{"id":415,"date":"2020-09-15T09:22:12","date_gmt":"2020-09-15T14:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/w\/?p=415"},"modified":"2020-09-15T09:25:05","modified_gmt":"2020-09-15T14:25:05","slug":"cronkite-news-census-count-coming-to-an-end-amid-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/09\/15\/cronkite-news-census-count-coming-to-an-end-amid-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Cronkite News: Census count coming to an end amid COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<iframe class=\"embed-responsive-item\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/c4OF6jQFfgc\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=figure-caption>House  Committee on Oversight and Reform: <a href=https:\/\/youtu.be\/c4OF6jQFfgc>Providing the Census Bureau with the Time to Produce a Complete and Accurate Census &#8211; September 10, 2020<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=h1-responsive>Tribal leader says ensuring accurate census is a \u2018life and death\u2019 issue<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Tuesday, September 15, 2020<\/div>\r\n<div class=byline>By MacKenzie Belley<\/div>\r\n<DIV class=source>Cronkite News<\/DIV>\r\n<DIV class=source-website><A \r\nhref=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/\">cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nWASHINGTON &#8211; Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis told a House panel Thursday that an accurate Census count could be a &#8220;matter of life and death&#8221; for tribal communities.<p><\/p>\r\nLewis joined other witnesses at the House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing to warn against an early end to the count.<p><\/p>\r\n\r\n&#8220;At this point the Census Bureau needs more time to do its data collection and post-data collection process,&#8221; said John H. Thompson, who was director of the bureau from 2013-2017.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\r\nNo bureau representatives appeared at the hearing, but Republicans on the committee pushed back against the notion that the proposed timeline poses any problems, noting the 89.4% \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/2020census.gov\/en\/response-rates\/nrfu.html\">total response<\/a>\r\nrate to the census so far. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., cited previous briefings with three current Census officials who said the &#8220;2020 census can be accurately and fully completed by September 30.&#8221;\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from putting an early end to the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Census2020?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Census2020<\/a> as part of a lawsuit joined by the Navajo Nation and the Gila River Indian Community. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NNPrezNez?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@NNPrezNez<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GRIC_Official?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@GRIC_Official<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/IndianCountryCounts?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#IndianCountryCounts<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/pxbq3GjlJa\">https:\/\/t.co\/pxbq3GjlJa<\/a><\/p>&mdash; indianz.com (@indianz) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/indianz\/status\/1304170085267968006?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 10, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/oversight.house.gov\/legislation\/hearings\/providing-the-census-bureau-with-the-time-to-produce-a-complete-and-accurate\">The hearing<\/a>\r\ncame just days after a federal judge temporarily blocked a Census Bureau plan to end enumeration operations on September 30, a month sooner than had been planned. The judge in that case said plaintiffs, including two Arizona tribes, had raised &#8220;serious issues&#8221; about the shortened timeline.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThat was supported by witnesses at Thursday&#8217;s hearing on &#8220;Providing the Census Bureau with the Time to Produce a Complete and Accurate Census,&#8221; with Thompson testifying that ending the count early could affect the &#8220;accuracy and quality&#8221; of the 2020 census.<p><\/p>\r\n\r\n&#8220;Hard-to-count communities have a significantly lower level of self-response,&#8221; \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/oversight.house.gov\/sites\/democrats.oversight.house.gov\/files\/Thompson%20Testimony.pdf\">Thompson said.<\/a>\r\n&#8220;Not making appropriate enumeration attempts with staff who have the proper understanding and language skills in these areas will lead to a higher proportion of incomplete responses.&#8221;\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nThat is a problem in many tribal areas, where cultural, language and logistical challenges in the often-rural areas makes it hard to get an accurate count.<p><\/p>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The U.S. Census Bureau has long failed to accurately tally populations in Indian Country. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/COVID19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#COVID19<\/a> is hampering attempts to fix that. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Coronavirus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Coronavirus<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Census2020?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Census2020<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/IndianCountryCounts?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#IndianCountryCounts<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UpgmfrrL00\">https:\/\/t.co\/UpgmfrrL00<\/a><\/p>&mdash; indianz.com (@indianz) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/indianz\/status\/1304119060905562112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 10, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nBut Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Prescott, noted that the bureau is catching up quickly, even in states like Arizona that trail the national average for responses.<p><\/p>\r\n&#8220;Census data reported as of yesterday (Wednesday) that 80.8 percent of Arizona is enumerated,&#8221; Gosar said. &#8220;This is well below the majority of states yet just a few days prior to this report, the Census Bureau stated was just 76.2% enumerated.<p><\/p>\r\n&#8220;This appears to be a very productive spike in a short number of days&#8221; he said.<p><\/p>\r\nAs of Thursday, the total response rate for Arizona had risen to 81.7%, fifth-lowest in the nation.<p><\/p>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Use the 12 digit number on your paper form to complete the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/2020Census?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#2020Census<\/a> online at <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/T2vyXgJR4t\">https:\/\/t.co\/T2vyXgJR4t<\/a>! Your participation in the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Census?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Census<\/a> builds our communities\u2019 progress &amp; helps shape the future for generations to come. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/becounted?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#becounted<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/IndianCountryCounts?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#IndianCountryCounts<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/R43mEC96Z8\">https:\/\/t.co\/R43mEC96Z8<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0FRQVHZlan\">pic.twitter.com\/0FRQVHZlan<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (@ITCAOnline) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ITCAOnline\/status\/1305621103696637952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 14, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nIn an ordinary Census year, enumeration would end July 31 and the bureau would deliver its count to the president by December 31 &#8211; a date that is set by law. But that schedule was thrown into disarray by COVID-19, which affected response rates and took enumerators out of the field early in the count.<p><\/p>\r\nThe bureau on April 13 said it would push the enumeration deadline back to Oct. 31 and ignore the December 31 deadline. That plan was suddenly changed August 3, when the bureau announced it would finish the enumeration by September 30.<p><\/p>\r\nCivil rights groups, individuals and local governments, including the Gila River Indian Community and the Navajo Nation, sued to keep the October 31 date. They argued that a census undercount could severely affect minority communities over the next 10 years, in terms of congressional representation, federal funding and more.<p><\/p>\r\nA federal district judge in California agreed with them Saturday, ruling they had raised &#8220;serious issues&#8221; about the shortened calendar and ordering the bureau to halt any moves toward winding down enumeration operations early. Her order lasts until September 17, when a fuller hearing will be held on the issue.<p><\/p>\r\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-attachment-id=\"431\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2020\/09\/15\/cronkite-news-census-count-coming-to-an-end-amid-covid-19\/road-worriers\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/stephenroelewis.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2000,1333\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-title=\"Road Worriers\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis, center, prepares to testify to a Senate committee on tribal roads and tribal sovereignty. Witnesses told the committee that federal support for roads is lacking, which affects other services. (Photo by Keerthi Vedantam\/Cronkite News)&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/stephenroelewis-1024x682.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/stephenroelewis.jpg\" alt=\"stephen roe lewis\" class=\"img-fluid wp-image-431\" \/> \r\n<figcaption class=figure-caption>\r\nGila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis, center, is seen at a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing in April 2019. He appeared before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform via video.  Photo by Keerthi Vedantam \/ Cronkite News\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nIf the current September 30 end date holds, that leaves less than three weeks to complete the non-response enumeration period and count thousands of missing households.<p><\/p>\r\nThat concerns Lewis.<p><\/p>\r\n\r\nThe bureau has not released total reporting rates for tribal areas, but it does release \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/2020census.gov\/en\/response-rates\/self-response.html\">self-response rates,<\/a>\r\nwhich make up the bulk of responses. \r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/oversight.house.gov\/sites\/democrats.oversight.house.gov\/files\/Lewis%20Testimony.pdf\">Lewis noted<\/a>\r\nthat while the national self-response rate for the census was 65.5% Wednesday, the rate on the Gila River Indian Community was just 10.2%.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n&#8220;If the census was to end today I could only be certain that 2,200 of our over 22,000 tribal members would be counted,&#8221; Lewis said.<p><\/p>\r\n<STRONG>For more stories from Cronkite News, visit <A href=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/?utm_source=referral&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=client\">cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A>.<\/STRONG>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<div class=h4-responsive>House Committee on Oversight and Reform Notice<\/div>\r\n<a href=https:\/\/oversight.house.gov\/legislation\/hearings\/providing-the-census-bureau-with-the-time-to-produce-a-complete-and-accurate>Providing the Census Bureau with the Time to Produce a Complete and Accurate Census<\/a> (September 10, 2020)\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n<HR><EM> Note: This story originally <a href=https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/2020\/09\/10\/tribal-leader-says-ensuring-accurate-census-is-a-life-and-death-issue\/>appeared on Cronkite News<\/a> It  is published via a <A href=http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0\/>Creative  Commons license<\/A>. Cronkite News is produced by the <A href=\"\/m.asp?url=http:\/\/cronkite.asu.edu\/\">Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication<\/A> at  <A href=\"\/m.asp?url=http:\/\/www.asu.edu\/\">Arizona State University<\/A>.<\/EM>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An accurate Census count is a &#8216;matter of life and death&#8217; for Indian Country, a prominent tribal leader said.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":431,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[19,20,13,1,14],"tags":[50,4,42,3,5,46,94,66,48,152,72,24,151,85,150],"class_list":["post-415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-indian-trust","category-law","category-national","category-politics","tag-116th","tag-4","tag-arizona","tag-census","tag-coronavirus","tag-cronkite-news","tag-democrats","tag-gila-river","tag-house","tag-james-comer","tag-judiciary","tag-navajo","tag-paul-gosar","tag-republicans","tag-stephen-roe-lewis","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-6H","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/stephenroelewis.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}