[House Report 118-476]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


118th Congress  }                                               {  Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session     }                                               { 118-476

======================================================================



 
                        EQUAL REPRESENTATION ACT

                                _______
                                

 April 29, 2024.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

    Mr. Comer, from the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                             MINORITY VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 7109]

    The Committee on Oversight and Accountability, to whom was 
referred the bill (H.R. 7109) to require a citizenship question 
on the decennial census, to require reporting on certain census 
statistics, and to modify apportionment of Representatives to 
be based on United States citizens instead of all persons, 
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with 
amendments and recommends that the bill as amended do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Summary and Purpose of Legislation...............................     2
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Section-by-Section Analysis......................................     6
Legislative History..............................................     7
Committee Consideration..........................................     8
Roll Call Votes..................................................     8
Explanation of Amendments........................................    10
List of Related Committee Hearings...............................    10
Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the 
  Committee......................................................    11
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............    11
Application of Law to the Legislative Branch.....................    11
Duplication of Federal Programs..................................    11
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings..............................    11
Federal Advisory Committee Act Statement.........................    11
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act Statement...........................    11
Earmark Identification...........................................    11
Committee Cost Estimate..........................................    12
New Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost 
  Estimate.......................................................    12
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............    12
Minority Views...................................................    16

    The amendments are as follows:
    Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Equal Representation Act''.

SEC. 2. CITIZENSHIP STATUS ON DECENNIAL CENSUS.

  Section 141 of title 13, United States Code, is amended--
          (1) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (h); and
          (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the following:
  ``(g)(1) In conducting the 2030 decennial census and each decennial 
census thereafter, the Secretary shall include in any questionnaire 
distributed or otherwise used for the purpose of determining the total 
population by States a checkbox or other similar option for the 
respondent to indicate, for the respondent and for each of the members 
of the household of the respondent, whether that individual is a 
citizen of the United States.
  ``(2) Not later than 120 days after completion of a decennial census 
of the population under subsection (a), the Secretary shall make 
publicly available the number of individuals per State, disaggregated 
by citizens of the United States and noncitizens, as tabulated in 
accordance with this section.''.

SEC. 3. EXCLUSION OF NONCITIZENS FROM NUMBER OF PERSONS USED TO 
                    DETERMINE APPORTIONMENT OF REPRESENTATIVES AND 
                    NUMBER OF ELECTORAL VOTES.

  (a) Exclusion.--Section 22(a) of the Act entitled ``An Act to provide 
for the fifteenth and subsequent decennial censuses and to provide for 
apportionment of Representatives in Congress'', approved June 18, 1929 
(2 U.S.C. 2a(a)), is amended by inserting after ``not taxed'' the 
following: ``and individuals who are not citizens of the United 
States''.
  (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply 
with respect to the apportionment of Representatives carried out 
pursuant to the decennial census conducted during 2030 and any 
succeeding decennial census.

SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY CLAUSE.

  If any provision of this Act or amendment made by this Act, or the 
application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held to be 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the provisions of this Act and 
amendments made by this Act, and the application of the provision or 
amendment to any other person or circumstance, shall not be affected.
    Amend the title so as to read:
    A bill to require a citizenship question on the decennial 
census, to require reporting on certain census statistics, and 
to modify apportionment of Representatives to be based on 
United States citizens instead of all individuals.

                   Summary and Purpose of Legislation

    H.R. 7109 directs the inclusion of a question on the 
decennial census questionnaire for each respondent to indicate 
for themselves and for each household member whether they are a 
citizen of the United States. It also amends existing statutes 
to make clear that only citizens are included in the population 
of a state for the purpose of apportioning representatives and 
numbers of electors for President of the United States among 
the states.

                  Background and Need for Legislation


     I. CITIZENSHIP QUESTION ON THE DECENNIAL CENSUS QUESTIONNAIRE

    The decennial census should collect information about the 
citizenship status of a respondent or household member. The 
citizenship makeup of the population in the United States is a 
basic data point that should be available to U.S. policymakers, 
and the decennial census questionnaire is the best way to 
obtain such detailed information on citizenship status.
    Article I of the U.S. Constitution requires a census of the 
population be taken every ten years to form the basis of 
apportionment and empowers Congress to carry out the decennial 
census ``in such Manner as they shall by Law direct.''\1\ The 
Supreme Court has explained that Congress is permitted by the 
Constitution ``to inquire about citizenship on the census 
questionnaire.''\2\ ``That conclusion follows from Congress's 
broad authority over the census, as informed by long and 
consistent historical practice that `has been open, widespread, 
and unchallenged since the early days of the republic.'''\3\ 
Thus, adding a citizenship question to the decennial census 
questionnaire is an appropriate exercise of the Article I 
authority over the census.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\U.S. Constitution, Article I, Sec. 2, cl. 3 (. . . ``The actual 
Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of 
the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of 
ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. . .'').
    \2\Department of Commerce v. New York, 588 U.S. ___ (2019).
    \3\Id. at Syllabus headnote 2 (citing NLRB v. Noel Canning, 573 
U.S. 513, 572 (Scalia, J., concurring in judgment)).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    This data collection is also necessary to provide reliable 
and accurate data to U.S. policymakers. Current data on 
citizenship collected by the Census Bureau in the American 
Community Survey is limited to annual estimates suffering from 
high rates of error. In contrast, the decennial census is an 
actual enumeration of the entire population of the United 
States, so the data on citizenship collected from respondents 
and their household members would be much more accurate.
    Despite the minority's claims, adding a citizenship 
question will not reduce overall participation in the census. 
Answering whether an individual respondent or household member 
is or is not a citizen reveals only that data point. It does 
not reveal if an individual respondent or household member is 
present in the United States unlawfully. That individual 
respondent or household member could have lawful permanent 
residence or be a nonimmigrant lawfully residing in the United 
States during a temporary period of authorized stay. 
Additionally, only aggregate-level information will be 
released, as current law already imposes strict confidentiality 
requirements on the dissemination of individual-level census 
data tied to a particular respondent or household with criminal 
penalties for violations.\4\ Thus, a citizenship question 
should not depress participation in the decennial census by 
aliens residing in the United States. Even if misinformed 
respondents were for some reason reluctant to complete the 
decennial census questionnaire, they would still likely be 
enumerated by the Census Bureau using other methods such as 
review of official records to determine the inhabitants of a 
particular address or by using proxy information such as 
reliable information from a neighbor.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\See 13 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 9, 214.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                      II. APPORTIONMENT EXCLUSION

    In addition to collecting whether a respondent or household 
member is a citizen of the United States, H.R. 7109 would 
restore the ``one person, one vote'' principle in apportionment 
by including only citizens in the apportionment base used to 
apportion representation in the House of Representatives and 
allocate electoral college votes.
    Only citizens are eligible to vote for candidates for 
federal offices, including Members of Congress and electors for 
the President of the United States.\5\ However, under current 
practice, noncitizens, including lawful permanent residents, 
nonimmigrants, and even illegal aliens, are wrongly included in 
a state's population for purposes of the apportionment 
calculation. Thus, states with higher proportions of 
noncitizens residing in that state are advantaged over states 
with a lower concentration of noncitizens.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\See 18 U.S.C. Sec. 611 (making it unlawful for aliens to vote in 
elections for federal offices).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In the case of illegal aliens, the status quo is 
particularly concerning, as some states or major metropolitan 
areas within those states have declared themselves sanctuary 
jurisdictions, shielding illegal aliens from federal 
immigration law enforcement with some even providing special 
services to the illegal alien population residing in those 
jurisdictions. Illegal aliens incentivized to move into those 
jurisdictions, who reside in that state on census day, and who 
are enumerated in the census, would add to the state's 
population for purposes of apportionment. Under the Biden 
Administration, millions of illegal aliens have entered the 
country. It is estimated that the total illegal alien 
population in the United States has increased since President 
Biden took office by 3.7 million individuals as of February 
2024, accounting for departures and mortality.\6\ This means 
that illegal immigration inflows under the Biden Administration 
account for well more than half (58 percent) of the growth in 
the total foreign-born population in the Untied States during 
that same time period.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\Steven A. Camarota & Karen Zeigler, The Foreign-Born Share and 
Number at Record Highs in February 2024, Center for Immigration Studies 
(Mar. 28, 2024).
    \7\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    According to now already outdated 2022 estimates published 
by the Census Bureau based on American Community Survey data, 
there were approximately 21.7 million noncitizens residing in 
the United States and the District of Columbia.\8\ However, 
these noncitizens were not evenly distributed among the states. 
For example, California's population was made up of more than 
12 percent noncitizens, which comprised 4.75 million of the 
state's total 39 million population.\9\ New York's noncitizen 
population comprised 8.8 percent of its total population.\10\ 
Meanwhile, other states had fewer noncitizens. Specifically, 
Alabama and Kentucky were both comprised of only 2.2 percent 
noncitizens, Ohio and Louisiana both 2.3 percent, Mississippi 
1.3 percent, and West Virginia only 0.76 percent.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \8\See U.S. Census Bureau, 2022: ACS 1-Year Estimates Selected 
Population Profiles, SO201 Selected Population Profile in the United 
States (Foreign Born; not a U.S. citizen=21,673,046 
+/- 149,842).
    \9\Id.
    \10\Id.
    \11\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    These drastic differences can have an impact on 
representation distributions as a result of apportionment, 
especially where--as a single congressional seat must go to a 
state and cannot be divided among multiple states--small 
differences in population can be the deciding factor between a 
state gaining or losing an additional representative in its 
delegation. For example, New York lost a congressional seat 
that it otherwise would not have lost by a margin of only 89 
individuals during the 2020 apportionment.\12\ Utah would have 
gained an additional Congressional seat in the 2000 
apportionment but for a difference of only 856 additional 
individuals.\13\ An analysis by Pew Research Center in 2020, 
prior to the completion of the 2020 decennial census or 
apportionment based on that census, estimated that excluding 
only illegal aliens from the apportionment base would have a 
significant impact on representation.\14\ Specifically, the Pew 
study projected that California would lose two seats instead of 
one it was expected to lose, that Florida would gain only one 
additional seat instead of two, and that Texas would gain only 
two instead of three additional seats while Alabama, Minnesota, 
and Ohio would each maintain a seat they would otherwise lose.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \12\See U.S. Census Bureau, Table B2. Additional Apportionment 
Population Needed for First Runner-Up State to Gain Another 
Congressional Seat: 1940 to 2020.
    \13\Id.
    \14\Jeffrey S. Passel & D'Vera Cohn, How removing unauthorized 
immigrants from census statistics could affect House reapportionment, 
Pew Research Center (July 24, 2020).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Section 2 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution 
requires that ``Representatives shall be apportioned among the 
several States according to their respective numbers, counting 
the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians 
not taxed.''\15\ Section 5 of the 14th Amendment makes clear 
that Congress has the power ``to enforce, by appropriate 
legislation'' the provisions of the 14th Amendment, which it 
did with respect to Section 2 by passing implementing 
legislation that would be amended by H.R. 7109. Specifically, 
H.R. 7109 would exclude from the apportionment base 
``individuals who are not citizens of the United States.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \14\U.S. Constitution, Amdt. 14, Sec. 2.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The minority argues that ``whole number of persons'' refers 
to any individual who manages to take up residence in the 
United States, whether they are citizens or noncitizens, and 
even if they do not reside in the United States under color of 
law, having entered the country unlawfully in the first place, 
or having somehow violated the terms of their lawful status or 
having failed to depart after the expiration of an authorized 
period of stay. This argument misunderstands the historical 
context of Section 2 of the 14th Amendment, which altered the 
prior Constitutional practice of counting enslaved individuals 
as partial persons. The phrase ``whole number of persons'' was 
specifically enacted to make clear that the drafters rejected 
counting individuals as partial persons as had been done since 
the Constitution directed the first enumeration and 
apportionment with respect to individuals who were 
enslaved.\16\ Thus, ``whole number of persons'' clearly 
signifies that an individual who counts for purposes of 
apportionment counts in their entirety. However, it does not in 
any way signify that any person taking up residence in a state 
must be counted for purpose of apportionment, and certainly not 
that noncitizens must be included in the apportionment base.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \16\U.S. Constitution, Article I, Sec. 2, cl. 3 (``Representatives 
and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which 
may be included within this Union, according to their respective 
Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of 
free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and 
excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons . . 
.'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The minority also argues that court decisions dictate that 
any individual, including an illegal alien, who takes up 
residence in a state must be included in that state's 
population for purposes of apportionment of representation. 
This is also incorrect. The Supreme Court specifically declined 
in late 2020 to rule on the issue of whether the President 
could unilaterally, under existing statutes, exclude unlawful 
aliens from the apportionment base.\17\ In this case, it is 
Congress acting well within its authority to legislate under 
its authority in Section 5 of the 14th Amendment to amend the 
implementing statutes governing the implementation of Section 
2. Moreover, there is no constitutional impediment. Even the 
dissent in that case, which would have substantively ruled on 
the merits of the issue, took care to ``avoid the 
constitutional dispute and resolve this case on the statutory 
question alone'' and that ``. . . the question is the meaning 
of the statute enacted in 1929.''\18\ H.R. 7109 amends that 
very statute to explicitly exclude noncitizens from the 
apportionment base.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \17\Trump v. New York, 592 U.S. ___ (2020).
    \18\Id. (Bryer, J., dissenting).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Finally, it should be noted that the framers very clearly 
envisioned a President who would enforce the laws, and did not 
contemplate a President who so undermined the rule of law that 
the ``one person, one vote'' principle would be undermined 
through his actions. It is explicitly written in Article II, 
Section 3 of the Constitution that ``. . . he shall take Care 
that the Laws be faithfully executed . . .''.\19\ President 
Biden has failed to faithfully execute the laws of the United 
States, including various provisions of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act, and by his actions has undermined border 
security, national security, and created a dangerous and 
lawless environment at the border and throughout the United 
States. In addition to failing to enforce the law against 
millions of illegal aliens, President Biden has abused limited 
statutory authority to parole into the country inadmissible 
aliens--for significant public benefit or urgent humanitarian 
reasons--millions of illegal aliens who will take up residence 
in the United States. Absent the passage of H.R. 7109 into law, 
these millions of illegal aliens will be counted for purposes 
of apportionment, erode the ``one person, one vote'' principle, 
and reward a President who has placed illegal aliens and desire 
for a politically strategic advantage for his party in the 
electoral college over his constitutional duty to take care to 
faithfully execute the laws of the United States. By passing 
H.R. 7109, representation will be returned to the citizens of 
the United States.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \19\U.S. Constitution, Article II, Sec. 3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Short title

    The short title is the ``Equal Representation Act''

Section 2. Citizenship status on decennial census

    Subsection (a) amends Section 114 of title 13, U.S. Code to 
direct the Secretary of Commerce to include on the 2030 
decennial census questionnaire (and for any subsequent census) 
a question for the respondent to indicate for the respondent 
and each member of the household, whether that individual is a 
citizen of the United States. It also directs the Secretary of 
Commerce to publish the number of individuals per State, 
disaggregated by citizens of the United States and noncitizens, 
within 120 days of completing each decennial census.

Section 3. Exclusion of noncitizens from number of persons used to 
        determine apportionment of representatives and number of 
        electoral votes

    Subsection (a) amends section 2a(a) of title 2, U.S. Code 
(Reapportionment of Representatives), to require the President 
to transmit to Congress a statement showing the whole number of 
persons in each State and the number of Representatives to 
which each State would be entitled under apportionment, to 
exclude ``individuals who are not citizens of the United 
States'' from such apportionment.
    Subsection (b) states that the amendment made by subsection 
(a) shall apply with respect to the apportionment of 
Representatives carried out pursuant to the decennial census 
conducted during 2030 and any succeeding decennial census.

Section 4. Severability clause

    States if any provision of this Act or amendment made by 
this Act, or the application thereof to any person or 
circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of 
the provisions of this Act and amendments made by this Act, and 
the application of the provision or amendment to any other 
person or circumstance, shall not be affected.

                          Legislative History

    H.R. 7109, the Equal Representation Act, was introduced on 
January 29, 2024, by Representative Chuck Edwards. The 
following Representatives are cosponsors of the bill: Warren 
Davidson (R-OH), Andrew Ogles, (R-TN), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), 
Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Russell Fry (R-SC), Glenn Grothman (R-WI), 
Scott DesJarlais (R-TN), William Timmons (R-SC), Keith Self (R-
TX), John R. Curtis (R-UT), Mary Miller (R-IL), Bill Posey (R-
FL), Aaron Bean (R-FL), Barry Moore (R-AL), John W. Rose (R-
TN), Laurel M. Lee (R-FL), Randy K. Weber (R-TX), Debbie Lesko 
(R-AZ), Mike Collins (R-GA), Garret Graves (R-LA), Brian Babin 
(R-TX), Alexander X. Mooney (R-WV), Carol D. Miller (R-WV), 
Charles J. ``Chuck'' Fleischmann (R-TN), August Pfluger (R-TX), 
Thomas P. Tiffany (R-WI), Kevin Hern (R-OK), Brad Finstad (R-
MN), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Tony Gonzales (R-TX), Randy Feenstra 
(R-IA), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Kat Cammack (R-FL), Ben Cline (R-
VA), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Cory Mills (R-FL), Mike Bost (R-IL), 
Jim Banks (R-IN), Dale Strong (R-AL), Eric Burlison (R-MO), 
Erin Houchin (R-IN), Dan Bishop (R-NC), Michael Guest (R-MS), 
Robert E. Latta (R-OH), Richard McCormick (R-GA), Andy Biggs 
(R-AZ), Elijah Crane (R-AZ), Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), David 
Rouzer (R-NC), Pete Sessions (R-TX), Ralph Norman (R-SC), John 
R. Carter (R-TX), Lance Gooden (R-TX), Stephanie Bice (R-OK), 
John R. Moolenaar (R-MI), Troy Balderson (R-OH), Scott 
Fitzgerald (R-WI), Bruce Westerman (R-AR), Jim Jordan (R-OH), 
Roger Williams (R-TX), Troy E. Nehls (R-TX), Doug Lamborn (R-
CO), Rudy Yakym (R-IN), Josh Brecheen (R-OK), Tracey Mann (R-
KS), Mike Garcia (R-CA), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Rick W. 
Allen (R-GA), Nathaniel Moran (R-TX), Scott C. Franklin (R-FL), 
Pat Fallon (R-TX), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), Larry Bucshon (R-IN), 
Bob Good (R-VA), Clay Higgins (R-LA), Max L. Miller (R-OH), 
Lisa C. McClain (R-MI), Harriet M. Hageman (R-WY), Sam Graves 
(R-MO), Gary Palmer (R-AL), Adrian Smith (R-NE), Nicholas A. 
Langworthy (R-NY), Mike Flood (R-NE), Diana Harshbarger (R-TN), 
Andrew S. Clyde (R-GA), Brad R. Wenstrup (R-OH), Mark E. Green 
(R-TN), Ann Wagner (R-MO), Michelle Fischbach (R-MN), Byron 
Donalds (R-FL), W. Gregory Steube (R-FL), Lauren Boebert (R-
CO), Daniel Meuser (R-PA), Wesley Hunt (R-TX), Neal P. Dunn (R-
FL), Matthew M. Rosendale (R-MT), Nancy Mace (R-SC), Michael 
Cloud (R-TX), Ron Estes (R-KS), Ronny Jackson (R-TX), Burgess 
Owens (R-UT), James Comer (R-KY), Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Steve 
Scalise (R-LA), Chip Roy (R-TX), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), Anthony 
D'Esposito (R-NY), Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), Andy Barr (R-KY), 
Andy Harris (R-MD), Jake LaTurner (R-KS), Bryan Steil (R-WI), 
and Darin LaHood (R-IL). The bill was referred to the Committee 
on Oversight and Accountability. The Committee on Oversight and 
Accountability held a legislative hearing on January 17, 2024. 
The Committee considered H.R. 7109 at a business meeting on 
April 10, 2024, and ordered the bill as amended favorably 
reported by a recorded vote.

                        Committee Consideration

    On April 10, 2024, the Committee met in open session and 
ordered the bill, H.R. 7109, favorably reported with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute, by a roll call vote of 
22-20, a quorum being present.

                            Roll Call Votes

    In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, the following roll call vote 
occurred during the Committee's consideration of H.R. 7109:
    The roll call vote was on final passage of H.R. 7109. The 
bill was agreed to in a recorded vote of 22-20.


                       Explanation of Amendments

    During Committee consideration of the bill, Representative 
James Comer (R-KY), Chairman of the Committee, offered an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute that would make certain 
technical changes to the bill. The amendment in the nature of a 
substitute passed by voice vote.

                   List of Related Committee Hearings

    In accordance with House rule XIII, clause 3(c)(6), (1) The 
following hearing was used to develop or consider H.R. 7109:
    On January 17, 2024, the Committee held a hearing titled 
``The Biden Administration's Regulatory and Policymaking 
Efforts to Undermine U.S. Immigration Law'' with Mr. David 
Bier, Associate Director of Immigration Studies, Cato 
Institute; Mr. Joseph Edlow, Former Acting Director and Chief 
Counsel, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Founder, 
Edlow Group LLC; and Mr. Tom Homan, Former Acting Director, 
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
    (2) The following related hearing was held:
    On February 7, 2023, the Committee held a hearing titled 
``On The Front Lines of the Border Crisis: A Hearing with Chief 
Patrol Agents'' with Ms. Gloria Chavez, Chief Patrol Agent, 
U.S. Border Patrol Rio Grande Valley Sector; and Mr. John 
Modlin, Chief Patrol Agent, U.S. Border Patrol Tucson Sector.
    (3) The following related hearing was held:
    On March 8, 2023, the Subcommittee on National Security, 
the Border, and Foreign Affairs held a hearing titled ``Force 
Multipliers: Examining the Need for Additional Resources to 
Disrupt Transnational Crime at the Border and Beyond'' with Ms. 
Diane Sabatino, Deputy Executive Assistant Commissioner, Office 
of Field Operations/U.S. Customs and Border Patrol; and Mr. 
Anthony Salisbury, Deputy Executive Associate Director, 
Homeland Security Investigations/U.S. Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement.
    (4) The following related hearing was held:
    On June 6, 2023, the Subcommittee on National Security, the 
Border, and Foreign Affairs held a hearing titled ``Help 
Wanted: Law Enforcement Staffing Challenges at the Border'' 
with The Honorable Joseph Cuffari, Inspector General, 
Department of Homeland Security.
    (5) The following related hearing was held:
    On August 8, 2023, the Subcommittee on National Security, 
the Border, and Foreign Affairs held a joint field hearing 
titled ``Biden's Border Crisis and its Effect on American 
Communities'' with Mr. Andrew ``Art'' Arthur, Resident Fellow 
in Law and Policy, Center for Immigration Studies; Mr. Mark 
Dannels, Sheriff, Cochise County; and Mr. John W. Ladd, 
Rancher.
    (6) The following related hearing was held:
    On February 15, 2024, the Subcommittee on National 
Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs held a hearing titled 
``The Consequences of Catch and Release at the Border'' with 
Mr. Jason Houser, Former Chief of Staff, U.S. Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement; Mr. Matt O'Brien, Director of 
Investigations, Immigration Reform Law Institute; and Ms. 
Jessica Vaughan, Director of Policy Studies, Center for 
Immigration Studies.

  Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the Committee

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause 
(2)(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives, the Committee's oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the Background and Need for 
Legislation section above.

         Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives

    In accordance with clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee's performance 
goals or objectives of this bill are to amend Title 13, U.S. 
Code to add a citizenship inquiry to the decennial census and 
exclude noncitizens from the apportionment base.

              Application of Law to the Legislative Branch

    Section 102(b)(3) of Public Law 104-1 requires a 
description of the application of this bill to the legislative 
branch where the bill relates to the terms and conditions of 
employment or access to public services and accommodations. 
This bill does not relate to employment or access to public 
services and accommodations in the legislative branch.

                    Duplication of Federal Programs

    In accordance with clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII no provision 
of this bill establishes or reauthorizes a program of the 
Federal Government known to be duplicative of another Federal 
program, a program that was included in any report from the 
Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to 
section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program related to a 
program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal 
Domestic Assistance.

                  Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings

    This bill does not direct the completion of any specific 
rule makings within the meaning of section 551 of title 5, 
U.S.C.

                Federal Advisory Committee Act Statement

    The Committee finds that this legislation does not direct 
the establishment of advisory committees within the definition 
of Section 5(b) of the appendix to title 5, U.S.C.

                 Unfunded Mandates Reform Act Statement

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal 
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act.

                         Earmark Identification

    This bill does not include any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9 of rule XXI of the House of Representatives.

                        Committee Cost Estimate

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII, the Committee 
adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared by the Director of 
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. At the time this report was 
filed, the estimate was not available.

   New Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII, the Committee 
finds that H.R. 7109 would result in no new or increased budget 
authority.
    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the House of 
Representatives, at the time this report was filed, the cost 
estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974 was not available.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    The requirements of clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives apply to H.R. 7109.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italics, and existing law in which no 
change is proposed is shown in roman):

                      TITLE 13, UNITED STATES CODE




           *       *       *       *       *       *       *
CHAPTER 5--CENSUSES

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



          SUBCHAPTER II--POPULATION, HOUSING, AND UNEMPLOYMENT


Sec. 141. Population and other census information

  (a) The Secretary shall, in the year 1980 and every 10 years 
thereafter, take a decennial census of population as of the 
first day of April of such year, which date shall be known as 
the ``decennial census date'', in such form and content as he 
may determine, including the use of sampling procedures and 
special surveys. In connection with any such census, the 
Secretary is authorized to obtain such other census information 
as necessary.
  (b) The tabulation of total population by States under 
subsection (a) of this section as required for the 
apportionment of Representatives in Congress among the several 
States shall be completed within 9 months after the census date 
and reported by the Secretary to the President of the United 
States.
  (c) The officers or public bodies having initial 
responsibility for the legislative apportionment or districting 
of each State may, not later than 3 years before the decennial 
census date, submit to the Secretary a plan identifying the 
geographic areas for which specific tabulations of population 
are desired. Each such plan shall be developed in accordance 
with criteria established by the Secretary, which he shall 
furnish to such officers or public bodies not later than April 
1 of the fourth year preceding the decennial census date. Such 
criteria shall include requirements which assure that such plan 
shall be developed in a nonpartisan manner. Should the 
Secretary find that a plan submitted by such officers or public 
bodies does not meet the criteria established by him, he shall 
consult to the extent necessary with such officers or public 
bodies in order to achieve the alterations in such plan that he 
deems necessary to bring it into accord with such criteria. Any 
issues with respect to such plan remaining unresolved after 
such consultation shall be resolved by the Secretary, and in 
all cases he shall have final authority for determining the 
geographic format of such plan. Tabulations of population for 
the areas identified in any plan approved by the Secretary 
shall be completed by him as expeditiously as possible after 
the decennial census date and reported to the Governor of the 
State involved and to the officers or public bodies having 
responsibility for legislative apportionment or districting of 
such State, except that such tabulations of population of each 
State requesting a tabulation plan, and basic tabulations of 
population of each other State, shall, in any event, be 
completed, reported, and transmitted to each respective State 
within one year after the decennial census date.
  (d) Without regard to subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this 
section, the Secretary, in the year 1985 and every 10 years 
thereafter, shall conduct a mid-decade census of population in 
such form and content as he may determine, including the use of 
sampling procedures and special surveys, taking into account 
the extent to which information to be obtained from such census 
will serve in lieu of information collected annually or less 
frequently in surveys or other statistical studies. The census 
shall be taken as of the first day of April of each such year, 
which date shall be known as the ``mid-decade census date''.
  (e)(1) If--
          (A) in the administration of any program established 
        by or under Federal law which provides benefits to 
        State or local governments or to other recipients, 
        eligibility for or the amount of such benefits would 
        (without regard to this paragraph) be determined by 
        taking into account data obtained in the most recent 
        decennial census, and
          (B) comparable data is obtained in a mid-decade 
        census conducted after such decennial census,
then in the determination of such eligibility or amount of 
benefits the most recent data available from either the mid-
decade or decennial census shall be used.
  (2) Information obtained in any mid-decade census shall not 
be used for apportionment of Representatives in Congress among 
the several States, nor shall such information be used in 
prescribing congressional districts.
  (f) With respect to each decennial and mid-decade census 
conducted under subsection (a) or (d) of this section, the 
Secretary shall submit to the committees of Congress having 
legislative jurisdiction over the census--
          (1) not later than 3 years before the appropriate 
        census date, a report containing the Secretary's 
        determination of the subjects proposed to be included, 
        and the types of information to be compiled, in such 
        census;
          (2) not later than 2 years before the appropriate 
        census date, a report containing the Secretary's 
        determination of the questions proposed to be included 
        in such census; and
          (3) after submission of a report under paragraph (1) 
        or (2) of this subsection and before the appropriate 
        census date, if the Secretary finds new circumstances 
        exist which necessitate that the subjects, types of 
        information, or questions contained in reports so 
        submitted be modified, a report containing the 
        Secretary's determination of the subjects, types of 
        information, or questions as proposed to be modified.
  (g)(1) In conducting the 2030 decennial census and each 
decennial census thereafter, the Secretary shall include in any 
questionnaire distributed or otherwise used for the purpose of 
determining the total population by States a checkbox or other 
similar option for the respondent to indicate, for the 
respondent and for each of the members of the household of the 
respondent, whether that individual is a citizen of the United 
States.
  (2) Not later than 120 days after completion of a decennial 
census of the population under subsection (a), the Secretary 
shall make publicly available the number of individuals per 
State, disaggregated by citizens of the United States and 
noncitizens, as tabulated in accordance with this section.
  [(g)] (h) As used in this section, ``census of population'' 
means a census of population, housing, and matters relating to 
population and housing.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

                              ----------                              


                          ACT OF JUNE 18, 1929

                           (Public Law 71-28)

 AN ACT To provide for the fifteenth and subsequent decennial censuses 
    and to provide for apportionment of Representatives in Congress.



           *       *       *       *       *       *       *
  Sec. 22. (a) On the first day, or within one week thereafter, 
of the first regular session of the Eighty-second Congress and 
of each fifth Congress thereafter, the President shall transmit 
to the Congress a statement showing the whole number of persons 
in each State, excluding Indians not taxed and individuals who 
are not citizens of the United States, as ascertained under the 
seventeenth and each subsequent decennial census of the 
population, and the number of Representatives to which each 
State would be entitled under an apportionment of the then 
existing number of Representatives by the method known as the 
method of equal proportions, no State to receive less than one 
Member.
  (b) Each State shall be entitled, in the Eighty-third 
Congress and in each Congress thereafter until the taking 
effect of a reapportionment under this section or subsequent 
statute, to the number of Representatives shown in the 
statement required by subsection (a) of this section no State 
to receive less than one Member. It shall be the duty of the 
Clerk of the House of Representatives, within fifteen calendar 
days after the receipt of such statement, to send to the 
executive of each State a certificate of the number of 
Representatives to which such State is entitled under this 
section. In case of a vacancy in the office of Clerk, or of his 
absence or inability to discharge this duty, then such duty 
shall devolve upon the Sergeant at Arms of the House of 
Representatives.
  (c) Until a State is redistricted in the manner provided by 
the law thereof after any apportionment, the Representatives to 
which such State is entitled under such apportionment shall be 
elected in the following manner: (1) If there is no change in 
the number of Representatives, they shall be elected from the 
districts then prescribed by the law of such State, and if any 
of them are elected from the State at large they shall continue 
to be so elected; (2) if there is an increase in the number of 
Representatives, such additional Representatives or 
Representatives shall be elected from the State at large and 
the other Representatives from the districts then prescribed by 
the law of such State; (3) if there is a decrease in the number 
of Representatives but the number of districts in such State is 
equal to such decreased number of Representatives, they shall 
be elected from the districts then prescribed by the law of 
such State; (4) if there is a decrease in the number of 
Representatives but the number of districts in such State is 
less than such number of Representatives, the number of 
Representatives by which such number of districts is exceeded 
shall be elected from the State at large and the other 
Representatives from the districts then prescribed by the law 
of such State; or (5) if there is a decrease in the number of 
Representatives and the number of districts in such State 
exceeds such decreased number of Representatives, they shall be 
elected from the State at large.

                             MINORITY VIEWS

    Ex-President Trump already tried to include a citizenship 
question on the decennial census in 2020, and the effort failed 
both administratively and legislatively--for obvious reasons. 
Section 2 of the 14th Amendment states that Apportionment of 
seats in the House of Representatives is based on a count of 
``the whole number of persons in each State,''--persons is the 
all-encompassing category larger than citizens or voters, a 
point made clearly and emphatically by the Supreme Court in its 
2016 decision in Evenwel v. Abbott.
    Like this legislation itself, Evenwel involved a challenge 
to congressional apportionment based on a total count of the 
entire population instead of a total count of the voter 
population. But Justice Ginsburg held for a unanimous Court 
that Section 2 of the 14th Amendment ``retained total 
population as the congressional apportionment base.'' She cited 
the speech made by Senator Jacob Howard upon introduction of 
Section 2 of the 14th Amendment:

    The basis of representation is numbers . . . ; . . . . The 
committee adopted numbers as the most just and satisfactory 
basis, and this is the principle upon which the Constitution 
itself was originally framed, that the basis of representation 
should depend upon numbers; and such, I think, after all, is 
the safest and most secure principle upon which the Government 
can rest. Numbers, not voters; numbers, not property; this is 
the theory of the Constitution.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Congressional Globe, 39th Cong., 1st Sess., pp. 2766-2767 (1866) 
(online at https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/
ampage?collId=llcg&fileName=072/llcg072.db&recNum=848).

    Justice Ginsburg cited much decisive legislative authority 
like this, including the floor statement of Representative 
James G. Blaine, who stated that ``no one will deny that 
population is the true basis of representation; for women, 
children, and other non-voting classes may have as vital an 
interest in the legislation of the country as those who 
actually deposit the ballot.''\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\Evenwel v. Abbott, 578 US ___ (2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The plain reading of the text is clear as day, and the 
original purposes have been carefully articulated and never 
rebutted. For those who like to follow precedent, every 
apportionment since 1790 has included every single person 
residing in the United States, not just those lucky enough to 
have been given the right to vote. As the Evenwel Court noted, 
the 14th Amendment contemplates that ``representatives serve 
all residents, not just those eligible to vote.''\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    This month the Census Bureau released a report that 
estimated the number of foreign-born residents in the United 
States is 46 million. Fifty-three percent of those residents 
are naturalized. That means this bill would leave more than 20 
million U.S. residents uncounted and ignored. A population that 
has a higher labor force participation rate than the native-
born population. These people are paying taxes and contributing 
to the economic well-being of the nation. It is unacceptable 
that these individuals should not be represented.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\U.S. Census Bureau, The Foreign-Born Population in the United 
States: 2022 (Apr. 2024) (online at www2.census.gov/library/
publications/2024/demo/acsbr-019.pdf).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The constitutional meaning is indisputable, a point which 
settles this for those who want to follow the Constitution's 
plain text and original public meaning today. This bill will 
never pass the Senate or get signed by the President and is an 
insult to the great Radical Republicans who wrote the 14th 
Amendment. Their party was a pro-freedom, pro-Union, pro-
immigrant party.
    The census is essential to democracy. Just as the Framers 
endorsed Thomas Paine's Common Sense, they also endorsed a 
common census. But this bill would destroy the accuracy of the 
census, which may have something to do with the actual 
legislative purpose. In the 2010 Census, the undercount of 
Hispanics was 1.4%. In 2020 that number grew to 5%. Many 
observers credit that increase to the Trump Administration's 
attempt to add a citizenship question to the census and all of 
the intense publicity and rumor surrounding that attempt.
    The addition of a question about citizenship will deter 
many immigrants--not only the undocumented but persons with 
green cards or other forms of lawful status--from completing 
the census. Many non-citizen immigrants who are seeking asylum 
or are refugees will avoid responding because of uncertainty 
over their status and fear of arbitrary law enforcement action.
    Extensive research over the last decade shows that many 
residents wrongly believe the Census Bureau shares personal 
responses with other federal agencies. It does not, and Census 
Bureau employees take an oath to protect the confidentiality of 
personal information. Federal law prohibits the sharing of 
personal information in this way, but that pervasive worry has 
prevented some individuals from answering questions about 
immigration status or responding to the census at all.
    Census data guide the allocation of $2.8 trillion each year 
in federal assistance to states, localities, and families for a 
broad range of vital services. An inaccurate census would skew 
the fair distribution of federal resources for the next decade 
and deprive cities and towns of needed resources for everything 
from roads to hospitals and veterans' care.
    I strongly oppose this legislation, which dishonors our 
Constitution and the values of our nation.
                                              Jamie Raskin,
                                                    Ranking Member.