On February 28, the Census Bureau advised members of the Census Scientific Advisory Committee, the National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic and other Populations, and the 2030 Census Advisory Committee that their spring meetings had been cancelled. On March 4, members of these committees were advised that their Committees had been terminated, claiming that their purposes had been fulfilled. This decision follows the executive order issued February 19 requiring certain presidential advisors to identify “unnecessary” advisory committees within 30 days.
The federal advisory committees for the census have been an invaluable resource for the Census Bureau to get input from experts and the public. Through Republican and Democratic administrations of the past the advisory committees have been an efficient and effective way to provide advice and feedback to the Census Bureau. We have seen the Census Bureau often revise their plans in ways that would greatly improve their work as a result of these meetings.
Members of Count All Kids have regularly submitted comments to these committees emphasizing the importance of improving the count of young children and sharing our perspective on their plans. We believe that in a constantly changing world, the Census Bureau continues to need expert advice and public perspectives. The purpose of these committees continues.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) have issued statements opposing this decision, as have members of Congress. Members of Count All Kids will continue to seek ways to engage with the Census Bureau to help it ensure that every young child is counted, both in the decennial census and in its surveys. We will publish here the comments that members of Count All Kids had intended to submit to the advisory committees at the spring meetings.
