That’s why it’s truly key for everyone to be a part of the upcoming 2020 Census, as Lora McClendon, the Chamber’s Chief of Staff, explained. “Participation is important to ensure that decision makers have accurate data upon which to base their decisions. It is also important to ensure that Alabama residents have an accurately proportional amount of representation in Congress,” she said. “If participation is low, and the census does not reflect Alabama’s true population, our representation, and thus the ability to advocate for our state, could suffer.”
And McClendon stressed that this, in turn, could greatly stifle our currently booming economy, including Montgomery’s local economy. “Some public spending is formulaic, meaning that whatever the data is regarding population and demographics, a certain amount of funding will directly result from those numbers. Other types of public spending have certain demographic requirements, like population density or socioeconomic levels. Many people do not fully realize the impact that federal funding has on our communities.”
There are $13 billion of federal money on the line for Alabama, and these funds are affected by the Census. These are just a few of the programs made possible by this money:
- Medical Assistance Program (Medicaid)
- Medicare Part B (supplemental medical insurance)
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
- Head Start
- Title I grants to local education agencies
- Pell Grants and student loans
- Section 8 housing assistance payments and housing choice vouchers
- Highway planning and construction
- Community development block grants
“Federal funding plays a role in education, infrastructure, defense, community service and many other areas critical to our economy. Our state competes every day for these dollars against every other state in the nation. Without adequate participation in the census and an accurate depiction of our current population, Alabama could be put in a losing position against states showing full participation.” - Lora McClendon, Chamber's Chief of Staff
BIG DEAL
“With proper participation, the Census will directly provide $13 billion in funding to our state. This money is used to help improve programs that make cities like Montgomery more prominent and that enhance city economies. For example, businesses are directly impacted by this money in the form of training and job development programs that provide better human resources to the market. This money also affects Montgomery’s roads and bridges — vital resources to its distribution capabilities. But above all, this money works to improve the quality of Montgomery as a whole — which is a key element in attracting new businesses to the city.” - Kenneth Boswell, Director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs and Chairman of the Alabama Counts 2020 Census Committee
