For Immediate Release
07/22/2020
Contact: David Card
202.408.9514 x122
[email protected]
WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday the White House issued a memorandum that would undue our country’s history of including all people counted in the 2020 Census for purposes of Congressional apportionment.
Article I Section II and the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution make it abundantly clear that every 10 years the U.S. must conduct a population count of every “person” in the country in order to determine how many seats in Congress each U.S. state will receive. Since America’s first census in 1790 the census has aimed to count every person living in the United States regardless of citizenship or immigration status.
The 2020 Census will not only ensure proportionate voting representation, it will influence where the boundaries of legislative, school, and voting districts are drawn, and guide the allocation of $1.5 trillion in federal funds, all which greatly impacts every community, including the disability community.
“People with disabilities are a part of every single community in the U.S. and we will continue to advocate for every community in America to be counted and included,” said National Disability Rights Network Executive Director Curt Decker. “The United States Constitution tells us, and has always told us, that the decennial census must count every single person in our country every time in order to appropriately represent all of us in Congress.
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The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) is the nonprofit membership organization for the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) Systems and the Client Assistance Programs (CAP) for individuals with disabilities. Collectively, the P&A/CAP Network is the largest provider of legally based advocacy services to people with disabilities in the United States.
