Speaker Heastie Statement on Supreme Court Census Question Ruling
The Census is an essential tool the United States uses to determine the allocation of seats in the House of Representatives and the distribution of billions of dollars in federal funding for our schools, health care facilities, housing and other critical services.
Here in New York, we are proud of our state's diversity, and we are committed to ensuring everyone participates in the 2020 Census. No one should be afraid to be counted.
Since the administration in Washington first proposed adding a citizenship question to the census, leaders in New York and across the country have questioned their motives. Today, those concerns were validated.
The Supreme Court's ruling to block the addition of a citizenship question to the census will ensure that the census cannot be used as a weapon to undercount, underrepresent or underfund our communities. Every New Yorker must be counted.