Republicans Block Gomez Resolution Compelling Trump Administration to Produce Documents on Addition of Citizenship Question to 2020 Census
Republicans Block Gomez Resolution Compelling Trump Administration to Produce Documents on Addition of Citizenship Question to 2020 Census |
Washington D.C. (May 23, 2018)—Today, Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted down a Resolution of Inquiry—on a party-line vote of 20 to 16—that would have forced the Trump Administration to produce documents relating to its sudden decision to add an untested new citizenship question to the 2020 Census. On May 8, 2018, Oversight Committee Member Rep. Jimmy Gomez (CA-34) introduced H.Res. 877 seeking documents withheld by the Secretary of Commerce that refer or relate to the addition of the citizenship question. The resolution has 79 cosponsors, including all Democratic Members of the Oversight Committee. A Resolution of Inquiry makes a demand of the head of an Executive Branch agency to produce to the House of Representatives specific information in the agency’s possession. Under the rules of the House, such a resolution must be brought before the House if the Committee to which it is referred has not considered it within 14 legislative days. “The Trump administration’s continued efforts to compromise the 2020 Census with a citizenship question represent a flagrant attack on our representative democracy,” said Congressman Jimmy Gomez. “The members of the Oversight Committee – as well as our constituents – have a right to know the motivation behind such an egregious action. Unfortunately, every vote against this Resolution of Inquiry was a vote to abandon our constitutional responsibility to protect a nonpartisan census and silence the voices of those who deserve to be heard.” “Adding a new, untested question about citizenship will discourage certain residents from responding, increase costs to the American taxpayers, and result in an inaccurate count that will negatively affect federal funding for red states, blue states, and purple states,” said Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings. “Unfortunately, Oversight Republicans continue to block our efforts to obtain critical information on how and why the Trump Administration added the citizenship question to the 2020 Census. The 2020 Census is too important to let politics play a role in its design.” “Yet again, Oversight Republicans are blocking us from doing our jobs and conducting the oversight our committee is tasked with,” said Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. “Last week they blocked the subpoena I offered to compel John Gore from the Justice Department to answer our questions and now they refuse to get the documents we need to investigate how and why the citizenship question was added to the 2020 census. This is a dereliction of duty and inexcusable. The data from the census is too important for these political games.”
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