Public Statement of the District of Columbia Affairs Section of the District of Columbia Bar In Support of Efforts of the District of Columbia to Count All Residents in the 2010 Census

Note: The views expressed herein represent only those of the District of Columbia Affairs Section of the District of Columbia Bar. The views expressed are not those of the D.C. Bar or of its Board of Governors.

The members of the steering committee of the D.C. Affairs Section of the District of Columbia Bar voted, by a vote 7 in favor, 0 in opposition, and 2 not present, nor voting, on May 7, 2010, to issue the following public statement on behalf of the section in support of the efforts of the District of Columbia to count all of its residents in the 2010 Census:

The D.C. Affairs Section of the District of Columbia Bar supports both the District of Columbia government and the Federal government in the effort to get an accurate census count and to make sure everyone residing in the District is actually counted. As officers of the court and members of the District of Columbia Bar, it is part of our civic duty to ensure that our colleagues and clients understand that the census counts all persons, including children, living in the United States as outlined in the U.S. Constitution—both citizens and non–citizens. Dozens of federal programs rely on census data to distribute funding. States and cities, including the District, are at risk of losing millions of dollars for persons not counted. Here in the District, each resident represents over $4,600 for essential public services.

Across the country as well as communities in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area have received their Census 2010 questionnaire forms. With the present economic crisis and a history of population undercount for the District, it is critical that each person takes the approximately ten minutes it should take to complete the questionnaire form to ensure that all the District’s families and community get their fair share of federal funding.

According to information released by the U.S. Census in December 2009, the District’s population is estimated to be approximately 599,000. The District’s Federal allocations based on the census data is approximately $2.7 billion in FY 2008. Nevertheless, there are some reasons for why some of the District’s population is considered hard–to–count. The enumeration difficulties that make some parts of the District’s population hard–to–count include: