| Jason, The United States Census has been vital to our system of government since its establishment in 1790, and has taken inventory of the population and housing in America every ten years. The makeup of essential governing bodies like the U.S. House of Representatives, the Electoral College, and overall representation at the state and local levels is determined by Census data. Census data also indicates how over $2 trillion in federal funding will be applied to infrastructure, healthcare, child care, education, rural housing, business development, emergency preparedness, and veteran benefits each year. The Census will next be conducted in 2030, and this will be the first time it offers more diverse ethnic identification options. Specialized data will now be collected about residents of Middle Eastern, North African, and Hispanic descent. However, right-wing extremist members of the House of Representatives are working hard to cut census funding. Some lawmakers are even advocating for the exclusion of non-citizen residents from the count, a blatant violation of the Constitution. It's time to take action. Please, add your name to our petition to urge Congress to increase the Census budget to $2 billion and oppose any proposals to cut Census funding. Congress is currently in negotiations on funding bills for Fiscal Year 2025, which must pass by September 30th. Funding for the U.S. Census is one of the most contentious issues in these negotiations right now. As it stands, the House of Representatives is currently planning a major $1.354 billion cut to Census Bureau funding ― this is a drastic decrease from its FY 2024 funding level ($1.382 billion). Additionally, this proposal completely disregards the Administration's FY 2025 budget request of $1.6 billion as well as independent census experts' estimated need of $2 billion. In addition to supporting major funding cuts, some radical House Republicans want to exclude non-citizens from the Census count, which would be unconstitutional. Asking a citizenship question on the census will create anxiety and fear and lead to an undercount of millions of documented people who live in mixed immigration status households ― including nearly 5.5 million children. Cutting census funding means more people in historically undercounted groups―including people with low incomes, Black and brown people, and young children―will be left out of the count, leaving them under-represented and their communities underfunded. Undercounting marginalized communities will mean less funding allocated to Medicaid, public education, affordable housing, nutrition programs like WIC, and countless other social safety nets. Please, sign on to our petition: Congress must increase the census budget to $2 billion and oppose any proposals to cut Census funding. Thank you for taking action. Democratic Values | 
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