Equal Representation Act of 2025
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The bill would add a citizenship checkbox to the 2030 decennial census and all subsequent censuses, and would rewrite the apportionment formula so that only U.S. citizens — not all persons — count toward allocating House seats among the states.
Because Electoral College votes track House seats, the change would also shift electoral influence. States with large noncitizen populations would likely lose House seats and electoral votes relative to the current all-persons count, making this one of the most consequential proposed changes to congressional representation in decades.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would do two main things. First, it would amend federal census law to require a checkbox on any 2030 or later decennial census questionnaire asking whether each household member is a U.S. citizen. Within 120 days of completing a census, the Secretary of Commerce would be required to publish state-level population totals disaggregated by citizens and noncitizens. Second, it would amend the Apportionment Act of 1929 to exclude noncitizens from the presidential statement sent to Congress that determines how many House seats each state receives — a change that would also flow through to Electoral College allocations, which are tied to House seats plus Senate seats.
The bill applies beginning with the 2030 census and does not affect the current apportionment derived from the 2020 census. It includes a severability clause so that if any provision is struck down, the rest of the Act would remain operative.
Key provisions
- 1Would require a citizenship checkbox on any decennial census questionnaire beginning with the 2030 census, covering each household member.
- 2Would require the Secretary of Commerce to publish state population totals disaggregated by citizens and noncitizens within 120 days of census completion.
- 3Would amend the Apportionment Act of 1929 to exclude noncitizens from the count used to allocate House seats among the states.
- 4Would make the apportionment exclusion of noncitizens effective beginning with the 2030 census and all subsequent decennial censuses.
Who would be affected
All U.S. households completing the decennial census would encounter the new citizenship question. States with large noncitizen populations — including California, Texas, New York, and Florida — could lose House seats and Electoral College votes relative to the all-persons baseline. States with smaller noncitizen populations could gain seats. The Department of Commerce and the Census Bureau would bear the operational responsibility for adding the question and publishing disaggregated data.
Why it matters
If enacted, the shift from counting all persons to counting only citizens would redistribute House seats and Electoral College votes beginning after the 2030 census. States with higher concentrations of immigrants and noncitizen residents would have their political representation reduced, while states with predominantly citizen populations would gain relative influence. Participation rates among immigrant communities could also shift if respondents perceive the citizenship question as a risk.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends 13 U.S.C. § 141 (Sec. 2)
Adds a citizenship checkbox to decennial census questionnaires starting in 2030 and requires public release of state-level data by citizenship status.
Amends 2 U.S.C. § 2a(a) (Apportionment Act of 1929) (Sec. 3(a))
Inserts language excluding noncitizens from the state population count used to apportion House seats after each decennial census.
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Citizenship question on census questionnaire begins
- Exclusion of noncitizens from apportionment count takes effect
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates that H.R. 151 would have no effect on direct spending, revenues, or the deficit, but could increase discretionary spending (subject to appropriation) by $50 million to $100 million to conduct the 2030 census.
CBO finds that H.R. 151 — which would require the Census Bureau to add a citizenship question to the 2030 decennial census and exclude noncitizens from House apportionment counts — would have no effect on direct (mandatory) spending or revenues, and would not increase the deficit in any scored period. The bill's costs fall in discretionary spending (funds Congress must separately appropriate), but CBO has no firm basis for estimating them, because the amount depends on whether the Bureau already plans to include a citizenship question and how it responds to any resulting decline in self-response rates. CBO's best estimate is that a citizenship question could raise the nonresponse rate by 1–2 percentage points, requiring $50 million to $100 million in additional follow-up costs if the Bureau pursues nonresponding households as it did in 2020. The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
How implementation would work
The Census Bureau, under the Secretary of Commerce, would redesign the 2030 census questionnaire to include a citizenship checkbox for each household member. After census completion, the Secretary would have 120 days to publish state-level population figures disaggregated by citizenship status. The apportionment statement transmitted to the President — and then to Congress — would use only the citizen count per state to calculate each state's House seat allocation. No new rulemaking timeline is specified beyond those deadlines; enforcement is structural, flowing from the amended statutory formula.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 536.
Official CRS summary
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This bill requires that the statement sent by the President to Congress after the decennial census indicating the number of persons in each state exclude noncitizens. (This statement is the basis for reapportionment of U.S. Representatives.)
The bill also requires any questionnaire used in the decennial census to include a checkbox or other similar option for respondents to indicate whether the respondent and each household member is (1) a U.S. citizen, (2) a U.S. national but not a citizen, (3) a non-U.S. national (alien under federal law) lawfully residing in the United States, or (4) a non-U.S. national unlawfully residing in the United States.
The Department of Commerce must make public the number of persons in each state, disaggregated by each of these four categories.
Legislative subjects
Census and government statistics; Citizenship and naturalization; Congressional districts and representation; Government Operations and Politics; Government information and archives; Immigration status and procedures
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-619