Robert Kueppers and Nick Hart on the importance of the Census and what the COVID-19 pandemic means for our national count

April 1, 2020 is Census Day—Americans responding to the once-in-a-decade count will report where they were living on that day. As the Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board outlined in its policy brief, The 2020 Census: The Importance of an Accurate and Robust Accounting of our Nation’s Population, the census is the primary source of data on the nation’s population and economy, used to determine our system of political representation, inform business development and investment, and allocate government funds to where they are most needed. As such, the accuracy of the population count is critical for decision-making in the decade ahead and forms an important basis for trust in the fairness of government. But this year’s Census will face unique and uncertain challenges in the form of a COVID-19 pandemic.

Robert Kueppers, a retired Senior Partner at Deloitte LLP and chair of the Committee for Economic Development of the Conference Board’s Money In Politics Subcommittee, and Nick Hart, President of the Data Foundation, join to discuss why the Census is so important, what challenges it faces in light of the COVID-19 virus, and how employers can help to ensure a successful count.