White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday she was "not aware of a mass campaign to start fining individuals" who falsely answer questions on the upcoming census in the uproar over plans to add a citizenship question to the 2020 effort.
"The goal is to have data that we can use for specific things," she told reporters at the daily briefing. "We think having accurate data is important.
"I'm not aware of a mass campaign to start fining individuals," she added. "We certainly want people to follow the law."
Title 13 of the U.S. Code imposes fines of up to $100 for refusing to complete a census form and $500 for falsely answering questions.
But the Census Bureau notes the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 effectively increased these minimum fines to $5,000.
The Commerce Department said Monday it would include a citizenship question in the 2020 census, prompting widespread criticism by Democrats and lawsuits by New York, California and several other states challenging the action.
"Whether it's the Census or anything else, people should follow the law," Sanders said, "and the law should be enforced."
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