16 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • DECEMBER 2017 16 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • SEPTEMBER 2017 16 LONGISLANDPRESS.CO M • SEPTEMBER 201-----------TUTU111
POINT OF VIEW
Suffolk needs to act now for fair census
If we’re not
careful, Long
Island could
end up playing
a losing hand
in the nation’s
most important
numbers
game.
The U.S.
Constitution
requires a count
of the nation’s population — or
census — every 10 years and there
are numerous reasons why. One
is to determine the number of
congressional representatives for
each state — that way the census
count serves as the basis for equal
political representation among the
states in Congress, a hallmark of
our democracy.
But the census also provides our
government with a powerful
tool that lawmakers rely upon to
distribute federal funds, much of
which move through our agency,
to the state and local governments.
New York receives approximately
$53 billion in federal funding each
year, according to a recent George
Washington University study.
That’s why it’s so critical that every
New York resident from every
community, background, and
culture be counted. At a time when
so many of our most basic rights,
programs and services are under
attack from within, an accurate
count ensures our fair share of
funding for essential programs,
such as health care, education,
housing, infrastructure and economic
development.
Although the next census takes
place in 2020, time is short. New
York State has already launched
an initiative that will make a huge
difference in achieving a full count
in the Empire State.
And like everything else worthwhile,
this is local. We urge counties,
cities, towns and villages to participate
in the Census Local Update
of Census Addresses Operation, or
LUCA program — the only opportunity
for local governments to update
the Census Bureau’s residential
address list before the 2020 census.
And time is running out. Local governments
have until December 15 to
register to participate in LUCA.
In 2010, only 50 of New York’s 62
counties participated in the state’s
LUCA effort, while just 26 percent
of the state’s 932 towns took part in
the count. Despite its diverse community
and vast size, Suffolk County
was among those who sat out the
state’s LUCA efforts last time.
Above all, the census is an opportunity
for everyone in our communities
to be represented equally.
And therein lies the rub. In the
past, the census has missed some
of our most vulnerable neighbors
— communities of color, urban
and rural low-income households,
new Americans, seniors and young
children — at disproportionately
high rates.
Subsequent research found that
after the 2010 census, the count did
not accurately represent the diversity
of the nation. African Americans
were undercounted by about 2.1
percent and Hispanic Americans by
1.5 percent. Even more disturbing,
a follow-up survey by the Census
Bureau discovered that nearly 2.2
million children under 5 — or
more than 10 percent of all children
under 5 in the country — were
missed by the 2010 count.
New York cannot afford to let the
2020 census count come up short:
there is too much at stake. It will
shape our congressional and state
legislative districts, impact the federal
budget and policy agenda, and
could hamper economic planning
for the next decade. We need everyone
working together to make sure
every New Yorker counts in 2020.
New York State
Secretary of
State Rossana
Rosado
BY ROSSANA ROSADO
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