Equal Representation Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. MENG. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 7109, the Equal Representation Act.

The U.S. Constitution requires a count of the whole number of persons in each State. Counting has been the legal, historical, and constitutional practice ever since the first Census was conducted in 1790.

A citizens-only Census, as this legislation intends, is reckless, cynical, and, frankly, illegal. It is not the Census Bureau's job to keep track of immigration status. It is also not the Census Bureau's job to determine one's allegiance, just like the insurrectionists on January 6. We have agencies for both of those tasks.

The Census guides how more than $2.8 trillion a year in Federal funding is distributed to States, cities, and towns. This includes funding for Medicare, Medicaid, schools, roads, and other critical public services. Not counting every whole person may decrease Federal money, even in some of my colleagues' districts.

Noncitizens make up about 6.7 percent of our Nation's population of 333 million people. They are our loved ones, friends, neighbors, and those who have been actively contributing to and participating in our communities for many years.

Pretending that noncitizens do not live in our communities--that is exactly what this bill would do, pretend--will only instill fear, force people into the shadows, and take critical Federal funding away from the areas that need it most.

Throughout our Nation's history, there have been several attempts at adding a citizenship question to the Census, all of which have failed.

As a daughter of immigrants and as the Representative of a diverse community of constituents who have arrived from many corners of the world, I have adamantly fought against these attempts.

In 2018, the previous administration attempted to add a citizenship question to the Census, which Senator Hirono and I and others fought against in Congress.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. MENG. Mr. Speaker, this was subsequently blocked by the Supreme Court.

We cannot let this latest attempt succeed. Calling this legislation the Equal Representation Act is an oxymoron, and I am voting ``no'' and urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source