amounts in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for
additional amounts for ``Periodic Censuses and Programs'', $400,000,000
for fiscal year 2020, to remain available through fiscal year 2021.
(b) Use of Funds.--The amounts made available under subsection (a)
shall be used to address the impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019
(COVID-19) on the 2020 decennial census, and to support enhanced 2020
decennial census activities, including--
(1) additional mailings to households that have not self-
responded;
(2) expanded communications and advertising targeted to low
self-response communities in rural and urban areas, Native
villages, and on Tribal lands;
(3) targeted outreach to the location of the 2018 End-to-
End Census Test;
(4) increased in-language outreach and assistance;
(5) expanded Census Questionnaire Assistance capacity;
(6) expanded field operations to enumerate people
experiencing homelessness at service-based facilities and non-
sheltered locations; and
(7) a modified Questionnaire Assistance Center operation
that includes mobile and fixed locations offering assistance
across all modes of census response.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
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