Date: Wed, 21 Oct 1998 17:17:02 -0400
From: Census2000(a)ccmc.org>
BUDGET WRAP-UP:
Congress Puts Off Resolution of Sampling Dispute, Confirms
Census Director, Before Heading Home
Congress has approved and sent to the President for
signature a $487 billion omnibus spending package that gives
the Census Bureau more money for 2000 census preparations
but sets up another confrontation next spring over the use
of sampling to count the population.
The spending measure allocates $1.027 billion for 2000
census activities, $179 million more than the Bureau's
request of $848 million for fiscal year 1999. Congress
provided an additional $104 million to improve compilation
of the address lists. Of the additional $75 million
provided by the budget negotiators, $23 million is for
opening and staffing all local census offices in 1999, some
earlier than planned; $17 million is for increased
promotion, outreach, and marketing activities; and $35
million is for modifying census forms so that six, instead
of five, people in each household can report information
directly without a follow-up visit from a census taker. The
Bureau will incur additional printing costs ($25 million)
and must modify the scanners that "read" the questionnaires
electronically ($10 million) to accommodate revisions to the
forms. Households may list up to 12 residents on the forms
and fill in demographic information for up to six of those
residents. Census takers will telephone or visit households
with more than six residents to collect data on the
remaining people.
The catch-all spending bill funds the Departments of
Commerce, State and Justice, and the Federal judiciary, only
through June 15, 1999. Failure to reach an agreement on
census methods by that date could stop the flow of funds not
only for census activities but also for American embassies
overseas, the FBI, the National Weather Service, and other
activities in that entire budget account. The
Administration and congressional Republicans, who are at
odds over the Bureau's plan to use sampling, hope the
prospect of a large-scale shut-down will pressure both sides
in the dispute to settle their differences quickly. All
other government functions covered under the omnibus bill
are funded through September 30, 1999, the end of the fiscal
year.
Congress allocated $20 million for the Census Bureau's
American Community Survey (ACS) program, substantially less
than the $38.5 million requested by the Administration. The
Census Bureau is developing the ACS to produce more timely
demographic and economic data throughout the decade,
eliminating the need for the traditional census long form in
2010. The Census Monitoring Board received $4 million for
its work in fiscal year 1999.
Census director confirmed: The Senate today confirmed Dr.
Kenneth Prewitt to be director of the Census Bureau. The
nomination was approved by a consent request with no vote,
since many Senators have left Washington to campaign in
their home states. Dr. Prewitt most recently headed the
Social Science Research Council in New York City. He stepped
down from that position after it became clear the Senate
would confirm his appointment.
Executive Branch activities: The Commerce Department's
Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has just released a
series of detailed reports on this year's census Dress
Rehearsal. The OIG evaluated census operations in
Sacramento (two reports), Columbia, S.C. (two reports), and
the Menominee Indian Reservation, WI (one report). There
also are reports on the address list development program and
the Bureau's plans
for a quality-check survey to measure and correct
undercounts and overcounts (known as Integrated Coverage
Measurement). The reports are available on the Internet at
<http://www.oig.doc.gov/reports/>. The Census 2000
Initiative also is reviewing the reports and will provide a
summary of key findings and recommendations in a future News
Alert.
Stakeholder activities: The Population Resource Center (PRC)
will hold a briefing on Wednesday, October 28, entitled,
"Americans on the Move: How Population Shifts are Changing
the Political and Socioeconomic Landscape." Two well-known
and highly-regarded academics, Dr. William Frey (University
of Michigan) and Dr. Ronald Walters (University of
Maryland), will discuss the consequences of population
growth and change from political, economic and social
perspectives. The briefing will take place in 1216
Longworth House Office Building, from 10:30 a.m. - 12:00
noon. RSVP to PRC at 202/467-5030.
Civic and advocacy organizations have continued to focus
attention at their conferences on the importance of an
accurate census. The National Urban League signed a
partnership agreement with the Census Bureau at the League's
annual meeting in Philadelphia. The League of United Latin
American Citizens joined with other Hispanic advocacy groups
in Texas to discuss census outreach and promotional
activities in the communities they serve. The National
Association of Counties and the National Association of
Towns and Townships sponsored panel discussions on the
census at their annual conferences this summer in Portland
and Phoenix, respectively.
Questions about the information contained in this News Alert
may be directed to TerriAnn Lowenthal at (202) 484-2270 or,
by e-mail at <terriann2k(a)aol.com>. Please direct all
requests to receive News Alerts, and all changes in
address/phone/fax/e-mail, to Census 2000 at
<census2000(a)ccmc.org> or 202/326-8700. Please feel free to
circulate this information to colleagues and other
interested individuals.
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1998
From: Census 2000 Initiative
BUDGET AGREEMENT: Census Receives Funding Increase; Congress
Will Revisit Sampling Issue by June 15
Dual Track Preparations to Continue for Now
The Census Bureau will receive $1.027 billion for 2000
preparations in the fiscal year that began on October 1,
according to an agreement reached today between Congress and
the Administration. But Congress will revisit the dispute
over sampling methods by June 15, 1999 before funds can be
spent after that date. Negotiators also agreed to stop the
flow of funds to the entire budget account covering the
Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, and the
judicial branch after June 15 unless a new measure granting
spending authority is enacted.
The Bureau's allocation is $75 million above the $952
million for census preparations approved by the House of
Representatives last August. Of the additional $75 million,
$40 million must be spent on preparations for a census that
doesn't include sampling methods.
Negotiators hope that the threat of shutting down law
enforcement activities, foreign embassy operations, and
other vital programs in the same bill will force sampling
critics and the Administration to resolve the controversy
over census methods. The Census Bureau will complete
evaluations of this year's census dress rehearsal by next
winter, and the Census Monitoring Board must issue reports
by February 1 and April 1 of next year, as well.
Congress and the Administration also hope that the Supreme
Court will issue a ruling before the self-imposed June 15
deadline in two lawsuits challenging the use of sampling for
purposes of congressional apportionment. However, Rep. Dan
Miller (R-FL) said in a statement yesterday that a Supreme
Court ruling that sampling is lawful "doesn't automatically"
mean that sampling will be used in the 2000 census.
Funding for the census will be included in an omnibus
spending package covering numerous Federal departments and
agencies. Congress is expected to pass the bill within the
next few days before leaving town for the fall elections.
Census director confirmation expected: The Senate is
expected to confirm President Clinton's nominee for Census
Bureau director, Dr. Kenneth Prewitt, before adjournment,
according to Administration officials monitoring census
issues. Dr. Prewitt would take over from James F. Holmes,
the Bureau's Atlanta Regional Director who has served as
acting head of the Bureau since Dr. Martha F. Riche stepped
down last January. No Senators have expressed opposition
publicly to the Prewitt nomination.
Questions about the information contained in this News Alert
may be directed to TerriAnn Lowenthal at (202) 484-2270 or,
by e-mail at <terriann2k(a)aol.com>. Please direct all
requests to receive News Alerts, and all changes in
address/phone/fax/e-mail, to Census 2000 at
<Census2000(a)ccmc.org> or 202/326-8700. Please feel free to
circulate this information to colleagues and other
interested individuals.
from: Census 2000 Initiative
date: October 13, 1998
Congress and White House Still Struggling to Reach Accord On
Census Funding as Clock Ticks Toward Adjournment
With most government agencies operating under a stopgap
spending bill that runs out at midnight tomorrow, Congress
and the Administration are still trying to reach agreement
on funding for 2000 census preparations in the current
fiscal year that began October 1. Reports earlier today
that an agreement had been reached could not be confirmed.
Critics of the Census Bureau's plan to supplement the
traditional headcount with sampling methods reportedly want
to provide funding for 2000 census activities only through
February, forcing Congress and the Administration to make a
final decision by then on whether sampling can be used. The
truncated funding would apply to the departments of
Commerce, Justice, State and the Judiciary, the budget
account which includes the Census Bureau. Congressional
supporters of the Bureau's plan continue to call for a full
year of funding. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in
two lawsuits challenging the use of sampling on November 30;
a decision could be rendered by early next year. [See below
for update on the lawsuits.] The entire Commerce
appropriations bill is likely to be included in a larger
spending package covering numerous agencies and programs for
which separate funding measures have not been signed into
law.
Census director nomination awaits final action: Dr. Kenneth
Prewitt, President Clinton's choice to head the Census
Bureau, awaits confirmation by the Senate after the
Committee on Governmental Affairs approved his nomination by
voice vote on September 24. Committee aides say the full
Senate could vote on the Prewitt appointment in the coming
days before Congress adjourns but that the decision is in
the hands of the Senate leadership.
Lawsuit update: Several organizations concerned about the
outcome of the 2000 census filed friend-of-the-court briefs
in the case of U.S. House of Representatives v. U.S.
Department of Commerce. On November 30, the Supreme Court
will hear the government's appeal of the district court
ruling that the Census Act bars the use of sampling for
purposes of congressional apportionment.
The Supreme Court announced that it will hear the
government's appeal in the second census lawsuit, Glavin v.
Clinton, at the same time. Like the court in the U.S. House
of Representatives case, a federal district court in
Virginia ruled last month that sampling was unlawful but did
not consider whether the Constitution also barred those
methods. By combining the two cases, the Court may have a
greater opportunity to decide whether the Census Act and the
Constitution permit sampling for apportionment because the
parties bringing the lawsuits have different stakes in the
outcome. For example, if the Court finds that Congress does
not have legal standing to challenge the Census Bureau's
plan, it could still consider the substantive issues if the
individual and local government plaintiffs in the Glavin
case meet the constitutional standards for challenging the
sampling methods.
Among the parties filing "amicus briefs" in support of the
Commerce Department's appeal were the State of Texas, the
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal
Employees (AFSCME), Japanese American Citizens League, ACLU,
Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, National
Urban League, American Jewish Committee, American Jewish
Congress, and the Brennan Center for Justice/New York
University School of Law. Briefs in support of the
plaintiff's challenge to sampling are due by November 3.
The Supreme Court convenes to hear cases at 10:00 a.m.
Individuals interested in observing oral arguments in the
census case should call the Court's Public Information
Office at 202/479-3000. A limited number of reserved seats
are available; the line for same-day public seats forms
daily on the front steps of the Court building.
Congressional subcommittee plans field hearings: The House
Subcommittee on the Census announced plans for a series of
field hearings to review local efforts to promote census
participation. In a letter to stakeholder organizations,
Chairman Dan Miller (R-FL) said his panel will visit areas
that had the largest undercounts in 1990 to review "at the
local level innovative ways to find and count all Americans"
in 2000. He asked stakeholders to share their ideas and
suggest possible witnesses for the hearings, and called upon
stakeholders "to get serious about planing for an actual
count" in light of congressional opposition to sampling and
recent court rulings that the Census Act prohibits those
methods. The subcommittee has not announced sites for the
hearings.
Executive Branch news: The Census Bureau's professional,
race and ethnic, and 2000 census advisory committees will
meet jointly on October 26 to discuss the paid advertising
campaign for the 2000 census. Representatives of Young &
Rubicam, the ad agency developing the campaign under
contract with the Bureau, will participate in the
discussions. The meeting will be held at the Sheraton
Reston Hotel, 11810 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA (tel:
703/620-9000), from 8:00 a.m. - 5:45 p.m., and is open to
the public.
Stakeholder activities: The 2000 Census Advisory Committee
is drafting a final report that it will present to the
Secretary of Commerce in February, one month before the
committee's charter expires. The report will summarize the
panel's work over the past two years and make
recommendations on a wide range of operational and technical
issues affecting the 2000 census. Census Bureau staff
presented information on the status of dress rehearsal
operations but cautioned that analysis of the results was
not complete. Census workers had finished non-response
follow-up visits in all three dry-run sites, as well as,
return visits for the quality-check sample survey in
Sacramento and the Menominee Indian reservation. The Bureau
plans to issue a "report card" on the dress rehearsal by the
end of January; evaluations will be finished in March 1999.
Deputy Secretary of Commerce Robert Mallett reported that
Commerce Department officials were visiting all of the
Bureau's regional offices to assess fiscal and personnel
resource needs for the temporary regional census centers and
more than 500 local census offices that will open in 1999.
The advisory committee's next meeting is December 3 - 4.
Questions about the information contained in this News Alert
may be directed to TerriAnn Lowenthal at (202) 484-2270 or,
by e-mail at <terriann2k(a)aol.com>. Please direct all
requests to receive News Alerts, and all changes in
address/phone/fax/e-mail, to Census 2000 at
<census2000(a)ccmc.org> or 202/326-8700. Please feel free to
circulate this information to colleagues and other
interested individuals
