Services members would be counted differently in future U.S. Censuses under a successful amendment to a major defense bill that's to be debated in the U.S. Congress -- an amendment sponsored by Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.
Currently, family members living on a military base are counted there as residents, but if a soldier is deployed away from the base, he is not counted as a base resident.
The amendment would count the deployed soldier as a member of the base -- a potentially helpful change for Kentucky. Kentucky has two major Army bases, Fort Campbell and Fort Knox.
"Under the Census Bureau’s current method of counting, family members are counted at the base, but only the deployed service member is not," Sen. Paul said. "The passage of my amendment today ensures the appropriate representation and resources are provided to the communities of our service members, who have given so much for our country and should be recognized in the communities they live in," Paul said in a statement.
The amendment won't change tax, residency or voting status for military members -- only how the Census counts them in terms of locating services.
