Press Releases

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) released the following statement after the Commerce Department announced that a new question on citizenship would be added to the 2020 Census:

“The Trump Administration is endangering the accuracy of the Census by needlessly inserting a question on citizenship status. With so many families separated in the last year through sudden deportations, this question will advance a mistrust that will keep many people—no matter their immigration status—from participating. The resulting undercount could have terrible consequences for everything tied to Census results, from the proper allocation of federal funds to representation in Congress. 
 
"This eleventh-hour insertion of a citizenship question is a dangerous and deliberate politicization of the Census. By contrast the Census Bureau said it did not have the resources to add a question about veterans status even though it would help us to better serve this important group."