2.5 years before the next Census begins and there’s trouble around every corner – PB/TK
The 2020 Census is in big trouble – By Bryce Covert l May 10 2017
The Census Bureau now has no leader after John Thompson resigned from his position as director on Tuesday. His resignation comes at a critical time as the agency gears up to conduct the 2020 Census — and was already facing big funding problems.
The Census counts every person in the country, data that is used to allocate government resources to different states and localities, offer insight to businesses deciding on where to invest, and redraw congressional districts. The effects of unreliable or incomplete data could be devastating.
Thompson had been Census director since 2013 and had 27 years of previous experience working in the bureau before that. His term expired at the end of last year but he was given a one-year extension to oversee preparations for the 2020 Census. The kind of experience he brought to the job is considered critical as the bureau gets ready to conduct the count, which is done very ten years; in fact, a 2012 law required longer tenures for the director in an effort to ensure continuity and protect it from political interference.
Continue to thinkprogress.org article: https://thinkprogress.org/census-director-resign-d60cc5a4dd7c
