 I'm Secretary of Commerce Gina Ramondo. I'm thrilled to participate in the release of the 1950 Census by the National Archives. The Census Bureau has always been an essential part of the Commerce Department. In addition to being used to redraw electoral districts, the Census informs decisions about allocating hundreds of billions of federal dollars to communities all across the country for hospitals, fire departments, schools, roads, and other critical services. Historical records like these from 1950 also give us insight into how Americans lived and worked in the past and how we've evolved. The 1950 Census came at a time of great change in the wake of the Second World War and at the beginning of the baby boom. Home ownership increased 55 percent over the decades since 1940, and the percentage of houses with electricity increased from 79 percent to 94 percent. By 1950, 96 percent of homes had a radio, and over 5 million had a television. And just as in 1950, the Census remains a vital source of information about the American people. One of my first actions as Commerce Secretary was to deliver the 2020 Census results to President Biden. But the Bureau doesn't just provide data once per decade. It conducts over 130 surveys and programs every single year. Every day, businesses and individuals can find data on topics like broadband from the American Community Survey, supply chains through the Small Business Pulse Survey, and the effects of COVID-19 through the Household Pulse Survey. The Census Bureau's surveys all have one element in common. They rely on the American public to respond, so your participation is critical. Your answers become the statistics that help businesses and governments make informed decisions about education, employment, and housing, to name a few. So thank you to the National Archives for your work to release the 1950 Census, and thank you to the American people for your continued participation.