Threatened Census Count May Cost NJ Billions: John McKeon – Livingston, NJ Patch

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — The U.S. Census Bureau is ending its 2020 count a month early, and it may cost New Jersey billions of dollars in critical funding, a state assembly member says.

On Friday, Assemblyman John McKeon, who represents the 27th District, released a statement that blasts the federal agency’s recent decision to speed up its efforts amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The 27th District includes the following municipalities in Essex and Morris counties: Caldwell, Chatham Township, East Hanover, Essex Fells, Florham Park, Hanover, Harding, Livingston, Madison, Maplewood, Millburn, Roseland, South Orange and West Orange.

McKeon said:

“To date New Jersey’s 2020 Census response rate stands at 65 percent. Now just three weeks out from the census count deadline that was cut short, our chance of reaching our hard-to-count populations for a complete and accurate count has been put in greater jeopardy. For New Jersey communities and communities across the country this is of incredible consequence. Those historically undercounted – people of color, immigrants, families in rural communities, children – would yet again go uncounted for another decade. As a state, we then stand to lose billions of dollars in critical funding for our schools, our roads, hospitals and other vital infrastructure. In the midst of a pandemic that continues to take lives and devastate people’s livelihoods, we need more time and we need more latitude. Getting a complete and accurate count, and being able to do it safely, is now more crucial than ever.”

McKeon elaborated on the need for an accurate census count in a letter to New Jersey’s congressional delegation on Thursday.

He wrote:

“Obtaining an accurate census count is paramount and should be nonpartisan. Article I, Section 2, of our Constitution requires the census to count all the persons living in the United States every 10 years. The census bureau must do everything in its power to ensure that all populations are recorded accurately without regard to artificial time constraints that will surely result in an inaccurate count. I respectfully request that you exercise your considerable influence to delay the December 31 deadline requiring the census bureau to present the completed census results to the president of the United States.”

Other elected officials and community groups have been reaching out to New Jersey residents about the census, including in Essex County, where a “census caravan” recently tried to boost responses in four of the county’s largest municipalities: Newark, Irvington, Orange and East Orange.

“Being counted in the census is important because the federal money we receive for schools, roads, hospitals and other programs is based on population numbers,” Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. said.

“Completing your census questionnaire ensures you are counted and we are receiving the federal support we deserve,” DiVincenzo said.

The U.S. Census counts every resident in the United States. Want to self-respond to the 2020 census? It can be completed online here. It can also be completed via phone or mail (learn more here).

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