Trouble at the Census Bureau
The decenniel census of the U.S. population is mandated by the Constitution and provides data used to apportion seats of the U.S. House of Representatives, realign State legislative districts, allocate billions of dollars in Federal financial assistance, guide policy, and help businesses make investment decisions. Normally, the Census Bureau spends the first six years of each decade planning the next census, then ramps up its activities in the last few years of the decade when it tests and purchases technologies, leases offices, and hires and trains temporary workers, among other activities. For the 2020 Census, the bureau faces challenges that…
