SAN JOSE, CA – On Saturday, March 13, US Representative Michael Honda (CA-15), Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, and California State Assemblymember Warren Furutani, Chair of the California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, are co-organizing statewide press conferences featuring broad coalitions of local, state, and federal elected officials, community leaders to make a call for Asian and Pacific Islander Americans to complete and submit their 2010 Census forms.  

Locations:

Bay Area:

US Rep. Michael Honda (CA-15) joins CA State Assemblymember Paul Fong and other federal, state, and local elected officials, and community-based organizations, in a press conference on Saturday, March 13, at 12:30 p.m., at the Santa Clara Census Office in Santa Clara, CA, at 2901 Tasman Drive, Suite 101 (cross-street: Great America Parkway).  

Los Angeles:

US Rep. Judy Chu (CA-32) joins CA State Assemblyman Warren Furutani in a press conference concurrently scheduled for Los Angeles.

*Additional press conferences planned throughout California.

“Every person who is not counted costs us dearly,” said Rep Honda. “The 2000 census missed more than 522,000 Californians, resulting in a $1.56 billion loss of federal aid over 10 years. Furthermore, door-to-door follow-up costs $100 million for every percentage point of unreturned forms. It is vital to participate. With little time left, we must redouble our efforts so our counts do not fall short.”

The 2010 Census dictates how many representatives a state gets in Congress and where $400 billion in federal spending goes for hospitals, schools, job training, senior centers, public works projects and emergency services. Collecting the information about Americans also means the creation of 1.4 million jobs.

“As Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and appropriator on the Commerce Justice Science committee, which oversees the Census, I have fought to ensure adequate funding for language assistance and media outreach to target hard to count committees, especially among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders,” said Rep Honda. “The need for accurate data is paramount to communities of color because Congress relies on census data to determine federal grants programs to state governments.”

The press conferences will feature language assistance resources, community activities and outreach efforts to ensure the AAPI community has a true representation in the 2010 Census.