The Census Bureau announced Monday that it will hire more employees and offer bonuses to those who put in extra time in order to speed up the count and finish this year.
“We will improve the speed of our count without sacrificing completeness,” Director Steven Dillingham said in a statement.
He and his agency have been under fire from Democrats who say they fear the 2020 count is spiraling out of control with the pressures of coronavirus and demands from President Trump.
Mr. Trump last month signed an executive order directing the bureau, in addition to the full count of all persons residing in the U.S., to produce a count without illegal immigrants. The president wants that latter count to be used to dole out seats in the House of Representatives.
Mr. Dillingham said his agency is still trying to figure out how to do that, but vowed “a team of experts” is on the case.
He insisted, though, that the bureau is “committed to a complete and accurate 2020 census.”
Nearly 63% of households have responded to initial overtures for the census, leaving nearly two in five that have not self-reported yet. Many of those will require an in-person visit.
Mr. Dillingham said speeding up operations will allow them to complete the field collection by Sept. 30, and to have the final count by Dec. 31.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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