2024: Schweikert Voted To Exclude Non-Citizens From The Census For House Of Representative And Electoral College Apportionment Purposes. In May 2024, Schweikert 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: Schweikert Effectively Voted To Exclude Non-Citizens From The Census For House Of Representative And Electoral College Apportionment Purposes. In May 2024, Schweikert 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: Schweikert 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, Schweikert 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]