Rep. Peter DeFazio Urges Southwest Oregon to Complete Census as Records Indicate More than One-Third of Oregonians Have Yet to Respond

Rep. Peter DeFazio today urged his constituents to complete the 2020 U.S. Census, as records indicate that more than one-third of Oregonians have yet to respond.

Only 64 percent of residents in Oregon’s 4th congressional district have completed the Census.

“The Trump administration is moving up the deadline for you to complete the Census—you will have four weeks less to fill it out and turn it in, so please fill out your Census today. The Census determines how federal dollars are directed to critical programs and services in southwestern Oregon, including funding for our schools, Medicare Part D, Pell Grants, health clinics, disaster recovery initiatives, federal highway construction projects, and more,” said Rep. Peter DeFazio. “Efforts to cut Census counting short while the Census Bureau is already struggling amidst the COVID-19 pandemic will undercut our representative democracy and will result in an inaccurate portrayal of our nation’s and communities’ diverse needs. If you aren’t counted by the Census, you aren’t represented, so it’s imperative that Oregonians respond to the Census by the filing deadline.”

On Monday, the Trump administration announced that it would be abruptly cutting the final four weeks of counting from its schedule, raising concerns about the accuracy of the decennial Census. All official counting efforts are now scheduled to end on September 30, 2020.

More information, including instructions on how to respond to the 2020 Census, can be found at 2020census.gov.