Last month, Capital Tonight spoke with census expert Jeff Wice who said that current projections indicate that New York state may lose two more congressional seats in the next census. 

But that’s only part of the story.

The other, more urgent issue is legislation that’s moving through Congress that would add a citizenship question on the census form, as well as change how congressional representation is determined, suggesting it should be based solely on U.S. citizens rather than the total population.

While that may sound reasonable, keep in mind that non-citizens, those here legally and not, use roads, hospitals and schools — infrastructure that requires federal funding based on the census count. 

If the congressional legislation passes, New York is projected to lose four congressional seats. 

State Sen. Jeremy Cooney, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, joined Capital Tonight to discuss his state legislation establishing a census counts commission.