ALT Dear Chairman Peters and Ranking Member Portman:On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the undersigned organizations, we write to convey our strong support for the nomination of Robert Santos to be director of the U.S. Census Bureau. We urge the committee to report the nomination to the full Senate favorably and promptly. The Leadership Conference, alongside other civil rights organizations, has been engaged in advocacy and outreach in support of the decennial census and other Census Bureau programs for decades. It is important for the bureau to be led by a Senate-confirmed director who can speak with the level of authority needed to build widespread confidence in the results of a difficult and controversial census. Mr. Santos’ deep expertise in survey methodology, his decades of research to inform policies to improve the lives of disadvantaged populations, and his unwavering commitment to a fair and accurate census demonstrate that he is an ideal leader..

ALT Mr. Santos would bring many qualities to the role that would make him a successful Census Bureau director. He has the technical expertise borne of 40 years of experience in data, statistics, and social science research. His leadership and managerial experience can help restore morale and a positive working environment for all employees at the Census Bureau. In addition to currently serving as vice president and chief methodologist at the Urban Institute, Mr. Santos has held executive-level positions at the University of Michigan Survey Research Center and the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. He has also served as president of the American Statistical Association, the American Associationfor Public Opinion Research, and the Washington Statistical Society. Notably, nearly 40 nonpartisan scientific professional and other data user organizations have endorsed Mr. Santos, citing his expertise and strong leadership skills...

ALT (signatories)