COUNT Act

This bill tells the Department of Commerce and other federal agencies to collect and share data to figure out how many people in the U.S. are citizens, noncitizens, or here illegally. Agencies like DHS, State, Social Security, and Health and Human Services must give Census access to records such as green card and naturalization files, visa data, passport applications, Social Security beneficiary records, and Medicaid/CHIP information, as allowed by law. It also sets up a working group led by the Census Director to use records so they can determine citizenship status for the entire population.

The bill tells the Commerce Secretary to start adding a citizenship question to the 2030 Census and to collect citizenship data in other Census surveys, including a wider American Community Survey. It also pushes for stronger efforts to get helpful state records and requires annual reports to Congress naming any states that refuse to share. Six months after the bill becomes law, the Census Bureau must stop using its current “differential privacy” method and explain how it will protect people’s privacy in other ways.

• Who is affected: People living in the U.S. who answer the Census or American Community Survey; federal agencies and state offices that hold records.
• What changes: More record-sharing to determine citizenship status; a planned citizenship question on the 2030 Census; expanded ACS; new annual reports; a switch away from the current privacy method with new guidance on protecting personal information.
• When: Work toward better data begins after enactment; the privacy method change happens 6 months after enactment; the citizenship question is planned for the 2030 Census.