Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann (TN-03) released the following statement about voting to pass H.R.7109, the Equal Representation Act, which mandates the 2030 census to include a citizenship question and excludes non-citizens and illegal aliens from being counted for Congressional District apportionment in the U.S. House of Representatives and Elector College votes from each state. From 2019- 2023, Congressman Fleischmann served as the top Republican on Homeland Security Appropriations and was responsible for securing record levels of border security funding under former-President Trump. Rep. Fleischmann continues to be a leading border security advocate in Congress.
“Today, I proudly voted to pass the Equal Representation Act, and I am glad to see it pass the House. This is a commonsense bill that protects our nation’s democratic institutions from being influenced by non-citizens and disincentives illegal aliens from making the dangerous journey to enter our country illegally. There is no reason not to ask for an individual’s citizenship status on the census and ban non-citizens and illegals from being counted towards representation in Congress and the federal government. For every illegal immigrant that is counted towards either Congressional District apportionment or the allocation of each state’s Electoral College votes, a legal, law-abiding American citizen is disenfranchised of their God-given right to be properly represented by their elected leaders,” said Congressman Fleischmann.
“Since Joe Biden took office and opened our borders, more than 7.2 million illegals have broken our laws and entered our country – all of whom are currently eligible to be counted towards federal representation. This is unacceptable. We cannot allow illegal aliens to disenfranchise legal American citizens who follow the law and expect their elected institutions to represent them and their families fairly.
“I will not stop working with my colleagues to secure our elections, preserve faith in our democratic institutions, and end the ceaseless cycle of illegal immigration that is flooding America. The Equal Representation Act is a needed step to preserve confidence in our elections and the upcoming 2030 census and restore sanity to our broken immigration system.”
HR 7109 - The Equal Representation Act:
- Requires that the Census Bureau include a citizenship question on any future census to provide a greater understanding of the U.S. population and delineate between citizens and non-citizens for apportionment purposes.
- Prohibits non-citizens from being counted for purposes of congressional district and Electoral College apportionment.
- Requires that the Census Bureau publicly report on certain demographic data.
- Is the House companion bill to S. 3659, the Equal Representation Act, introduced in the Senate by Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty.
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This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://fleischmann.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-fleischmann-votes-to-add-citizenship-question-to-census-and-end-counting-of-illegal-aliens-for-congressional-representation-and-electoral-college-votes