Title: AMERICA Act
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Authorizing Moderated Enumeration Responses Including Citizenship Acquisition Act or the AMERICA Act
This bill restricts application of the penalty on individuals who refuse or neglect to answer a decennial census question. The penalty shall apply only to individuals who do not answer a question included on the short form regarding household size or citizenship status.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 181 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 181

To amend title 13, United States Code, to provide that the penalty for 
  refusing or neglecting to answer a decennial census question shall 
 apply only to the extent necessary to allow the Government to obtain 
   the information needed for its enumeration of the population, as 
   required by the Constitution of the United States, as well as the 
 enumeration of its citizen and noncitizen populations, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 3, 2019

  Mr. Hunter introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                   Committee on Oversight and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 13, United States Code, to provide that the penalty for 
  refusing or neglecting to answer a decennial census question shall 
 apply only to the extent necessary to allow the Government to obtain 
   the information needed for its enumeration of the population, as 
   required by the Constitution of the United States, as well as the 
 enumeration of its citizen and noncitizen populations, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Authorizing Moderated Enumeration 
Responses Including Citizenship Acquisition Act'' or the ``AMERICA 
Act''.

SEC. 2. LIMITED APPLICABILITY OF CENSUS PENALTY PROVISION.

    (a) In General.--Section 221 of title 13, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d)(1) The penalty under subsection (a) shall not apply to any 
individual who refuses or neglects to answer any question in a 
questionnaire, schedule, or the survey commonly referred to as the 
`American Community Survey' used in connection with any decennial 
census, except to the extent necessary to allow the Government to 
obtain the information needed for the enumeration of--
            ``(A) the population, as required by the Constitution of 
        the United States; and
            ``(B) citizen and noncitizen populations.
    ``(2) For purposes of this subsection, only questions included on a 
decennial census short form regarding enumeration of the household and 
citizenship status shall be considered necessary to permit such an 
enumeration.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
apply with respect to all schedules used in connection with any 
decennial census of population, beginning with the 2020 decennial 
census, including those returned before the date of enactment of this 
Act.
                                 <all>