Equal Representation Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 151 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 151

 To require a citizenship question on the decennial census, to require 
reporting on certain census statistics, and to modify apportionment of 
 Representatives to be based on United States citizens instead of all 
                                persons.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 3, 2025

   Mr. Edwards (for himself, Mr. Davidson, Mr. Bean of Florida, Mr. 
    Rouzer, Mr. Nehls, Mr. Collins, Mrs. Cammack, Ms. Hageman, Mr. 
   Fleischmann, Mr. Higgins of Louisiana, Mr. Bost, Mr. Palmer, Mrs. 
 Houchin, Mr. Guest, Mr. Miller of Ohio, Mr. Fitzgerald, and Mr. Moore 
 of Alabama) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require a citizenship question on the decennial census, to require 
reporting on certain census statistics, and to modify apportionment of 
 Representatives to be based on United States citizens instead of all 
                                persons.

    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 ``Equal Representation Act''.

SEC. 2. CITIZENSHIP STATUS ON DECENNIAL CENSUS.

    (a) In General.--Section 141 of title 13, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (h); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the following:
    ``(g)(1) In conducting the 2030 decennial census and each decennial 
census thereafter, the Secretary shall include in any questionnaire 
distributed or otherwise used for the purpose of determining the total 
population by States a checkbox or other similar option for the 
respondent to indicate, for the respondent and for each of the members 
of the household of the respondent, whether that individual is--
            ``(A) a citizen of the United States;
            ``(B) a national of the United States but not a citizen of 
        the United States;
            ``(C) an alien lawfully residing in the United States; or
            ``(D) an alien unlawfully residing in the United States.
    ``(2) Not later than 120 days after completion of a decennial 
census of the population under subsection (a), the Secretary shall make 
publicly available the number of persons per State, disaggregated by 
each of the 4 categories described in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of 
paragraph (1), as tabulated in accordance with this section.''.

SEC. 3. EXCLUSION OF NONCITIZENS FROM NUMBER OF PERSONS USED TO 
              DETERMINE APPORTIONMENT OF REPRESENTATIVES AND NUMBER OF 
              ELECTORAL VOTES.

    (a) Exclusion.--Section 22(a) of the Act entitled ``An Act to 
provide for the fifteenth and subsequent decennial censuses and to 
provide for an apportionment of Representatives in Congress'', approved 
June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a(a)), is amended by inserting after ``not 
taxed'' the following: ``and individuals who are not citizens of the 
United States''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply with respect to the apportionment of Representatives carried out 
pursuant to the decennial census conducted during 2030 and any 
succeeding decennial census.

SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY CLAUSE.

    If any provision of this Act or amendment made by this Act, or the 
application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held to be 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the provisions of this Act and 
amendments made by this Act, and the application of the provision or 
amendment to any other person or circumstance, shall not be affected.
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