Okay, so, Hansi, you've been covering the 2020 census for how long now?

Two years full time.

You said you stand the 2020 census.

I think everyone should stand the 2020 census.

Hansi Lowong is a reporter for NPR.

These are numbers that are going to affect everyone's lives in the U.S. for the next 10 years.

This determines how many congressional seats like total college votes each day gets,

if that's too wonky for you.

This is about how money federal tax dollars are distributed to local communities for schools, for roads, for Medicare, for you. This is about how money, federal tax dollars, are distributed to local communities for

schools, for roads, for Medicare, for Medicaid.

Name of public service.

It's likely, funding for it is likely

guided by census numbers. And so

this is a really important data set

that really sets up the reality

that all of us have to live

under in the U.S. until 2030.

This week, the census went to the Supreme Court. That meant Hansi did, too. Lawyers were arguing over

just seven words that the Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, wants to add to the questionnaire.

Is this person a citizen of the United States?

This has been kind of a nightmare scenario of a citizenship question being added to the 2020 census.

A lot of folks within the kind of Census Watcher community have been very, very concerned because this is long known to be a very sensitive

...