Posted on Feb 21, 2022
U.S. census director says bureau is strengthening 'firewall' after Trump meddling
785
7
1
5
5
0
https://www.npr.org/2022/02/21/ [login to see] /census-bureau-director-robert-santos-interference-trump
The Biden administration is drafting new regulations to try to better protect the Census Bureau from any future political interference from its parent agency, the Commerce Department, the bureau's director, Robert Santos, told NPR on Monday.
"I expect that there will be from deliberations with the Department of Commerce additional regulations to make sure that there is a harder wall between the Census Bureau and the Department of Commerce to ensure that there won't be any inappropriate activity," Santos said in one of his first interviews since becoming the bureau's leader in January.
Asked when the regulations will be released, Santos did not provide any additional details but noted that he has reviewed "measures for that type of firewall."
The revelation comes after years of meddling with the 2020 census by former President Donald Trump's administration, which attempted to add a hotly contested question about U.S. citizenship status to the head count's forms, added a series of political appointees with no obvious qualifications to the bureau's top ranks and cut short counting efforts after the COVID-19 pandemic delayed many of the bureau's operations.
The Biden administration is drafting new regulations to try to better protect the Census Bureau from any future political interference from its parent agency, the Commerce Department, the bureau's director, Robert Santos, told NPR on Monday.
"I expect that there will be from deliberations with the Department of Commerce additional regulations to make sure that there is a harder wall between the Census Bureau and the Department of Commerce to ensure that there won't be any inappropriate activity," Santos said in one of his first interviews since becoming the bureau's leader in January.
Asked when the regulations will be released, Santos did not provide any additional details but noted that he has reviewed "measures for that type of firewall."
The revelation comes after years of meddling with the 2020 census by former President Donald Trump's administration, which attempted to add a hotly contested question about U.S. citizenship status to the head count's forms, added a series of political appointees with no obvious qualifications to the bureau's top ranks and cut short counting efforts after the COVID-19 pandemic delayed many of the bureau's operations.
U.S. census director says bureau is strengthening 'firewall' after Trump meddling
Posted from npr.org
Donald Trump
Radio
Regulation
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 1
1
1
0
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."The moves by the previous administration have fueled calls for new ways to safeguard the once-a-decade head count's integrity.
In recent decades, there have been proposals to move the bureau out of the Commerce Department and make it an independent agency. These efforts include bills in Congress introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat from New York who currently chairs the House Oversight and Reform Committee.
"I will support whatever it is that Congress decides that they want to do," Santos, who is expected to serve as the bureau's director through 2026, told NPR. "There are many issues that need to be worked out if an independent agency was created. However, I'm comfortable with the current structure, and I will work with Congress in terms of whatever they decide."
How many people of color did the 2020 census miss? COVID makes it harder to tell
NATIONAL
How many people of color did the 2020 census miss? COVID makes it harder to tell
The first Latino to head the federal government's largest statistical agency, Santos is weeks into a political appointment that has landed him in not only U.S. history books but also a hotbed of controversy over the results of the 2020 head count.
Even though the results have already been used to reallocate each state's share of congressional seats and Electoral College votes, as well as to redraw maps of voting districts across the country, questions about accuracy linger over the count.
On March 10, the bureau is set to start releasing results of its own assessment of the data's quality.
Concerned about the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and interference by the Trump administration, many census watchers are hoping to see to what extent the 2020 census may continue a decades-long pattern — the overcounting of people who identify as white and not Latino and the undercounting of people of color.
Challenging census results could mean more federal money for your community
Flaws in the count carry big implications for political representation, the distribution of some $1.5 trillion a year and the country's understanding of the people living in the United States. Santos and other bureau officials are under pressure to come up with new methods to mitigate the effects of a turbulent census.
Santos is also stepping into a heated debate over privacy protections applied to the 2020 census redistricting data and other more detailed information, just as the bureau ramps up its planning for the 2030 census, which could bring new ways of collecting data on race and ethnicity, particularly about Latinos and people of Middle Eastern or North African descent."...
..."The moves by the previous administration have fueled calls for new ways to safeguard the once-a-decade head count's integrity.
In recent decades, there have been proposals to move the bureau out of the Commerce Department and make it an independent agency. These efforts include bills in Congress introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat from New York who currently chairs the House Oversight and Reform Committee.
"I will support whatever it is that Congress decides that they want to do," Santos, who is expected to serve as the bureau's director through 2026, told NPR. "There are many issues that need to be worked out if an independent agency was created. However, I'm comfortable with the current structure, and I will work with Congress in terms of whatever they decide."
How many people of color did the 2020 census miss? COVID makes it harder to tell
NATIONAL
How many people of color did the 2020 census miss? COVID makes it harder to tell
The first Latino to head the federal government's largest statistical agency, Santos is weeks into a political appointment that has landed him in not only U.S. history books but also a hotbed of controversy over the results of the 2020 head count.
Even though the results have already been used to reallocate each state's share of congressional seats and Electoral College votes, as well as to redraw maps of voting districts across the country, questions about accuracy linger over the count.
On March 10, the bureau is set to start releasing results of its own assessment of the data's quality.
Concerned about the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and interference by the Trump administration, many census watchers are hoping to see to what extent the 2020 census may continue a decades-long pattern — the overcounting of people who identify as white and not Latino and the undercounting of people of color.
Challenging census results could mean more federal money for your community
Flaws in the count carry big implications for political representation, the distribution of some $1.5 trillion a year and the country's understanding of the people living in the United States. Santos and other bureau officials are under pressure to come up with new methods to mitigate the effects of a turbulent census.
Santos is also stepping into a heated debate over privacy protections applied to the 2020 census redistricting data and other more detailed information, just as the bureau ramps up its planning for the 2030 census, which could bring new ways of collecting data on race and ethnicity, particularly about Latinos and people of Middle Eastern or North African descent."...
(1)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google