Census ready to study combining race, ethnicity questions

By MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press
U.S. Census Bureau officials say they are ready to start examining changes that would combine race and ethnic questions and add a Middle Eastern and North African category on the 2030 census questionnaire. But they’re waiting on another federal office to start the conversation. That office is the White House Office of Management and Budget, which sets the definitions on race and ethnic background for all federal agencies. If the proposals are adopted eventually for the 2030 census, they would mark one of the biggest changes to the census questionnaire in recent years.