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Press Release Published: Dec 3, 2020

Comer: 2020 Census Counting Every Resident in the U.S. Regardless of Citizenship Status

Democrats still seem uninterested in the facts and instead are launching partisan attacks

WASHINGTON – House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.) opened today’s hearing emphasizing the facts behind the 2020 Census count and questioned the Democrat Majority as to the reason for yet another census hearing without inviting any Census Bureau witnesses. Given the census is on track for a complete and accurate count, Ranking Member Comer, recommended the Committee instead focus on whether the integrity of the 2020 election was compromised.

Below are Ranking Member Comer’s remarks as prepared for delivery.

Chairwoman Maloney, I appreciate you calling this hearing today on the 2020 Census.

Let me begin saying, unequivocally, the 2020 Census is counting every resident in the United States regardless of citizenship status.

The Census Bureau has already counted 99.98 percent of households in the United States.

The remaining 0.02% of unresolved addresses will be resolved by accepted and long-standing statistical methods.

But the Democrats still seem uninterested in these facts and instead are launching partisan attacks on the 2020 Census to undermine the public’s confidence in the results.

Today’s hearing supposedly is about the completeness and accuracy of the 2020 Census—but, just as for our last hearing, no Census Bureau witness has been invited to testify.

So, it is unclear to me what we expect to learn today.

During transcribed interviews earlier this year, Census Bureau career staff made clear the Bureau was committed to a complete and accurate census.

They are working to deliver on this commitment.

The Bureau has made clear that the issues it has encountered in completing the current phase of the Census are few in number, relate to only 0.63 percent of the data for the census, do not call into question the quality of the data, and are on a par with issues arising in past censuses.

Bureau officials have confirmed they are working as expeditiously as possible with all available resources to finalize a complete and accurate census.

While there likely will be a short delay in delivery of apportionment results, that isn’t because of problems with the completeness and accuracy of Census data.

It’s because of a delay imposed earlier in the year resulting from activist litigation.

Just this week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the challenge to President Trump’s directive that the Secretary of Commerce report an apportionment count that excludes non-legal residents in the United States, including illegal immigrants.

That directive was a very important step to ensure the sanctity of our nation’s elections and equal representation under our Constitution.

Including illegal immigrants in the count for representation in Congress only dilutes the representation of all Americans who vote in elections and makes a mockery of our basic principle of “one person, one vote.”

I urge us all to focus on the real tasks at hand—supporting the Census Bureau’s extraordinary efforts to complete an accurate 2020 Census count, not undermining public confidence in its work product.

Given that we’ve already held hearings on the 2020 Census and the Bureau is on track to a complete and accurate count, our time would be better spent getting to the bottom of whether the integrity of the 2020 election was compromised.

During the 2020 election, we witnessed blanket mail-in balloting in several states and a dramatic rise in absentee ballots in others, leading to errors and irregularities.

For example, I sent a letter to the Election Assistance Commission Inspector General (IG) asking them to investigate why the California secretary of state used $35 million of taxpayer money to pay Joe Biden’s main election campaign advisory firm to conduct voter contact.

I’d like to know why taxpayer money was used in such a questionable manner, but unfortunately, the IG has yet to take any action.

Also, on November 18th, Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jim Jordan and I called upon Chairwoman Maloney and Judiciary Committee Chairman Nadler to hold hearings to investigate election irregularities.

Why aren’t we starting those hearings today instead of holding yet another hearing in the Democrats’ partisan campaign against the 2020 Census?

Democrats have found ample time to hold countless hearings on partisan issues to undermine President Trump and further their left-wing agenda, but they won’t hold a single hearing on election integrity and protecting the sanctity of the ballot box.

These priorities speak for themselves.