Every 10 years when the Census is taken, seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are re-apportioned according to a state s population. If a state loses population or doesn t grow as quickly as other states, it can lose congressional seats. If we lose a congressional seat, that won t just hurt businesses but everyone in Mississippi, Jamison said. If we get a good count, we will retain five congressional seats in Washington. We need that power in Washington.
Federal funding is also a big issue.
States, counties and cities that aren t counted properly can lose millions of dollars in federal aid. Since the results are used for 10 years until the next Census, any mistakes are especially costly. When state, county or city governments lose millions in government programs, the whole community is affected, and that hurts businesses. Numbers are everything, says Karen Kagalis, the government partnership specialist for the Census Bureau for the 12 counties in the southern part of the state. Without an accurate Census count, the numbers won t be accurate.