His departure puts into question the future of the 2020 Census, which has enormous consequences for military veterans and Americans who are elderly, poor, or disabled. Information gathered by the census questionnaire and in-person interviews is used for a wide variety of issues, from drawing congressional districts and voting precincts to distributing hundreds of millions of federal dollars for roads, schools, fire departments, and infrastructure investments.
Thompson has been at the center of a funding battle with Congress, which drastically limited the amount of money its providing to carry out the 2020 census. The bureau estimated it would need $17.8 billion to pull it off, but Congress had instructed Thompson to keep the cost the same as last time $12.5 billion even though there are another 15 million-plus people to count.
