Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 19 March 2020
U.S. Census Bureau suspends field operations on virus concerns

By MIKE SCHNEIDER New York said.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A The decision to suspend
week after starting its 2020 field operations came just
count for most of the U.S., a few days after the Cen-
the Census Bureau on sus Bureau announced it
Wednesday suspended would delay sending out
field operations for two census takers to count stu-
weeks out of concern dents in off-campus hous-
about the health and safe- ing and postpone sending
ty of its workers and the U.S. workers to grocery stores
public from the novel coro- and houses of worship
navirus. where they help people
Census Bureau officials fill out the questionnaire.
said they were continuing The bureau also said the
to monitor all operations deadline for ending the
related to the once-a-de- 2020 census at the end of
cade head count amid July could be adjusted as
the global pandemic. As needed.
of Wednesday, 11 million The 2020 census will help
households had answered determine how many con-
the census questions. gressional seats and Elec-
Most census workers won't toral College votes each
head into the field until state gets, as well as the
May, when they'll knock distribution of $1.5 trillion in
on the doors of homes federal spending. By Dec.
that haven't turned in their In this Aug. 13, 2019, file photo, a worker gets ready to pass out instructions on how to fill out the 31, the Census Bureau is re-
questionnaires. But some 2020 census during a town hall meeting in Lithonia, Ga. quired to give the president
workers are already in the Associated Press counts of state populations
field. They were primarily that are used in apportion-
dropping off paper ques- a history professor at the being mailed out and its couraged to respond to the ment, the process of deter-
tionnaires at places with no University of Wisconsin-Mil- self-response website went 2020 Census online using a mining the number of con-
fixed addresses and large waukee. "We're in unchart- live. The head count offi- desktop computer, laptop, gressional seats each state
numbers of seasonal work- ed territory on the census, cially kicked off in January smartphone, or tablet, and gets.
ers, or preparing for counts as well as everything else in remote Alaska villages can also respond by phone Arturo Vargas, the CEO of
in a few weeks of the home- since last Friday." that are difficult to reach. or mail," the Census Bureau NALEO Educational Fund,
less and people who live in For most people, the new This is the first decennial said in a statement. a Latino advocacy group
group housing such as col- coronavirus causes only census that has encour- In a statement, the chair- active in census outreach
lege dorms, nursing homes mild or moderate symp- aged most people to an- woman of the House Com- efforts, said he supported
and prisons. toms, such as fever and swer the questionnaire mittee on Oversight and the Census Bureau's deci-
The Census Bureau is aiming cough. For some, especial- online, although respon- Reform said lawmakers sion.
to hire as many as 500,000 ly older adults and people dents can also answer by were monitoring the sus- "Right now, the easiest way
workers for the 2020 census, with existing health prob- telephone or mailing back pension of field operations to make sure residents are
and so far has 31,000 work- lems, it can cause more se- a form. The Census Bureau and encouraging people counted is through self-re-
ers on the payroll. vere illness, including pneu- is hoping a strong self-re- to self-respond. sponse online, by phone,
Census historian Margo An- monia. The vast majority of sponse rate will decrease "By responding now, you or by mail," Vargas said.
derson called the move un- people recover from the the need for census takers will ensure that the Census "Emergencies like the CO-
precedented. virus. to knock on doors for face- Bureau does not need to VID-19 pandemic are pre-
"I don't think I've ever heard The 2020 census started for to-face interviews this sum- send a census worker to cisely why our government
of such a suspension, na- most of the U.S. last week mer. your door," Democratic U.S. needs accurate census
tionwide," said Anderson, when notifications started "The public is strongly en- Rep. Carolyn Maloney of data."q

U.S. naval officer sues over military transgender ban

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER administration to serve serve," said Jennifer Levi, they were assigned at The officer has served for
Associated Press openly and to have their transgender rights director birth unless they began a nearly a decade, includ-
BOSTON (AP) — A U.S. na- medical transitions cov- for GLBTQ Legal Advocates transition under less restric- ing two extended tours
val officer who is facing ered in their health bene- and Defenders. tive Obama administration as a surface warfare of-
involuntary discharge be- fits, lawyers said. A Department of Defense rules. ficer, according to her
cause of a policy restricting The officer, a transgender spokeswoman said it is Four other lawsuits seek- complaint. She was diag-
transgender people from woman stationed in Massa- aware of the lawsuit and is ing to overturn the policy nosed with gender dys-
military service has filed a chusetts, is seeking to tran- reviewing the filings. are pending in court and phoria two months after
lawsuit that aims to force sition and serve in the Navy Under the new policy, are expected to go to trial, the policy went into effect
defense officials to allow as a woman, the lawsuit people who have under- but the Supreme Court last in April 2019 and told her
her to continue serving. says. gone gender transition year ruled that the ban commanding officer she is
The federal lawsuit, filed "This is a moment when we are banned from enlisting, could go into effect while transgender shortly after,
Tuesday, is the first legal need all hands on deck, and military members who the cases continued. her lawyers said.
challenge to the policy and there is absolutely no come out as transgender The latest lawsuit only seeks "Lieutenant Doe is now sub-
since rules went into effect justification for discharging and seek a transition face relief for the officer, who is ject to discharge for being
in April 2019 stripping trans- somebody who is continu- discharge. not named in legal docu- who she is, unrelated to her
gender troops of rights they ing to meet all standards Service members must ments to "minimize risk to fitness to serve in the mili-
secured under the Obama and wants to continue to serve under the gender her," her lawyers said. tary," the lawsuit says.q