2024: Fitzpatrick Voted To Exclude Non-Citizens From The Census For
House Of Representative And Electoral College Apportionment Purposes.
In May 2024, Fitzpatrick voted for , according to Congressional
Quarterly, "the bill that would require the decennial census, beginning
in 2030, to include a question for respondents to indicate whether they
and members of their household are U.S. citizens and exclude
non-citizens from counting toward the population used to determine
apportionment for the House of Representatives and Electoral College
votes. It would require the Commerce Department, within 120 days of
completing a decennial census, to publish the number of individuals in
each state, disaggregated by U.S. citizens and non-citizens." The vote
was on passage. The House passed the bill by a vote of 206 to 202.
[House Vote 193, 5/8/24;
Congressional Quarterly,
5/8/24; Congressional Actions,
H.R.
7109]
2024: Fitzpatrick Effectively Voted To Exclude Non-Citizens From The
Census For House Of Representative And Electoral College Apportionment
Purposes. In May 2024, Fitzpatrick voted against , according to
Congressional Quarterly, "motion to recommit the bill to the House
Oversight and Accountability Committee." The vote was on the motion to
recommit. The underlying legislation excluded non-citizens from the
census for House Of Representatives and Electoral College apportionment
purposes. The House rejected the motion by a vote of 203 to 207. [House
Vote 192, 5/8/24;
Congressional Quarterly,
5/8/24; Congressional Actions,
H.R.
7109]
2022: Fitzpatrick Voted Against The Ensuring A Fair And Accurate
Census Act, Which Specified Responsibilities For The Census Bureau
Director And Deputy Director, Required The Commerce Department To Submit
Census Questions To Congress At Least 2 Years In Advance, And Establish
5-Year Budgets For The Bureau. In September 2022, according to
Congressional Quarterly, Fitzpatrick voted against the Ensuring a Fair
and Accurate Census Act, which would "include a number of provisions
related to Census Bureau organization, operations, oversight and
budgeting. Among provisions related to bureau organization, it would
specify that the bureau director is responsible for all operational,
statistical or technical decisions related to the decennial census;
create and specify eligibility and duties for a deputy director position
to be filled with a career appointee; and specify that all bureau
positions are career civil service positions other than the director and
up to three other positions. It would statutorily establish four
advisory committees on statistical quality standards; emerging census
challenges; issues related to inclusion of certain populations, such as
race and ethnicity, language and migrant populations; and the 2030
census. Among other provisions, it would require the Commerce Department
to submit all questions to be included in each decennial census to
Congress at least two years in advance, beginning with the 2030 census,
and to publish and submit to Congress biannual reports on operational
plans for the next census. It would require the Census Bureau to submit
estimated costs of its operations for inclusion in the Commerce
Department's annual budget request beginning with fiscal 2027, and to
submit to Congress lifecycle cost estimates for the next census every
ten years beginning no later than 2026." The vote was on passage. The
House passed the bill by a vote of 220-208. The Senate did not take
substantive action on the bill. [House Vote 435,
9/15/22; Congressional
Quarterly, 9/15/22;
Congressional Actions, H.R.
8326]
The Bill Would Have The Placed New Restrictions On The President's
Authority To Modify The Census, Which Was A Response To President
Trump's Effort To Add A Citizenship Question In The 2020 Census.
According to Congressional Quarterly, "House Democrats passed a bill
Thursday that would put new limits on the president's ability to
change the decennial census, in response to a push from former
President Donald Trump to add a question about citizenship that they
said politicized the count in 2020." [Congressional Quarterly,
9/15/22]
The Bill Would Have Limited The President's Authority To Make
Personnel Changes At The U.S. Census Bureau, Required The Bureau To
Budget Every Five Years, And Imposed New Limits On Placing
Last-Minute Questions On The Census. According to Congressional
Quarterly, "The bill (HR 8326), passed on a 220-208 vote, faces an
uncertain future in the Senate. It would limit the president's
ability to make personnel changes at the agency, require the agency
to budget five years at a time, and place new limits on adding
questions to the decennial census at the last minute."
[Congressional Quarterly,
9/15/22]
A Report Highlighted That President Trump Took Actions To
Interfere With The 2020 Census Count, Which Included A Citizenship
Question Aimed At Drawing Congressional Seats Based Solely On
Citizens. According to Congressional Quarterly, "Maloney and
others pointed to a report from her committee showing Trump took
steps to interfere with the count, which included the attempted
addition of a citizenship question with an aim to apportion
congressional seats based only on the count of citizens."
[Congressional Quarterly,
9/15/22]
The Biden Administration Supported The Bill, But Were Critical Of
Provisions That Would Have Imposed Requirements On The U.S. Census
Bureau's Budget And Limited Presidential Authority. According to
Congressional Quarterly, "The Biden administration backed the bill
in a statement Tuesday, with a few caveats. The administration said
that while it 'appreciates the Congress' interest in improving the
Decennial Census,' it had problems with budgeting provisions and the
limits on presidential control. The administration wants tweaks to
'ensure its provisions do not circumvent [the Office of Management
and Budget's] role in formulating the President's budget request
and to avoid impinging on the President's authority over Executive
Branch agencies.'" [Congressional Quarterly,
9/15/22]
The Bill Would Have Required The Census Bureau Director To Be
Removed Only For Cause, Required The Bureau's Deputy Director To
Have Statistics Experience, And Restricted Presidential
Appointments. According to Congressional Quarterly, "Provisions in
the bill would require the director of the Census Bureau only be
removed for cause, require the agency's deputy director to have
experience in statistics, and limit the political appointments the
president can make." [Congressional Quarterly,
9/15/22]