As Commerce Secretary No-Shows to Senate Hearing, Shaheen Questions Commerce Leadership on Secretary’s Misleading Census Statements to Congress

**Shaheen’s Questioning Comes in Response to Misleading Comments Secretary Ross Gave the Subcommittee Last Year On Justification for Including Citizenship Question on 2020 Census**

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the lead Democrat of the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee, questioned Commerce Department Leadership this afternoon during a CJS subcommittee hearing on the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2020 budget to Congress for the Department. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross refused to testify before the CJS Subcommittee, where he would have had to answer for his misleading comments last year to Senators regarding the inclusion of a citizenship status question on the 2020 census.

Under oath, Secretary Ross previously told the Subcommittee that the Department of Justice requested the Department of Commerce to include a question about citizenship status on the 2020 census. However, as part of ongoing lawsuits, documents have been revealed that Secretary Ross pushed for inclusion of the question before the Department of Justice request. 

Today, the House Oversight Committee voted to subpoena the Trump administration for information related to the inclusion of the citizenship question.

Shaheen questioned Commerce leadership on the Secretary’s misleading statements on the citizenship question, as well as whether the President’s budget has adequate funding available to ensure a fair and accurate count as mandated by the Constitution.