Legislative Background on the U.S. Census
Recent Action by Congress on the 2020 Census Questionnaire
April 1, 2020, will be the official date of the twenty-fourth decennial census. By law, the U.S. Census Bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce must deliver its planned questions for the 2020 Census to Congress two years before Census Day. The Bureau did so on March 29, 2018. In addition to the usual questions about age, sex, Hispanic origin, race, relationship, and homeownership status, the Commerce Department announced that a question on citizenship status would be reinstated on the decennial questionnaire. This question is identical to the one that is asked on the yearly American Community Survey (ACS) and…
