The 2020 Decennial Census: Overview and Issues (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Revised April 22, 2019 |
| Report Number |
IF11015 |
| Report Type |
In Focus |
| Authors |
Jennifer D. Williams |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
The census is a count, as nearly complete and accurate as
possible, of every person whose usual residence is in the
United States. Article I, Section 2, clause 3 of the U.S.
Constitution, as modified by Section 2 of the 14th
Amendment, requires a population census every 10 years,
conducted “in such Manner as they [Congress] shall by
Law direct.” Congress, in Title 13, U.S. Code, has
delegated this responsibility to the Secretary of Commerce
and, within the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Census
Bureau. The first census took place in 1790; the next will be
in 2020. The constitutional reason for taking a census is to
have an updated basis for apportioning seats in the U.S.
House of Representatives. Census data also are used to
redraw legislative boundaries within states; to produce
population estimates and projections; in formulas that help
allocate more than $675 billion in federal funds annually to
states and localities; and by subnational governments,
businesses, nonprofit organizations, and researchers for
myriad purposes.
