Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., who oversees funding for the Census Bureau, on Tuesday said he would block funding to reprint the 2020 census if the Trump administration attempts to add a contentious citizenship question.
"As Chairman of the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee, I want to make one thing clear: I have no intention of allowing this flagrant waste of money," Serrano said in a statement.
"I once again urge the Trump administration to give up this fight and allow for a depoliticized and accurate census, as we always have."
The Supreme Court on June 27 ruled the citizenship question could not be included, saying administration officials had given a "contrived" rationale for including it. But the court left open the possibility the administration could offer a plausible rationale.
President Donald Trump last week said he was considering issuing an executive order in an effort to add the question, and the Justice Department on Sunday said it was swapping its legal team in its efforts to add the question.
Serrano said adding the question could potentially "cost hundreds of millions of additional taxpayer dollars, in addition to untold millions of dollars for additional non-response follow-up resources next year."
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