The U.S. Senate today unanimously passed consent to an amendment first introduced by Senator Rand Paul to the National Defense Authorization Act.

The amendment calls for military service members deployed overseas to be counted in the U.S. Census by listing their residence at their last duty station.

Under the Census Bureau’s current method of counting, family members are counted at the base and not the deployed service member.

Senator Paul was quoted as saying that the passage of his amendment today ensures the appropriate representation and resources are provided to the communities of our service members in Kentucky – and across the country –  who have given so much for our country and should be recognized in the communities they live in.

This legislation will have no effect on a service member’s tax, residence, or voting status; it will only affect counting for census purposes.
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