Statement on the Value and Importance of the U.S. Census

The Society of American Archivists (SAA) notes with concern two factors that may compromise the capacity of the U.S. Census Bureau to perform its long-standing and critically important work of documenting the nation’s population: current vacancies in the positions of Bureau Director and Deputy Director/Chief Operating Officer which creates a leadership vacuum, and the Trump Administration’s proposal to make significant cuts in non-defense-related federal funding. As the Bureau prepares for the 2020 Census, it must have the stable leadership and resources needed to fulfill its Constitutional mandate to conduct a decennial census and to continue its other important work. Read the full statement.