Hello CTPPers:
The detailed 2007 American Community Survey data for journey-to-work
and household characteristics was released by the Census Bureau on
September 23, 2008. We completed our first report on the ACS 2007 for
our region, on October 2nd. The 30 page report is here:
http://www.mtc.ca.gov/maps_and_data/datamart/census/
The most interesting finding is a statistically significant (95% CL)
increase in transit commuting, 2006 to 2007, from 315,000 to 336,000.
The increase in our regional share of transit commuters (9.5 to 10.0
percent), was not a statistically significant increase (95% CL) (though
it was significant at a 90% CL).
Commute times are stable, at about 27 minutes per one-way commute.
Intra-county commute shares (% living and working in same county) has
remained stable between 2000 and 2007, at about 72 percent intra-county
commute.
We also produce tables on housing affordability, poverty, race, and
household vehicle availability, since those are topics of interest to us
and our policy board.
Chuck Purvis, MTC
**************************************************************
Charles L. Purvis, AICP
Principal Transportation Planner/Analyst
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
101 Eighth Street
Oakland, CA 94607-4700
(510) 817-5755 (office)
(510) 817-7848 (fax)
cpurvis(a)mtc.ca.gov (e-mail)
www: http://www.mtc.ca.gov/
**************************************************************
CONGRESS CONSIDERS $1 BILLION IN STIMULUS FUNDS FOR CENSUS
Plus: Mesenbourg Becomes Acting Census Director
The U.S. House of Representatives is considering $1 billion in
additional funds for the 2010 census as part of the $750 billion
economic stimulus package requested by President-elect Barack Obama.
The House Committee on Appropriations is circulating a draft of the
“American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,” to promote “job
preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency
and science, assistance to the unemployed, and State and local fiscal
stabilization.” Title III of the draft bill allocates $1 billion for the
Census Bureau’s Periodic Censuses and Programs account, which covers
decennial census activities.
Draft report language accompanying the bill points to the increased
lifecycle cost and “significant risk” associated with the revised Field
Data Collection Automation (FDCA) contract, which has led to greater
“workforce, advertising, and operational needs.” While the bill does not
specify how the funds would be spent, the report suggests that the
funding should be used “to hire additional personnel, provide required
training, increase targeted media purchases, and improve management of
other operational and programmatic risks to ensure a successful
decennial.” $150 million would be used for “expanded communications and
outreach programs to minimize undercounting of minority groups,”
according to the committee.
Democratic appropriators said the proposed stimulus package includes “a
historic level of transparency, oversight, and accountability,” noting
that the President must create a special website to post expenditures,
announcements of contract and grant competitions and awards, and formula
grant allocations related to stimulus spending.
Republican legislators have raised concerns about the massive spending
bill. Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA), the senior Republican on the
appropriations panel, said in a press release that Republicans “have
serious concerns about its size, scope, and astronomical cost. This
legislation appears to blanket government programs in spending with
little thought toward real economic results, job creation, or respect
for the taxpayer.” House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) called
the Democrats’ proposed stimulus bill “disappointing.” The proposal, he
said in a written statement, “was developed with no Republican input and
appears to be grounded in the flawed notion that we can simply borrow
and spend our way back to prosperity. It calls for more than half a
trillion dollars in questionable new government spending on programs and
projects, while providing less tax relief for middle-class families and
small businesses than President-elect Obama has proposed.” Rep. Boehner
singled out several proposals in the Democratic bill, including $1
billion for the 2010 census, as having questionable “stimulus” effects.
The House Appropriations Committee might consider the stimulus bill as
early as next week. Congressional leaders have said they hope to
complete work on the package before the Presidents’ Day recess. Congress
must also complete work on most regular appropriations bills for Fiscal
Year 2009, which started October 1, 2008. Before adjourning for the
election last Fall, legislators passed a Continuing Resolution that
funds most government agencies, including the Census Bureau, through
March 6.
111th Congress committees take shape: Congressional committees have
begun organizing for the 111th Congress. In the House, the
Appropriations Committee has completed its subcommittee assignments.
Full Committee Chairman Dave Obey (D-WI) and Ranking Member Jerry Lewis
serve as ex-officio members on all subcommittees. The Senate
Appropriations Committee has not announced new subcommittee line-ups yet.
House Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
(Democratic members)
Chair: Alan B. Mollohan, West Virginia
Patrick J. Kennedy, Rhode Island
Chaka Fattah, Pennsylvania
Adam Schiff, California
Michael Honda, California
C.A "Dutch" Ruppersberger, Maryland
Peter J. Visclosky, Indiana
José E. Serrano, New York
(Republican members)
Ranking Member: Frank Wolf, Virginia
John Culberson, Texas
Robert Aderholt, Alabama
Jo Bonner, Alabama
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the Census Bureau’s
authorizing committee, has a new chairman, Rep. Edolphus (“Ed”) Towns
(D-NY), and new Ranking Member, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA). Chairman
Towns, who has served on the committee (and its predecessors) for 26
years, held a press conference this week to outline his priorities for
the 111th Congress. Referring to the 2010 census, the congressman said
(according to the written statement he released), “[M]inorities and
urban dwellers have traditionally been under-reported in census counts.
This time it will be one of my goals to ensure that all Americans are
counted!” The committee has not yet made subcommittee assignments.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which
has jurisdiction over the Census Bureau, will continue to be led by
Chairman Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). While
the committee has not yet organized its subcommittees for the 111th
Congress, it appears that Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE) will retain his
chairmanship of the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management,
Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security,
which oversees the Census Bureau. The Homeland Security committee will
be responsible for confirmation hearings for the Census Bureau director.
The President-elect has not announced a nominee for that position.
Acting Census Director named: Thomas Mesenbourg has been named Acting
Director of the U.S. Census Bureau following the resignation of Dr.
Steven Murdock on January 9. Mr. Mesenbourg was named the bureau’s
Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer (both career positions) in
May 2008, after serving as Associate Director for Economic Programs
since 2005, with responsibility for the Economic Census and the Census
of Governments and over 100 monthly, quarterly, and annual surveys. His
full career at the Census Bureau spans 36 years.
Dr. Murdock became Census Bureau director in December 2007, succeeding
President Bush’s first Census director, C. Louis Kincannon. It is
traditional for political appointees to submit their resignations at the
end of a President’s term of office.
Census News Briefs are prepared by Terri Ann Lowenthal, a consultant to
the nonpartisan Census Project, organized by the Communications
Consortium Media Center in Washington, DC. Please direct questions about
the information in this News Brief to Ms. Lowenthal at
TerriAnn2K(a)aol.com <mailto:TerriAnn2K@aol.com>. Please feel free to
circulate this document to other interested individuals and
organizations. Previous Census News Briefs are posted at
www.thecensusproject.org <http://www.thecensusproject.org>
I received this in my email but thought answering it would be relevant
to the larger CTPP group.
-----------
Garth wrote:
Elaine/Ed:
Has there been any county-to-county commuting data yet from the American
Community Survey? Unless I've missed it somewhere, I don't think there
has been since not all counties are available yet. Will
county-to-county commuting flow data be available in the next ACS/CTPP
multi-year product? If so, are we still looking at 2011 for the release
of such data? I'd appreciate any clarifications/references you could
provide.
Thanks,
Garth
-----------
The short answer is that there has not been any county-to-county
commuting data yet and the Census Bureau has been mute on the question
of ever producing any as part of their standard tabulation program.
Using "Magic 8 ball" speak one could speculate that "it is doubtful" if
they ever would.
However, all is not lost! The transportation community has been very
vocal that "We NEED Flows." As such the AASHTO CTPP Oversight Board is
positioning itself to request a set of tables which will include flows.
The request is set to get to the Census Bureau by April 1, 2009.
Currently, a task force is working on the tables and ironing out a few
bumps in terms of what tables to ask for and the modal collapsing schema
that might pass disclosure rules. The task forces is very close to
done. (The December newsletter talks about the disclosure hurdles
http://www.trbcensus.com/newsltr/sr1208.pdf). Once we get the tables
pinned down in the next few weeks we will certainly be circulating them
to our large community.
In terms of tables, the request will go to the Census Bureau by April
1st and then the Disclosure Review Board will have to rule and then cost
estimates will need to firmed up and contracts written. If all goes
well, the tables would use the 2006, 2007 and 2008 ACS data with
possible receipt of some data by 2010/2011. We have been told that the
actual production of the tables can go quite quickly once we get over
all the stuff at the front end. Right now, a lot has to fall in place
but the message has been heard that, FLOW DATA is MUST.
Right now the only reference is the letter that was sent from the
Oversight Board on February 9th stating that we are working on a 3-year
ACS data table request. I have attached it. Stay tuned.....
Ed Christopher
708-283-3534 (V)
708-574-8131 (cell)
FHWA RC-TST-PLN
19900 Governors Dr
Olympia Fields, IL 60461
CONGRESS SET TO FINISH 2009 FUNDING BILL; CENSUS FULLY FUNDED FOR
CURRENT YEAR
Plus: President Reportedly Will Name New Commerce Secretary; and more.
Congressional appropriators are set to consider this week an omnibus
funding bill (H.R. 1105) to pay for most non-defense federal programs
for the remainder of FY2009, which ends September 30, 2009. The $410
billion measure allocates the full budget request of $3.14 billion for
the Census Bureau, well more than double the 2008 appropriation of $1.26
billion. The bill is expected to go directly to the House floor,
without a committee vote, and then on to the Senate.
The Bush Administration originally requested $2.635 billion for the
Census Bureau this year, but amended its request last spring after
problems with the large contract for GPS-equipped handheld computers
forced the bureau to revise the way it will collect information from
households that do not mail back a census form next year. The 2010
census “replan” issued in 2008 could increase the lifecycle cost of the
decennial count by up to $3 billion.
The FY2009 appropriations measure includes $2.906 billion for Periodic
Censuses and Programs, the overall account that covers the decennial
census and American Community Survey. The bill carries forward previous
legislative language prohibiting the Census Bureau from eliminating the
“Some Other Race” option on the census race question and from
instituting a sweepstakes to encourage census participation. The bill
also encourages spending on “promotion, outreach, and marketing
activities.” “Periodics” funding also covers the quinquennial (every
five years) economic and government censuses.
The joint explanatory statement accompanying the bill notes that
Congress is providing full funding for the decennial census “to return
the 2010 Census to a more reliable, paper-based operation, with the
expectation that the new Administration will focus the requisite
oversight to ensure a successful Decennial.” The report says that a
“lack of critical oversight” and “lack of attention” in the previous
Administration “significantly increased the risk of failure” for the census.
The committee report highlights the importance of paid media in
promoting the census, especially in minority communities and communities
with limited English proficiency. Appropriators directed the Census
Bureau to reevaluate its communications program in light of the revised
plan for nonresponse follow-up and to submit a comprehensive
communications plan for 2010 to Congress. They also expressed support
for “robust partnership and outreach efforts … with specific focus on
hard-to-reach populations.”
Other issues highlighted in the committee’s statement are language
assistance programs for both the decennial census and American Community
Survey (ACS); the importance of reliable census and ACS data for
numerically small populations, such as Asian, Hispanic, and Pacific
Islander subgroups; and Census in the Schools program, for which the
committee directed the Census Bureau to spend at least $10 million on
competitive grants and adult education materials in support of the 2010
census.
The Census Bureau has already launched final preparations for the 2010
census. Key operations in FY2009 include:
•opening and staffing 150 “early” local census offices;
•canvassing all neighborhoods and rural areas to verify addresses (on
the Master Address File) and geographic locations (in the TIGER system);
•finalizing data capture, data processing, and telecommunications systems;
•printing hundreds of millions of census questionnaires and other forms;
•developing a national advertising campaign;
•hiring additional national and regional staff to oversee field
operations; and
•implementing a nationwide Partnership Program to engage government
officials, civic leaders, community organizations, businesses, and other
“gatekeepers” in support of the census.
Economic and demographic statistics: The 2009 spending bill includes
$233.6 million for Salaries and Expenses, the account covering ongoing
collection of demographic and economic statistics. House committee
report language allocates $45.7 million of that amount -- $486,000 more
than the previous Administration requested -- for the Survey of Income
and Program Participation (SIPP), to maintain a sample size of 45,000
households and improve the survey over the next several years.
The appropriations bill provides $90.6 million for the Commerce
Department’s Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA), which houses
the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) in addition to the Census Bureau.
The allocation is $500,000 more than the budget request. BEA produces
key economic statistics, including Gross Domestic Product, that support
U.S. monetary and fiscal policies, trade negotiations, business
planning, and personal savings and investment decisions.
Congressional appropriations process: In the coming days and months,
the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations will approve final
funding levels for FY2009, and hold hearings and “mark-ups” to consider
the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2010 budget request for federal
departments and agencies. The President will send his FY2010 budget to
Congress on Thursday.
The Appropriations Subcommittees on Commerce, Justice, Science, and
Related Agencies have jurisdiction over the Census Bureau and BEA.
House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice,
Science, and Related Agencies
Democrats Republicans
H-309 The Capitol 1016 Longworth H.O.B.
Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20515
Alan Mollohan (WV) Frank Wolf (VA)
(Chairman) (Ranking Minority Member)
Patrick Kennedy (RI) John Abney Culberson (TX)
Chaka Fattah (PA) Robert B. Aderholt (AL)
Adam Schiff (CA) Jo Bonner (AL)
Mike Honda (CA) Jerry Lewis (CA) (ex officio)
C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger (MD) Peter J. Visclosky, (IN)
José E. Serrano, New York David Obey (WI)(ex offico)
Senate Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Democrats Republicans
SD-144 Dirksen S.O.B. SH-123 Hart S.O.B.
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510
Barbara Mikulski (MD) Richard Shelby (AL)
(Chairman) (Ranking Minority Member)
Patrick Leahy (VT) Judd Gregg (NH)
Herb Kohl (WI) Mitch McConnell (KY)
Tom Harkin (IA) Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX)
Byron Dorgan (ND) Sam Brownback (KS)
Dianne Feinstein (CA) Lamar Alexander (TN)
Jack Reed (RI) Thad Cochran (MS) (ex officio)
Frank Lautenberg (NJ) Daniel Inouye (HI)(ex officio)
New Commerce Secretary reportedly chosen: President Obama is prepared
to nominate former Washington State Governor Gary Locke (D) to be
Secretary of Commerce, a position that will give the nation’s first
Chinese American governor a significant role in overseeing the 2010
census, according to Administration sources quoted in several major
newspapers.
Governor Locke, now a Seattle-based lawyer, is the President’s third
nominee for the top Commerce post after two previous nominees, New
Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg,
withdrew from consideration.
Mr. Locke served two terms as governor of Washington; he also served as
a deputy prosecutor in King County (which includes the City of Seattle),
member of the Washington House of Representatives, and King County chief
executive.
Washington State was involved in a census lawsuit following the 1990
count. With encouragement from Congress, the Census Bureau included
members of the armed forces and federal civilian personnel stationed
abroad in the state population totals used to apportion seats in the
U.S. House of Representatives. The overseas population shifted a
congressional seat from Massachusetts to Washington.
Massachusetts unsuccessfully challenged the Census Bureau’s decision to
include overseas military and federal personnel in a case that went to
the U.S. Supreme Court (Franklin v. Massachusetts, 505 U.S. 788, 1992).
The Court found that the Commerce Secretary’s decision to include
members of the military stationed overseas in the apportionment totals
could not be reviewed as a “final agency action” under the
Administrative Procedure Act. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, writing for
a unanimous court, also wrote that including overseas government
personnel was a reasonable interpretation of the intent of the
Constitution’s census clause (Article I, section 2) to count people at
their “usual place of residence.” Washington State intervened as a
party in support of the Commerce Department’s position.
The Administration also announced the nomination of April Boyd to be
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Legislative and Intergovernmental
Affairs, a position that requires Senate confirmation. Ms. Boyd is the
chief of staff to Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) and previously held
positions with Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and in the U.S. Department of
Energy and U.S. General Services Administration.
-----------
Census News Briefs are prepared by Terri Ann Lowenthal, an independent
legislative and policy consultant working with a wide range of census
stakeholders to promote an accurate 2010 census. All views expressed in
the News Briefs are solely those of the author. Please direct questions
about the information in this News Brief to Ms. Lowenthal at
TerriAnn2K(a)aol.com.
--
Ed Christopher
708-283-3534 (V)
708-574-8131 (cell)
FHWA RC-TST-PLN
19900 Governors Dr
Olympia Fields, IL 60461
Can't we get a handle on and put an end to this kind of garbage email!?
Stephen M. Banks, Senior Planner
Advanced Plans Division
Wichita-Sedgwick County
Metropolitan Area Planning Department
455 N Main - 10th Floor - City Hall
Wichita, KS 67202-1688
Phone: 316-352-4853
Fax: 316-268-4390
E-mail: sbanks(a)wichita.gov
Website: http://www.wichita.gov/CityOffices/Planning/
-----Original Message-----
From: ctpp-news-bounces(a)chrispy.net [mailto:ctpp-news-bounces@chrispy.net] On Behalf Of ctpp-news-request(a)chrispy.net
Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 12:00 PM
To: ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
Subject: ctpp-news Digest, Vol 60, Issue 13
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Today's Topics:
1. Re: CENSUS NEWS BRIEF (Richard Lin)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:03:48 -0700
From: "Richard Lin" <richard.lin(a)state.co.us>
Subject: Re: [CTPP] CENSUS NEWS BRIEF
To: <edc(a)berwyned.com>, "ctpp-news maillist" <ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net>
Message-ID: <s9a29ed4.011(a)dem.state.co.us>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Dear edc and All,
i am retiring in three weeks. Please remove my name from your email list. Thank you.l
________________________________
Richard Lin, Ph.D.
Senior Estimates Demographer
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
State Demography Office
1313 Sherman Street, Room 521
Denver, CO 80203
Phone: (303)866-4989
Fax:: (303)866-2660
richard.lin(a)state.co.us
www.DOLA.Colorado.Gov
>>> edc(a)berwyned.com 2/3/2009 8:16 AM >>>
PRESIDENT SELECTS SEN. GREGG FOR COMMERCE SECRETARY;
SENATE CONSIDERS $1B FOR CENSUS IN STIMULUS BILL
Plus: House Passes Stimulus Funds for Census
President Obama has selected Senator Judd Gregg, Republican of New
Hampshire, to be his Commerce Secretary. The post would give Sen. Gregg
authority over the Census Bureau and upcoming decennial census. The
Census Bureau is part of the Commerce Department's Economics and
Statistics Administration (ESA), which also houses the Bureau of
Economic Analysis (BEA).
Sen. Gregg, a three-term senator, former representative, and former New
Hampshire governor, is the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget
Committee and a member of the Appropriations Committee. He is a member
and former chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and
Science (formerly Commerce, Justice, and State), which funds the Census
Bureau. The biography posted on his official web site highlights his
interest in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
another large Commerce Department agency.
Sen. Gregg chaired the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce,
Justice, and State during the 2000 census. In 1999, he questioned the
Administration's request for additional census funding for fiscal year
2000; the Census Bureau had asked for an extra $1.7 billion after a
Supreme Court decision forced it to redesign non-response follow-up
operations. The House of Representatives had approved the full $4.5
billion for the census year, while the Senate allocated the $2.8 billion
the Administration had sought before the Court ruling in a case
challenging the use of sampling to compile census population counts used
for congressional apportionment. Sen. Gregg especially questioned the
House's proposal to designate all census funding for 2000 as "emergency"
spending, which would remove the allocation from under tight budget
caps. The impasse over census funding helped delay passage of final
spending bills for 2000; Congress eventually approved the full funding
request, designating the entire amount as an "emergency."
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will hold
confirmation hearings for Sen. Gregg, while the Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee will be responsible for confirming a
Census director. President Obama has not yet nominated an Under
Secretary for Economic Affairs, who oversees the ESA, or Census Bureau
director; both positions require Senate confirmation.
Economic stimulus bill includes extra funds for 2010 census: On January
28, by a vote of 244 * 188, the U.S. House of Representatives approved
an $819 economic stimulus bill (H.R. 1) that includes $1 billion in
additional funds for the 2010 census. No Republican lawmakers supported
the bill.
The stimulus package requested by President Obama is also working its
way through the U.S. Senate. Last week, the Committee on Appropriations
approved its own version of the economic recovery package (S. 336),
which includes $1 billion for the 2010 census. The funds would be
available until September 30, 2010. The Census Bureau is required by
law to report state population totals to the President by December 31,
2010, and detailed populations counts to the states for redistricting
purposes by April 1, 2011.
Committee report language (S. Rept. 111-3) directs the Census Bureau to
use $780 million to hire more census takers "to count underserved
communities"; $120 million to expand the Partnership Program, "with
specific focus being placed on hard to reach populations"; and $100
million to increase outreach and promotion "to minority communities."
Appropriators suggested that the Census Bureau hire additional staff who
are experienced with partnership programs and are trusted community
leaders who can convey the importance of participating in the census to
"hard to reach" populations.
The full Senate is considering the package this week. Amendments to
strip or reduce some of the funding from the bill, including the
proposed $1 billion for the 2010 census, are possible.
The House version of the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009" does not lay out as many specific dollar amounts for spending the
additional money, instead saying more broadly that the Census Bureau
should "hire additional personnel, provide required training, increase
targeted media purchases, and improve management of other operational
and programmatic risks to ensure a successful decennial." The Census
Bureau should use $150 million for "expanded communications and outreach
programs to minimize undercounting of minority groups," according to the
House Appropriations committee.
An analysis of the economic stimulus package by Robert Santos of the
Urban Institute, a Washington, DC think-tank, concludes that the
proposed spending for the 2010 census "would provide an infusion of new
jobs, better community participation and a more accurate census." Dr.
Santos calls the census "a shovel-ready infrastructure project," a
reference to one of President Obama's criteria for including projects in
a stimulus package. The analysis is available on-line at
http://www.urban.org/issues/recovery.cfm#santos.
Senator urges quick appointment of Census Director: Senator Thomas
Carper (D-DE), chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial
Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International
Security (Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs), sent
a letter to President Obama on January 28, urging him to "move quickly
to fill the top leadership at the Commerce Department and the Census
Bureau with individuals with the knowledge and the management skills
necessary to get the ongoing preparations for the 2010 Census back on
track for good." The chairman said that "serious challenges in managing
key information technology activities" and reduced spending on
advertising and outreach have led the Government Accountability Office
(GAO) to designate the 2010 census as a "high risk" federal program.
Sen. Carper called on the President to make the "overall success [of the
census] a top priority of your Administration."
The Federal Financial Management panel has tentatively scheduled an
oversight hearing for February 25 to review the status of planning for
the 2010 census.
Census News Briefs are prepared by Terri Ann Lowenthal, a consultant to
the nonpartisan Census Project, organized by the Communications
Consortium Media Center in Washington, DC. Please direct questions
about the information in this News Brief to Ms. Lowenthal at
TerriAnn2K(a)aol.com. Please feel free to circulate this document to
other interested individuals and organizations. Previous Census News
Briefs are posted at www.thecensusproject.org
--
Ed Christopher
Resource Center Planning Team
Federal Highway Administration
19900 Governors Drive
Olympia Fields, Illinois 60461
708-283-3534 (V) 708-574-8131 (cell)
708-283-3501 (F)
_______________________________________________
ctpp-news mailing list
ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
http://www.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/ctpp-news
Dear edc and All,
i am retiring in three weeks. Please remove my name from your email list. Thank you.l
________________________________
Richard Lin, Ph.D.
Senior Estimates Demographer
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
State Demography Office
1313 Sherman Street, Room 521
Denver, CO 80203
Phone: (303)866-4989
Fax:: (303)866-2660
richard.lin(a)state.co.us
www.DOLA.Colorado.Gov
>>> edc(a)berwyned.com 2/3/2009 8:16 AM >>>
PRESIDENT SELECTS SEN. GREGG FOR COMMERCE SECRETARY;
SENATE CONSIDERS $1B FOR CENSUS IN STIMULUS BILL
Plus: House Passes Stimulus Funds for Census
President Obama has selected Senator Judd Gregg, Republican of New
Hampshire, to be his Commerce Secretary. The post would give Sen. Gregg
authority over the Census Bureau and upcoming decennial census. The
Census Bureau is part of the Commerce Departments Economics and
Statistics Administration (ESA), which also houses the Bureau of
Economic Analysis (BEA).
Sen. Gregg, a three-term senator, former representative, and former New
Hampshire governor, is the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget
Committee and a member of the Appropriations Committee. He is a member
and former chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and
Science (formerly Commerce, Justice, and State), which funds the Census
Bureau. The biography posted on his official web site highlights his
interest in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
another large Commerce Department agency.
Sen. Gregg chaired the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce,
Justice, and State during the 2000 census. In 1999, he questioned the
Administrations request for additional census funding for fiscal year
2000; the Census Bureau had asked for an extra $1.7 billion after a
Supreme Court decision forced it to redesign non-response follow-up
operations. The House of Representatives had approved the full $4.5
billion for the census year, while the Senate allocated the $2.8 billion
the Administration had sought before the Court ruling in a case
challenging the use of sampling to compile census population counts used
for congressional apportionment. Sen. Gregg especially questioned the
Houses proposal to designate all census funding for 2000 as emergency
spending, which would remove the allocation from under tight budget
caps. The impasse over census funding helped delay passage of final
spending bills for 2000; Congress eventually approved the full funding
request, designating the entire amount as an emergency.
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation will hold
confirmation hearings for Sen. Gregg, while the Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee will be responsible for confirming a
Census director. President Obama has not yet nominated an Under
Secretary for Economic Affairs, who oversees the ESA, or Census Bureau
director; both positions require Senate confirmation.
Economic stimulus bill includes extra funds for 2010 census: On January
28, by a vote of 244 * 188, the U.S. House of Representatives approved
an $819 economic stimulus bill (H.R. 1) that includes $1 billion in
additional funds for the 2010 census. No Republican lawmakers supported
the bill.
The stimulus package requested by President Obama is also working its
way through the U.S. Senate. Last week, the Committee on Appropriations
approved its own version of the economic recovery package (S. 336),
which includes $1 billion for the 2010 census. The funds would be
available until September 30, 2010. The Census Bureau is required by
law to report state population totals to the President by December 31,
2010, and detailed populations counts to the states for redistricting
purposes by April 1, 2011.
Committee report language (S. Rept. 111-3) directs the Census Bureau to
use $780 million to hire more census takers to count underserved
communities; $120 million to expand the Partnership Program, with
specific focus being placed on hard to reach populations; and $100
million to increase outreach and promotion to minority communities.
Appropriators suggested that the Census Bureau hire additional staff who
are experienced with partnership programs and are trusted community
leaders who can convey the importance of participating in the census to
hard to reach populations.
The full Senate is considering the package this week. Amendments to
strip or reduce some of the funding from the bill, including the
proposed $1 billion for the 2010 census, are possible.
The House version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 does not lay out as many specific dollar amounts for spending the
additional money, instead saying more broadly that the Census Bureau
should hire additional personnel, provide required training, increase
targeted media purchases, and improve management of other operational
and programmatic risks to ensure a successful decennial. The Census
Bureau should use $150 million for expanded communications and outreach
programs to minimize undercounting of minority groups, according to the
House Appropriations committee.
An analysis of the economic stimulus package by Robert Santos of the
Urban Institute, a Washington, DC think-tank, concludes that the
proposed spending for the 2010 census would provide an infusion of new
jobs, better community participation and a more accurate census. Dr.
Santos calls the census a shovel-ready infrastructure project, a
reference to one of President Obamas criteria for including projects in
a stimulus package. The analysis is available on-line at
http://www.urban.org/issues/recovery.cfm#santos.
Senator urges quick appointment of Census Director: Senator Thomas
Carper (D-DE), chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial
Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International
Security (Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs), sent
a letter to President Obama on January 28, urging him to move quickly
to fill the top leadership at the Commerce Department and the Census
Bureau with individuals with the knowledge and the management skills
necessary to get the ongoing preparations for the 2010 Census back on
track for good. The chairman said that serious challenges in managing
key information technology activities and reduced spending on
advertising and outreach have led the Government Accountability Office
(GAO) to designate the 2010 census as a high risk federal program.
Sen. Carper called on the President to make the overall success [of the
census] a top priority of your Administration.
The Federal Financial Management panel has tentatively scheduled an
oversight hearing for February 25 to review the status of planning for
the 2010 census.
Census News Briefs are prepared by Terri Ann Lowenthal, a consultant to
the nonpartisan Census Project, organized by the Communications
Consortium Media Center in Washington, DC. Please direct questions
about the information in this News Brief to Ms. Lowenthal at
TerriAnn2K(a)aol.com. Please feel free to circulate this document to
other interested individuals and organizations. Previous Census News
Briefs are posted at www.thecensusproject.org
--
Ed Christopher
Resource Center Planning Team
Federal Highway Administration
19900 Governors Drive
Olympia Fields, Illinois 60461
708-283-3534 (V) 708-574-8131 (cell)
708-283-3501 (F)
_______________________________________________
ctpp-news mailing list
ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
http://www.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/ctpp-news
STIMULUS PACKAGE BOOSTS 2010 CENSUS FUNDS BY $1 BILLION;
FOCUS TURNS TO FY09 & FY10 BUDGETS
Plus: Commerce Secretary Nominee and Leading
Contender for Census Director Withdraw; and more.
The “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009” (Public Law 111-5)
that President Obama signed into law on February 17 includes $1 billion
to “ensure a successful 2010 Decennial” census, according to the
explanation accompanying the compromise package. The final measure
omitted language in the Senate-passed version of the bill that would
have required the Census Bureau to spend the funds by the end of fiscal
year 2010, several months before the census is finished.
Report language explaining the $789 billion conference bill (House
Report 111-16) says that the $1 billion should be used to “hire
additional personnel, provide required training, increase targeted media
purchases, and improve management of other operational and programmatic
risks.” Appropriators directed the Census Bureau to spend “up to” $250
million for the Partnership Program and outreach to “minority
communities and hard-to-reach populations.”
Several members of Congress specifically praised the inclusion of money
for the census in the stimulus package. In an article posted on
Politico.com (Feb. 12, 2009), Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA), chair of the
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), Rep. Barbara Lee
(D-CA), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and Rep. Nydia
Velazquez (D-NY), chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC),
praised the Obama Administration for its support of an additional $1
billion for the census, which the lawmakers said would “instantly go
toward job creation across the country in the next two years and will be
crucial to ensuring an accurate count.”
The Census Bureau has said that it will use the stimulus funds to
recruit as many as 2,000 additional Partnership Specialists this year
($120 million) and expand advertising, especially in areas with
historically low mail response rates ($100 million). It is less clear
how the Census Bureau will apply the remaining stimulus money to improve
census operations in 2010.
Congress turns attention to funding for current and next fiscal years:
Congress must now complete action on regular appropriations bills for
Fiscal Year 2009 (FY2009), which began on October 1, 2008. Most federal
agencies, including the Census Bureau, are operating under a Continuing
Resolution (Public Law 110-329) that expires on March 6. The temporary
funding measure, which left many agencies operating at 2008 spending
levels, included an exception for the 2010 census, allocating the full
$2.9 billion the Administration had requested to carry out final
preparations for the decennial count (under the Periodic Censuses and
Programs account). Congress must reaffirm that amount, or approve
another funding level, in the final appropriation for FY2009.
Congress also will begin considering appropriations for Fiscal Year
2010, which begins on October 1, 2009, when President Obama releases his
budget request for the federal government this Thursday. Historically,
the Census Bureau has requested roughly one-half of the census lifecycle
cost in the year it conducts the count. Last spring, the Commerce
Department estimated that the 2010 census would cost $13.7 - $14.5
billion for the full cycle of testing, planning, and implementation.
Top positions at Commerce and Census Bureau remain unfilled: Sen. Judd
Gregg (R-NH), the President’s second nominee for Secretary of the
Department of Commerce, which includes the Census Bureau, withdrew from
consideration for the post earlier this month. In a statement he
released on February 12, Sen. Gregg said that he had “found that on
issues such as the stimulus package and the Census there are
irresolvable conflicts for me. Prior to accepting this post, we had
discussed these and other potential differences, but unfortunately we
did not adequately focus on these concerns.”
While a number of news editorials suggested that controversy over the
role the White House would play in overseeing the 2010 census was a
significant factor in the nominee’s decision to pull out, Sen. Gregg
said at a news conference the same day that the census dispute was “a
slight issue” for him and “was not a major issue.”
In discussing his withdrawal from consideration as Commerce Secretary,
Sen. Gregg told an interviewer on CNBC (Feb. 13, 2009) that the
Administration was prepared to select Dr. Kenneth Prewitt, Census
Director during the 2000 count, as the new head of the Census Bureau.
Sen. Gregg, who chaired the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that
funded the Census Bureau during the last count, said of Dr. Prewitt, “I
think he did an excellent job.”
However, late last week, several on-line news sources, including a New
York Times podcast, reported that Dr. Prewitt, currently a professor at
Columbia University, has withdrawn his name from consideration for the
top Census post.
Lawmakers highlight concerns about census: Two House members
responsible for oversight of the Census Bureau urged the prompt
appointment of a Census Director, saying in a joint February 12
statement, “We need to have a Census Bureau director nominated and
confirmed as soon as possible.” Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY), chairman of
the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Rep. William Lacy
Clay (D-MO), who chairs the Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census,
and National Archives, expressed deep concern about the status of
planning for the 2010 census. ““The Obama Administration inherited a
Census Bureau that has failed to demonstrate its ability to successfully
carry out the 2010 Census. We are deeply concerned that the Census
Bureau will not be able to complete its constitutionally mandated
responsibility to count U.S. residents without immediate and sustained
attention from the Administration,” the representatives warned. They
said they are “committed to strict bipartisan oversight” of the census
“so that the fairest assessment of the American population is reported.”
On February 12, House Republican leaders held a press conference to
announce the formation of a Census Task Force to “examine all issues of
the 2010 census.” Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said in a news
release, “The American people expect the Census to be fair, impartial,
and free of politics. … If this process is controlled by political
operatives at the White House, instead of experts and statisticians at
the Census Bureau, Americans are right to lose confidence in it.”
A day earlier, Boehner and other Republican members had sent a letter to
President Obama, expressing concern about what they viewed as
politicization of the census (see February 11 Census News Brief).
Also at the press conference, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the senior
Republican on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said the
Administration’s “[c]ommanding the Census Director to report directly to
the White House is a naked political power grab and transparently
partisan. There is only one possible reason for it – political
interference in the 2010 census and partisan manipulation of the
results.” The congressman said Republicans would consider a lawsuit
against the Administration over the line of authority between the White
House, the Commerce Department, and the Census Bureau.
Rep. Issa noted “the need for an independent Census Bureau” and that
“every living former Census Director is on record supporting an
independent Census Bureau,” referring to a letter the directors wrote
last year in support of a bill Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) sponsored to
establish the U.S. Census Bureau as an independent federal agency. No
Republicans co-sponsored the “Restoring the Integrity of American
Statistics Act of 2008” (H.R. 7069, 110th Congress), which Rep. Maloney
said she will reintroduce shortly.
Rep. Maloney, a member of the census oversight subcommittee, called the
Republican press event “a show about nothing.” She noted that the White
House had issued a statement clarifying its intended role in overseeing
the census and quoted spokesman Benjamin LaBolt as saying that the
Administration “has not proposed removing the census from the Department
of Commerce, and the same congressional committees that had oversight
during the previous administration will retain that authority.” Rep.
Maloney called “the Bush Administration’s woefully inadequate planning
and preparation for the next census” the “only true political
machinations” surrounding the census.
Seven legislators, representing three House committees with jurisdiction
over the census, reapportionment, and redistricting, will serve on the
Republican Census Task Force: Reps. Lynn Westmoreland (GA), who will
chair the Task Force, Darrell Issa (CA), and Patrick McHenry (NC), from
the Oversight and Government Reform Committee; Reps. Lamar Smith (TX)
and James Sensenbrenner (WI), from the House Judiciary Committee; and
Reps. Dan Lungren (CA) and Gregg Harper (MS), from the House
Administration Committee.
The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials
(NALEO), a member of the 2010 Census Advisory Committee, said in a
statement, “We applaud the Obama Administration for making a full and
fair 2010 Census a priority, and we welcome the Republican Task Force to
the bipartisan conversation on this vital issue.”
----------
Census News Briefs are prepared by Terri Ann Lowenthal, a consultant to
the nonpartisan Census Project, organized by the Communications
Consortium Media Center in Washington, DC. Please direct questions
about the information in this News Brief to Ms. Lowenthal at
TerriAnn2K(a)aol.com. Please feel free to circulate this document to
other interested individuals and organizations. Previous Census News
Briefs are posted at www.thecensusproject.org
--
Ed Christopher
Resource Center Planning Team
Federal Highway Administration
19900 Governors Drive
Olympia Fields, Illinois 60461
708-283-3534 (V) 708-574-8131 (cell)
708-283-3501 (F)
FYI--This was passed along to me this morning and it is certainly an
important topic. Besides, its not everyday you can get up and find so
much news about the Census Bureau "above the fold" in your newspaper.
_____
From: wendell cox [mailto:demographia@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, February 13, 2009 7:13 PM
To: #DemoGoogle
Subject: Don't Politicize the Census Bureau
http://www.newgeography.com/content/00587-dont-politicize-census-bureau
DON'T POLITICIZE THE CENSUS BUREAU
by Wendell Cox 02/13/2009
The recent decision by the Obama Administration to place the Census
under the control of the White House represents a danger - not only to
the integrity of the process but to the underlying assumptions that
drive policy in a representative democracy. It is something that smacks
of the worst anti-scientific views of the far right, or the casual
political manipulation of the facts one expects in places like Russia or
Iran.
Let me be clear: I love the Bureau of the Census. I have been an avid
consumer of its data since the second grade. I used to wait with
anticipation for the decennial results - the 10 year population counts
for states, counties and cities. Anyone who has spent any time on the
Demographia websites knows the respect with which I treat Census data.
The United States established one of the first regular censuses and it
has been conducted every 10 years since 1790. The United Kingdom
followed in 1801 and France in 1807, though both nations suspended their
counts during World War II.
Over the past couple of decades, the Bureau of the Census has made
annual estimates widely available, so it was no longer necessary to wait
for the 10 year results. This was an important step in the right
direction for people interested in demographics. But, there was a more
basic purpose than amusing people who make their living with numbers. As
federal programs that allocate money to local jurisdictions based upon
their population have become more widespread, interim annual census
estimates became a necessity.
Before the interim estimates, all sorts of "cheerleading" estimates were
published, like the more than 1,000,000 population estimate I discovered
for Washington, DC in the 1950s (the city never exceeded 800,000 by
much). The great thing about the Bureau of the Census was that you could
trust the numbers.
Trust and accuracy were precisely what the framers had in mind when they
wrote the regular decennial Census enumeration (count) into the US
Constitution. The principal purpose, of course, was to apportion seats
in the House of Representatives. A genuine democracy depends on ensuring
all are represented equally and thus depends upon the integrity of its
census.
Recently, however, the process has become ever more politicized. The
Bureau of the Census has allowed counties, cities and other local
jurisdictions to challenge their annual census estimates. The incentive,
of course, is that if the challenge results in a higher population
estimate (and it can be expected that no jurisdiction challenges an
estimate it feels is too high), more federal money is the reward.
I became aware of the problem in watching the recently developing annual
challenge ritual by the nearby city of St. Louis, which has lost more of
its population than any city since the Romans sacked Carthage. No large
local jurisdiction in the world, not even New Orleans, has lost as much
of its population as St. Louis, which has experienced a 60 percent
decline since 1950.
So not surprisingly, the city of St. Louis has become a frequent
challenger. St. Louis has successfully challenged the Bureau of the
Census estimate of its population five of the seven years from 2001 to
2007 (the most recent estimate). The total of additions from census
challenges adds up to 43,000 people. This is a not insubstantial 12.4
percent relative to the approximately 348,000 2000 Census count for the
city.
I began to wonder what the success rate was in census challenges. I
asked the appropriate Bureau of the Census officials for a list of
rejected challenges. The quick and polite response was "We do not have a
list of the rejected challenges." This seemed a strange answer, since
the Bureau of the Census website
<http://www.census.gov/popest/archives/challenges.html>
lists all of the successful challenges. Moreover, my internet search for
news stories about rejections of census challenge rejections yielded
nothing.
I performed an analysis of the successful challenges posted on the
internet. Approximately 200 general purpose local jurisdictions have
filed challenges. Nearly 40,000 have not.
Many of the upheld challenges are in large urban cores, such as 236,000
in the city of New York and more than 100,000 in Atlanta's core Fulton
County. Among the larger jurisdictions, Fulton County added the largest
to its 2000 population by challenges, at 13.5 percent.
However, the challenges are by no means limited to urban cores. Salt
Lake City suburbs West Valley City, West Jordan and Sandy challenged
their counts, but not core city Salt Lake City. Nearby Provo, no urban
jungle, had the largest addition to its population of any jurisdiction
over 100,000 population, at 15.2 percent. The Bureau of the Census
missed about 2,000 residents between Skokie and Hoffman Estates,
headquarters of Sears Roebuck, but not a one in nearby Chicago, which
has 25 times as many people as the two suburban jurisdictions combined.
Overall, 47 jurisdictions with more than 100,000 population in 2000 have
successfully challenged census estimates, many in more than one year.
The total population addition from these challenges is 1.24 million,
though there may be some duplication in city and county numbers.
Overall, the census challenges have added a total of nearly 1,600,000
people, which is likely, with duplications, to exceed the population of
two Congressional districts. All of the challenging jurisdictions
combined had a population of less than 35 million in 2000, or less than
15 percent of the population.
All of this raises questions. Beyond the questions about rejected
challenges, if there have been any, are fundamental questions about
Bureau of the Census methods. How can it be that the Census misses by so
many people? Why did it presumably miss 15 percent of the population in
Provo, 3 percent in New York City and 30 percent in Bazine City, Kansas,
while apparently being so accurate in the remaining 85 percent of the
nation that no one was missed?
Why was the Bureau of the Census estimate so erroneous in New York,
Boston and San Francisco, yet so accurate in Los Angeles, Philadelphia
and Phoenix, where there were no errors?
Then there is the more fundamental question - have there been any
rejections?
It is possible that everything is on the "up and up" with respect to the
Bureau of the Census challenge program. On the other hand, there appears
to be plenty of potential for mischief, as some jurisdictions have
become experts at challenging and the Bureau may find rejections
difficult, given the pressure that could be received from members of
Congress.
But politicization of the Census is a terrible risk. That's why the
Obama administration's decision to move authority for the Census to the
White House from the Department of Commerce is so concerning. It is hard
to imagine a function of government so crucial to the genuine working of
democracy becoming subject to the whims of people like White House chief
of staff, Rahm Emmanuel - or down the road to a similarly partisan
figure in the other party, like a Karl Rove.
The good news is that a bill introduced by New York Democratic
Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney would assure the census's integrity.
Last year, she introduced the "Restoring the Integrity of American
Statistics Act of 2008," with co-sponsors Henry Gonzales of Texas, Henry
Waxman of California and William Clay of Missouri. Congresswoman
Maloney's bill would remove the Bureau of the Census from the Department
of Commerce and establish it as an independent federal agency, insulated
from the political process. According to the Congresswoman:
This action will be a clear signal to Americans that the agency they
depend upon for unbiased monthly economic data as well as the important
decennial portrait of our nation is independent, fair, and protected
from interference.
The bill
http://maloney.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1720&Ite…
has been endorsed by all seven living former directors of the Bureau
of the Census, appointed by Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan,
Clinton and both Bushes.
This is the direction we need to go. The Administration has made much of
its commitment to science and open inquiry. Preserving the sanctity of
the census process would seem to confirm that commitment. In contrast,
putting it under the control of White House political operatives
represents a brazen act of political gamesmanship and a shameful turn in
the wrong direction. It is to be hoped that the rising political
firestorm and the
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123447333424979131.html?mod=djemalertN%20EWS
recent withdrawal of Senator Judd Gregg from consideration for the post
of Commerce Secretary might lead to a policy reversal.
Wendell Cox is a Visiting Professor, Conservatoire National des Arts et
Metiers, Paris. He was born in Los Angeles and was appointed to three
terms on the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission by Mayor Tom
--
Ed Christopher
708-283-3534 (V)
708-574-8131 (cell)
FHWA RC-TST-PLN
19900 Governors Dr
Olympia Fields, IL 60461
I haven't been able to look at this yet, too busy celebrating Abe
Lincoln's 200 birthday, but I thought I would get it out to folks. Not
sure if there are any changes or not.
-----------
OMB proposed changes to the 2000 Standards for Defining Metropolitan and
Micropolitan Statistical Areas
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-2978.pdf
------------
--
Ed Christopher
708-283-3534 (V)
708-574-8131 (cell)
FHWA RC-TST-PLN
19900 Governors Dr
Olympia Fields, IL 60461
CENSUS FUNDS SURVIVE IN STIMULUS BILL
Plus: White House Clarifies Role in 2010 Census, While Republicans
Express Growing “Alarm;”
and more.
House and Senate negotiators reportedly have reached an agreement on a
$789 billion economic stimulus package that includes $1 billion for
expanded 2010 census operations. Details about how the Census Bureau
should spend the funds are not yet available, although both House and
Senate appropriators emphasized the need to target historically
hard-to-count communities in their respective committee reports.
The U.S. Senate gave final approval yesterday (61 – 37) to its $838
billion version of the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009”
after adopting a substitute amendment sponsored by Sen. Susan Collins
(R-ME) and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NB). The Collins-Nelson amendment
allocated $1 billion for enhanced 2010 census operations and specified
that the funds would be available until September 30, 2010, a
restriction the $819 billion House version of the bill did not include.
Before suspending consideration of the original stimulus proposal (H.R.
1) last week, Senators rejected (39 – 57) yet another amendment, offered
by Sens. Graham (R-SC) and Conrad (D-ND), which would have eliminated
funds for the census.
Controvery continues over line of authority for census: Republicans on
the House Energy and Commerce Committee, led by Rep. Marsha Blackburn
(R-TN), today sent a letter to the panel’s leadership, requesting a
hearing to “investigate potential politicization of the U.S. Census
Bureau.” The letter, addressed to committee Chairman Henry Waxman
(D-CA) and Ranking Member Joe Barton (R-TX) and signed by all 22
committee Republicans, follows press reports last week that the White
House planned to assume direct responsibility for the 2010 census after
some stakeholders expressed concern about Commerce Secretary-designate
Judd Gregg’s (R-NH) past positions on the decennial count. (See
February 5th Census News Brief.)
Committee Republicans said they were “alarmed to learn that senior White
House officials are contemplating a plan to change the management and
reporting structure of the Census Bureau,” referring to a report in
Congressional Quarterly last week that the Census Director would have a
“direct line to the White House.” This “change in management,” the
lawmakers wrote, “may jeopardize the important and non-partisan work
product of a sensitive administrative agency, and potentially disrupt
completion of a competent, reliable 2010 census.” The White House
sought to clarify its original statement last week by saying the Census
Director would “work closely” with, not report to, senior Administration
staff, and that the director “works for the Commerce Secretary and the
president.”
The White House today issued a second clarification of its intended role
in the next census, according to an Associated Press article. AP writer
Erica Werner quoted White House spokesman Benjamin LaBolt as saying the
Administration “has not proposed removing the census from the Department
of Commerce, and the same congressional committees that had oversight
during the previous administration will retain that authority.”
However, House Republican Leader John Boehner, joined by other party and
committee leaders in the House, sent a letter to President Obama, urging
him to “reconsider and reverse this controversial and harmful course of
action,” which Rep. Boehner called a “White House census takeover.”
“Placing the census under control of political operatives,” the letter
said, would result in “unprecedented politicization of the census and
open the door to massive waste and abuse in the expenditure of taxpayer
funds” used to allocate federal program funds. The AP reported that
House Republicans plan to hold a press conference on Thursday to discuss
their concerns and announce formation of a Census Task Force, which will
be chaired by Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), a member of the census
oversight subcommittee.
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation has not
announced a date for Sen. Gregg’s confirmation hearing.
Senate panel plans census oversight hearing: The Senate Subcommittee on
Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services,
and International Security, chaired by Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE), will
hold its first census oversight hearing of the 111th Congress on
Thursday, March 5, at 2:30 PM, in room 342 Dirksen Senate Office
Building. The hearing, titled “Lessons Learned: How the New
Administration Can Achieve an Accurate and Cost-Effective 2010 Census,”
will take an historical look at the census and examine the challenges
facing the Census Bureau heading into 2010, including ensuring accurate
funding, timely appointment of a Census Director, and problems with
management of IT systems that “threaten to undermine the accuracy of
Census 2010,” according to the panel’s press release. The subcommittee
has not yet announced witnesses. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is the new
ranking minority member on the panel.
More committee assignments for the 111th Congress: Republicans on the
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have made subcommittee
assignments for the 111th Congress. The Subcommittee on Information
Policy, Census, and National Archives is responsible for oversight of
the Census Bureau and authorization of Census Bureau activities.
(Democratic members of the subcommittee are listed in the February 5th
Census News Brief.)
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives
(Republican Members)
Ranking Member: Patrick McHenry, NC
Lynn Westmoreland, GA
John Mica, FL
Jason Chaffetz, UT
Census News Briefs are prepared by Terri Ann Lowenthal, a consultant to
the nonpartisan Census Project, organized by the Communications
Consortium Media Center in Washington, DC. Please direct questions
about the information in this News Brief to Ms. Lowenthal at
TerriAnn2K(a)aol.com. Please feel free to circulate this document to
other interested individuals and organizations. Previous Census News
Briefs are posted at www.thecensusproject.org
CENSUS NEWS BRIEF
CENSUS FUNDS SURVIVE
IN STIMULUS BILL
Plus: White House Clarifies Role in 2010 Census, While Republicans
Express Growing “Alarm;”
and more.
House and Senate negotiators reportedly have reached an agreement on a
$789 billion economic stimulus package that includes $1 billion for
expanded 2010 census operations. Details about how the Census Bureau
should spend the funds are not yet available, although both House and
Senate appropriators emphasized the need to target historically
hard-to-count communities in their respective committee reports.
The U.S. Senate gave final approval yesterday (61 – 37) to its $838
billion version of the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009”
after adopting a substitute amendment sponsored by Sen. Susan Collins
(R-ME) and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NB). The Collins-Nelson amendment
allocated $1 billion for enhanced 2010 census operations and specified
that the funds would be available until September 30, 2010, a
restriction the $819 billion House version of the bill did not include.
Before suspending consideration of the original stimulus proposal (H.R.
1) last week, Senators rejected (39 – 57) yet another amendment, offered
by Sens. Graham (R-SC) and Conrad (D-ND), which would have eliminated
funds for the census.
Controvery continues over line of authority for census: Republicans on
the House Energy and Commerce Committee, led by Rep. Marsha Blackburn
(R-TN), today sent a letter to the panel’s leadership, requesting a
hearing to “investigate potential politicization of the U.S. Census
Bureau.” The letter, addressed to committee Chairman Henry Waxman
(D-CA) and Ranking Member Joe Barton (R-TX) and signed by all 22
committee Republicans, follows press reports last week that the White
House planned to assume direct responsibility for the 2010 census after
some stakeholders expressed concern about Commerce Secretary-designate
Judd Gregg’s (R-NH) past positions on the decennial count. (See
February 5th Census News Brief.)
Committee Republicans said they were “alarmed to learn that senior White
House officials are contemplating a plan to change the management and
reporting structure of the Census Bureau,” referring to a report in
Congressional Quarterly last week that the Census Director would have a
“direct line to the White House.” This “change in management,” the
lawmakers wrote, “may jeopardize the important and non-partisan work
product of a sensitive administrative agency, and potentially disrupt
completion of a competent, reliable 2010 census.” The White House
sought to clarify its original statement last week by saying the Census
Director would “work closely” with, not report to, senior Administration
staff, and that the director “works for the Commerce Secretary and the
president.”
The White House today issued a second clarification of its intended role
in the next census, according to an Associated Press article. AP writer
Erica Werner quoted White House spokesman Benjamin LaBolt as saying the
Administration “has not proposed removing the census from the Department
of Commerce, and the same congressional committees that had oversight
during the previous administration will retain that authority.”
However, House Republican Leader John Boehner, joined by other party and
committee leaders in the House, sent a letter to President Obama, urging
him to “reconsider and reverse this controversial and harmful course of
action,” which Rep. Boehner called a “White House census takeover.”
“Placing the census under control of political operatives,” the letter
said, would result in “unprecedented politicization of the census and
open the door to massive waste and abuse in the expenditure of taxpayer
funds” used to allocate federal program funds. The AP reported that
House Republicans plan to hold a press conference on Thursday to discuss
their concerns and announce formation of a Census Task Force, which will
be chaired by Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), a member of the census
oversight subcommittee.
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation has not
announced a date for Sen. Gregg’s confirmation hearing.
Senate panel plans census oversight hearing: The Senate Subcommittee on
Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services,
and International Security, chaired by Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE), will
hold its first census oversight hearing of the 111th Congress on
Thursday, March 5, at 2:30 PM, in room 342 Dirksen Senate Office
Building. The hearing, titled “Lessons Learned: How the New
Administration Can Achieve an Accurate and Cost-Effective 2010 Census,”
will take an historical look at the census and examine the challenges
facing the Census Bureau heading into 2010, including ensuring accurate
funding, timely appointment of a Census Director, and problems with
management of IT systems that “threaten to undermine the accuracy of
Census 2010,” according to the panel’s press release. The subcommittee
has not yet announced witnesses. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) is the ranking
minority member on the panel.
More committee assignments for the 111th Congress: Republicans on the
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have made subcommittee
assignments for the 111th Congress. The Subcommittee on Information
Policy, Census, and National Archives is responsible for oversight of
the Census Bureau and authorization of Census Bureau activities.
(Democratic members of the subcommittee are listed in the February 5th
Census News Brief.)
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives
(Republican Members)
Ranking Member: Patrick McHenry, NC
Lynn Westmoreland, GA
John Mica, FL
Jason Chaffetz, UT
Census News Briefs are prepared by Terri Ann Lowenthal, a consultant to
the nonpartisan Census Project, organized by the Communications
Consortium Media Center in Washington, DC. Please direct questions
about the information in this News Brief to Ms. Lowenthal at
TerriAnn2K(a)aol.com. Please feel free to circulate this document to
other interested individuals and organizations. Previous Census News
Briefs are posted at www.thecensusproject.org
--
Ed Christopher
708-283-3534 (V)
708-574-8131 (cell)
FHWA RC-TST-PLN
19900 Governors Dr
Olympia Fields, IL 60461
