Gary Peters

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Gary Peters, D-MI, and Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, issued a statement following the Census Bureau’s announcement to cancel critical testing for the 2030 Census, according to a press release on Tuesday.

“I am alarmed by the Census Bureau’s announcement that it will significantly cut testing for the 2030 Census,” Peters said in the statement. “These tests provide critical information to ensure the Census Bureau is accurately counting every person and cutting the test risks an incomplete count in the 2030 Census.”

Peters explained that he believes communities across the nation depend on “a full and accurate census to ensure communities receive their fair share of federal resources for schools, health care, infrastructure, and public safety.”

“When the Census Bureau doesn’t accurately count people, the communities most in need lose out on critical resources,” he added.

“I have long pushed the Census Bureau to conduct robust testing of strategies to reach historically undercounted communities to ensure that every person gets counted,” Peters said. ” I urge the Census Bureau to reverse its decision and conduct the 2026 Census Test with all six of the communities as planned.”

According to the release, the Census Bureau’s announcement that it would cancel the 2026 Census Test sites arrives just months before the test is scheduled to be conducted. Hiring and outreach has already begun.

Peters claimed that the cancellation will “waste taxpayer dollars and could undermine the 2030 Census.”

The release stated that the test sites were specifically chosen following the 2020 Census to cover areas that the Census Bureau struggled to accurately count in the past, including urban and rural communities, military bases, and Indian reservations.

“The Census Bureau made this decision to cancel testing without the input of Congress or the very communities where these tests were scheduled to occur,” Peters’ release stated.

In the run-up to the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau cancelled dozens of tests, including testing operational strategies in rural sites, areas with military bases, and Tribal lands, according to the release.