By — Courtney Vinopal Courtney Vinopal Leave a comment 0comments Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-house-lawmakers-question-officials-on-census-deadlines-amid-covid-19 Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter WATCH: House lawmakers question officials on Census deadlines amid COVID-19 Politics Updated on Sep 10, 2020 2:46 PM EDT — Published on Sep 10, 2020 11:24 AM EDT The House Committee on Oversight and Reform held a hearing Sept. 10 in response to concerns about delivering a complete and accurate Census count by the end of the year. Watch the hearing in the video player above. While the Census Bureau previously submitted a request for a deadline extension to turn in data that will determine Congressional districts for the next decade — from December 31 to April 2021 — it was not approved. Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham announced they would cut back operations last month, resulting in a shortened schedule that will cease operations at the end of September. Although a federal judge ordered the U.S. Census Bureau to halt winding down the 2020 census, the Associated Press reported that at least one California office has been instructed to make plans for laying off census takers. Witnesses at the Sept. 10 hearing included J. Christopher Mihm, managing director of the Government Accountability Office’s Strategic Issues Team; former Census Bureau director John H. Thompson; Stephen Roe Lewis, governor of Arizona’s Gila River Indian Community; Stacy Carless, executive director of NC Counts Coalition; and Hans A. von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation. By — Courtney Vinopal Courtney Vinopal Courtney Vinopal is a general assignment reporter at the PBS NewsHour. @cglennvino
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform held a hearing Sept. 10 in response to concerns about delivering a complete and accurate Census count by the end of the year. Watch the hearing in the video player above. While the Census Bureau previously submitted a request for a deadline extension to turn in data that will determine Congressional districts for the next decade — from December 31 to April 2021 — it was not approved. Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham announced they would cut back operations last month, resulting in a shortened schedule that will cease operations at the end of September. Although a federal judge ordered the U.S. Census Bureau to halt winding down the 2020 census, the Associated Press reported that at least one California office has been instructed to make plans for laying off census takers. Witnesses at the Sept. 10 hearing included J. Christopher Mihm, managing director of the Government Accountability Office’s Strategic Issues Team; former Census Bureau director John H. Thompson; Stephen Roe Lewis, governor of Arizona’s Gila River Indian Community; Stacy Carless, executive director of NC Counts Coalition; and Hans A. von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation.