ORLANDO, Fla. — The decision to shorten by a month the 2020 head count of every U.S. resident was not made by the U.S. Census Bureau, and some agency officials suspect it was made by the White House or the Department of Commerce, according to a report from the bureau’s watchdog agency.
The report by the Office of Inspector General did not identify who made the decision to shorten the 2020 census from the end of October to the end of September, but it said bureau officials confirm it was not made by them.
The accelerated schedule “increases the risks to the accuracy of the 2020 Census,” the Inspector General report said. “This was the consensus view of the senior Bureau officials we interviewed.” Continue reading.