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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5156 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5156
To direct the Department of Commerce and Federal agencies to collect
information on citizenship status of individuals residing in the United
States, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 4, 2025
Mr. Pfluger (for himself, Mr. Edwards, Mrs. Luna, Mr. Collins, Ms. Van
Duyne, and Mr. Dunn of Florida) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and
in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Homeland Security,
Foreign Affairs, Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce, for a period
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Department of Commerce and Federal agencies to collect
information on citizenship status of individuals residing in the United
States, 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 ``Citizen Only Updated National Tally
Act'' or the ``COUNT Act''.
SEC. 2. POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States to develop complete and
accurate data on the number of citizens, noncitizens, and illegal
aliens in the country. Such data is necessary to understand the effects
of immigration on the country, and to inform policymakers in setting
and evaluating immigration policies and laws, including evaluating
proposals to address the current crisis in illegal immigration.
SEC. 3. FEDERAL AGENCY ASSISTANCE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND
MAXIMIZING CITIZENSHIP DATA.
(a) In General.--Each Federal agency shall promptly provide the
Department of Commerce the maximum assistance permissible in
determining the number of citizens, noncitizens, and illegal aliens in
the United States, including by providing any access that the
Department may request to administrative records that may be useful in
accomplishing such objective.
(b) Specific Records.--In addition to the requirements of
subsection (a), the following Federal agencies shall examine relevant
legal authorities and, to the maximum extent consistent with law,
provide access to the Department of Commerce to the following records:
(1) Department of Homeland Security, United States
Citizenship and Immigration Services; National-level file of
Lawful Permanent Residents, Naturalizations.
(2) Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and
Customs Enforcement; F1 and M1 Nonimmigrant Visas.
(3) Department of Homeland Security; National-level file of
Customs and Border Arrival/Departure transaction data.
(4) Department of Homeland Security and Department of
State, Worldwide Refugee and Asylum Processing System; Refugee
and Asylum visas.
(5) Department of State; National-level passport
application data.
(6) Social Security Administration; Master Beneficiary
Records.
(7) Department of Health and Human Services; CMS Medicaid
and CHIP Information System.
(c) Interagency Working Group.--The Director of the Bureau of the
Census shall establish an interagency working group to coordinate
efforts, consistent with law, to maximize the availability of
administrative records in connection with the census, with the goal of
obtaining administrative records that can help establish citizenship
status for 100 percent of the population. The Director shall chair the
working group, and the head of each agency shall designate a
representative to the working group upon request from the working group
chair.
(d) Citizenship Question.--To ensure that the Federal Government
continues to collect the most accurate information available concerning
citizenship going forward, the Secretary of Commerce shall initiate any
administrative process necessary to include a citizenship question on
the 2030 decennial census and to consider any regulatory changes
necessary to ensure that citizenship data is collected in any other
surveys and data-gathering efforts conducted by the Bureau of the
Census, including the American Community Survey. The Secretary of
Commerce shall expand the distribution of the American Community Survey
to secure better citizenship data.
(e) State Records.--The Department of Commerce shall strengthen its
efforts, consistent with law, to gain access to relevant State
administrative records. The Secretary shall report annually to Congress
on the status of these efforts, including a list of States that refuse
to comply with any efforts initiated by the Secretary to ascertain
relevant administrative records.
SEC. 4. TERMINATION OF DIFFERENTIAL PRIVACY ACCESS.
Beginning on and after the date that is 6 months after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Bureau of the Census may not use the
differential privacy process, and the Director of the Bureau shall
issue public guidance on how the privacy of individual responses will
be guaranteed in the absence of such process.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Homeland Security, Foreign Affairs, Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Homeland Security, Foreign Affairs, Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Homeland Security, Foreign Affairs, Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Homeland Security, Foreign Affairs, Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Homeland Security, Foreign Affairs, Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
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Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Homeland Security, Foreign Affairs, Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.