2019: Schweikert Voted For Incorporating A Question On Citizenship Into The 2020 Census. In June 2019, Schweikert voted for an amendment to the FY 2020 minibus appropriations bill, which would, according to Congressional Quarterly, "strike from the bill a provision prohibiting the use of funds made available by the bill for the Commerce Department to incorporate any questions not included in a 2018 census test in the 2020 decennial census." The vote was on adoption. The House rejected the amendment by a vote of 192-240. [House Vote 369, 6/20/19; Congressional Quarterly, 6/20/19; Congressional Actions, H.Amdt393; Congressional Actions, H.R.3055]
2019: Schweikert Voted Against The FY 2020 Minibus Appropriations Bill, Which Provided $7.6 Billion For The Census Bureau, Almost Double FY 2019 Funding. In December 2019, Schweikert voted against the FY 2020 minibus appropriations bill. According to Congressional Quarterly, "The measure provides $7.6 billion for the census bureau --- almost double FY 2019 funding and 28% more than requested. The total includes $7.3 billion for periodic censuses and programs, including $6.7 billion for the 2020 Decennial Census. Of that amount, $3.5 billion is to be transferred to the Commerce Department Inspector General for oversight of the 2020 census. The bill directs the Census Bureau to use the funds provided to support new initiatives aimed at increasing response in historically undercounted and hard to count communities through the use of mobile assistance centers." The vote was a motion to concur in the Senate Amendment. The House agreed to the motion by a vote of 280-138. The Senate then passed the bill and the President signed the bill into law. [House Vote 690, 12/17/19; Congressional Quarterly, 12/17/19; Congressional Actions, H.R.1158]
2018: Schweikert Voted Against The $1.3 Trillion FY 2018 Omnibus Spending Deal Which Raised Spending By $138 Billion Over FY 2017 Levels, Including $2.8 Billion For The Census, $1.3 Billion More Than The Administration's Request. In March 2018, Schweikert voted against the FY 2018 Omnibus spending bill. According to Congressional Quarterly, "Combined, the spending measures would provide about $1.3 trillion in discretionary spending, with $1.2 trillion subject to discretionary spending caps, and $78.1 billion designated as Overseas Contingency Operations funds. The measure's spending levels are consistent with the increased defense and non-defense budget caps set by the two-year budget deal agreed to last month. That agreement increased the FY 2018 defense cap by $80 billion and the non-defense cap by $63 billion. Given that the previous caps were set to reduce overall discretionary spending by $5 billion, the net increase provided by the omnibus is $138 billion over the FY 2017 level." The vote was on the motion to concur in the Senate Amendment with an Amendment. The House agreed to the motion, thereby passing the bill, by a vote of 256 to 167. The Senate later agreed to the legislation, sending it to the president, who signed it into law. [House Vote 127, 3/22/18; Congressional Quarterly, 3/22/18; Congressional Actions, H.R. 1625]