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Pelosi Statement on the Trump Administration’s Decision to Exclude LGBT Data from Census

March 29, 2017

Contact: Ashley Etienne/Caroline Behringer, 202-226-7616

Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi today released this statement after the Trump Administration announced that LGBT Americans would not be counted as a group in the 2020 Census:

"Today, the Trump Administration has decided that LGBT Americans shouldn't count. By excluding LGBT-specific data collection in the 2020 Census, the Trump Administration shows it does not even want to have the information needed to act in the best interest of countless American families.

"This malicious move is just the latest in a string of the Trump Administration's vicious attacks on progress made by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans. Earlier this month, HUD decided not to move forward with an initiative to prevent LGBT youth homelessness – even though LGBT youth have long been disproportionally affected by homelessness – and HHS eliminated from the National Survey of Older Americans a question aimed at determining the unique needs of LGBT seniors, many of whom are forced back into the closet during their twilight years.

"With this latest effort to render LGBT Americans invisible, the Trump Administration once again exposes its disregard for the specific challenges and injustices confronting the LGBT community. While the President and Congressional Republicans pick and choose which Americans count, House Democrats will continue to stand guard to protect the civil rights of all American families."

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Issues:LGBTQ+