HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.
![handle is hein.crs/goveqis0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Decennial Census and Apportionment:
Frequently Asked Questions
August 14, 2024
Every 10 years, the U.S. Constitution requires administration of a national census-an actual
Enumeration-conducted in such Manner as [Congress] shall by Law direct. The next decennial
census is scheduled to be conducted in 2030. At times, Congress has considered legislation to address
decennial census operations. In the 118th Congress, for example, H.R. 7109 passed the House and is one
of several bills introduced to require a citizenship question on the decennial census and to base
apportionment of House seats on the U.S. citizen population (see also H.R. 6942 and S. 3659). Another
introduced bill, H.R. 7911, would prohibit inclusion of a citizenship question on the decennial census.
This Insight addresses common questions regarding decennial census population counts and their role in
congressional apportionment. For further information, contact the authors or see additional CRS products
related to apportionment and to the U.S. Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau), located in the U.S.
Department of Commerce (Commerce Department), which conducts the decennial census, among other
efforts.
What functions does the decennial census perform?
Under the Constitution, the decennial census is the basis for apportioning (or dividing) seats in the House
of Representatives among states. Its data are also used, among other purposes, to help determine funding
distribution across hundreds of federal programs and to inform policymakers about key demographic
changes.
What qualifies as an actual Enumeration?
The Supreme Court has explained that enumeration refers to a counting process but does not provide
methodological details, although it also concluded that the framers intended the phrase actual
Enumeration to be the substantive equivalent of number of inhabitants. Congress thus has virtually
unlimited discretion to determine how the count of inhabitants is carried out. For example, 13 U.S. C.
§ 195 prohibits sampling in determining population for apportionment purposes. Legal challenges to
aspects of the Census Bureau's methodology, such as the sparing use of imputation (which fills in data by
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
IN12403
CRS INSIGHT
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/goveqis0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)