Submit public comment here before November 2
The Census is in trouble, and now is the time to act. On September 10, the Department of Commerce proposed a series of changes to the Census that would, among other things:
- Implement a citizenship question
- Stop collecting race/ethnicity data
- Rescind inclusion of sexual orientation data collection
Why should you speak up?
These proposed changes could be disastrous for our vital public datasets and contradict years of research and effort by Census statisticians.
By Census statisticians’ own estimates, a citizenship question could result in the loss of 9 million households worth of data.
Census data informs and influences our lives in countless critical ways, from government representation, redistricting, resource allocation, and research from all sectors. It’s too important to be tampered with.
If you believe in fair and accurate public data, we urge you to submit your public comment before NOVEMBER 2: https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/USBC-2026-0628-0001
Submitting your voice into the public record has never been more important. To learn more, Hands Off Our Census is a non-partisan ‘pop-up consortium’ of data and policy experts that are tracking these changes closely.
Establishing legislation does not lay out all the details necessary to implement the law.
Why should we submit public comments?
The regulatory (or rulemaking) process is the lesser known, but an equally essential side of policymaking. This process can be daunting in its complexity, but engaging in it is just as important as engaging in the legislation that establishes the need for this regulation.
Establishing legislation does not lay out all the details necessary to implement the law, so the relevant executive agencies engage in the process of laying out how it will all work. These regulations can be revisited—sometimes because of a statutory change or requirement and sometimes because of a change in direction or approach, often influenced by politics.
More than ever, Community Solutions has weighed in via public comment on changes to new regulations. While the vastness of the federal government may feel overwhelming, it is critical to contribute comments on topics where you or your organization have expertise. These comments serve a few key purposes:
- Contributing the feedback of experts can inform modifications that the agencies make to implementation of the rule or to a rule amendment;
- The volume of comments can indicate to the executive branch, but also the legislative branch, that the issue at hand is an important one and has the potential to impact the lives of everyday Americans in ways they may not have realized or intended;
- The content of comments can help to establish a legal case should the issue be taken up in the judicial branch via a lawsuit around its existence and/or implementation.
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