Washington, DC--After weeks of organizing against the Vitter-Bennett amendment with the Don't Wreck the Census campaign, today the Senate voted for cloture, 60-39, on the Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill. The vote puts to rest a divisive amendment proposed by Senators David Vitter (LA-R) and Bob Bennett (UT-R) that would have added a new question on citizenship and immigration status to the 2010 census. In response, SEIU Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina issued the following statement:

Today U.S. Senators put working families ahead of the politics of division and hatred. Joining a chorus of former U.S. Census Directors and advocacy leaders, the Senate voted down Senators Vitter and Bennett's misguided attempt to undercut 2010 enumeration efforts and mar this critical process with hateful, anti-immigrant politics.

"The Senate's move to protect the 2010 Census will help ensure we achieve an accurate count of our nation's diverse population--protecting billions of dollars in federal funding for local communities and ensuring reapportionment is based on a factual representation of who we are as a nation.

"As we approach the March, 2010 launch of the U.S. Census, SEIU will continue our efforts to support an accurate, timely count of Latinos and other traditionally undercounted communities. When entire communities are left out of decisions about allocation of federal funds, all working people suffer. When Latino and immigrant communities are left out of political redistricting conversations, our democracy suffers."

Background:

Held every 10 years, the U.S. Census determines Congressional reapportionment and political representation in State Legislatures and hundreds of legislative bodies at the local level. It also decides the allocation of more than $400 billion in Federal funds annually to communities annually--including funds for Medicaid, voter protection, SCHIP, childcare, early child education, school lunch, and other vital services.

The Don't Wreck the Census Campaign - http://dontwreckthecensus.org - is a project of SEIU, Center for American Progress, the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), the New Democrat Network (NDN) and countless other civil rights groups to protect the U.S. Census and raise awareness about the benefits of a full, accurate Census count in 2010. Since launching, the campaign helped drive thousands of letters and calls to the Senate, urging them to block the divisive Vitter-Bennett amendment.

Currently, SEIU is also an active partner in the ya es hora !HAGASE CONTAR! campaign--an effort to fully count U.S. Latinos in the 2010 Census. Click here or contact Ali.Jost@seiu.org to learn more.

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