IRVINE – Congresswoman Katie Porter (CA-45) today held a roundtable with federal, state, and local entities and with community groups to coordinate efforts to ensure a fair count of Orange County residents in the 2020 census.

“We need all hands on deck to make sure everyone is counted in Orange County,” Congresswoman Porter said. “I was glad to see so many community leaders come together to work toward a shared goal of a fair and complete count in the 45^th District and across our region. Making sure we don’t have undercounting in the 2020 census is key to making sure our communities get the resources they need from the federal government.”

The federal government uses census data to administer federal funds to local communities, and historically, California has been undercounted in the census, decreasing the amount of money the state could get from the federal government. The Congresswoman’s roundtable explored what could be done to ensure that hard-to-count populations, including communities of color, older adults, and people experiencing homelessness, are included in the census count.

Participating in the roundtable were the U.S. Census Bureau, California Complete Count, the City of Irvine, the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance (OCAPICA), the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, Orange County United Way, and other community groups.

Congresswoman Porter has been a leader in efforts to make sure underserved communities get the resources they need. Earlier this year, she had an amendment adopted by the House of Representatives that would gather data on state enrollment figures for the Affordable Care Act, helping Congress understand what populations require additional services to improve enrollment access.

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