House Unanimously Passes Issa Bill Addressing RNC's Deceptive Census Mailer

Press Release

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Edolphus Towns (D-NY), Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-CA), Census Subcommittee Chairman Lacy Clay (D-MO), Subcommittee Ranking Member Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) released the following statement today after the House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation (H.R. 5148) sponsored by Issa that removes any ambiguity from the bipartisan law (H.R. 4621) signed last month (sponsored by Rep. Maloney) regarding the use of the word "census" on mailable material.

"Only a few weeks ago, the House acted unanimously to bring an end to misleading fundraising mail designed to look like it is from the Census Bureau. When it comes to the Census there is no separation between Republicans and Democrats. Working together we thought we put an end to this deceptive practice. Unfortunately, the foolishness of the RNC to move forward with yet another deceptive mail piece has caused us to act again.

"Today we sent an unmistakable and unified message that it is wrong to use the census to mislead citizens, confuse voters and annoy recipients. The bipartisan legislation we passed unanimously today makes it clear to the RNC what was clear to all of us: that any use of the word Census visible through the envelope will trigger a requirement to disclose the name and return address of the sender.

"The Census, currently underway, is a vital source of information for American's future. We thank our colleagues on both sides of the aisle for supporting this critically important legislation that will protect the integrity of the Census."

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