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/
**************************************************************
Martin,
The 1% and 5% don't exactly refer to geography. They refer to the
sampling fraction; the proportion of the total resondents who are
included in the PUMS files.
PUMS geography is based on PUMAs (Public Use Microdata Sample areas)
for the 5% files; these have to be at least 100,000 population. The
1% file uses super-PUMAs, which have to be at least 250,000 in
population size. Your state data center should be able to tell you
what the PUMAs are for your state or area; they're also included in
the 2000 census PUMS documentation.
Hope this helps.
Patty Becker
At 03:37 PM 3/25/2009, you wrote:
>Hello,
>
>I am looking to create some commute flow maps and I think I remember
>someone mentioning (between all the please remove me from this list
>e-mails) that flow maps can be created by using ACS data and the PUMS
>geography. I was at the Census site trying to download the PUMS
>geography files and found that there were two types 1% and 5%. Does
>anyone know which geography file I should use? The 1% or the 5%?
>Thanks in advance,
>
>Martin Catala
>GIS Manager
>CUTR
>
>_______________________________________________
>ctpp-news mailing list
>ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
>http://www.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/ctpp-news
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Patricia C. (Patty) Becker 248/354-6520
APB Associates/SEMCC FAX 248/354-6645
28300 Franklin Road Home 248/355-2428
Southfield, MI 48034 pbecker(a)umich.edu
A few questions for anyone who'd care to offer opinions...
Who on the list has experience "synthesizing" small-area (= TAZ Zones or Tracts or Block Groups) socioeconomic crosstabs that go beyond the tables published by Census Bureau? By "beyond," I'm specifically thinking of using multiple households characteristics as segmenting dimensions.
And how do you go about it? Iterative proportional fitting - or propensity? or some other joint distribution technique??
About my own objectives:
For analyses and forecasts-prep at Metropolitan Council, we would like to segment our region's Census 2000 households on multiple dimensions:
age of householder (4 categories) X household size (4 categories) X household income (5 categories) X geographic units (1200 Zones).
I've been thinking that we would start with CTPP table 64 (crosstab of household size X household income X TAZ Zones) and then synthesize the additional segmentation by age group (drawing on PUMS data). But I'm skeptical that household size X household income is enough information to predict age of householder. Any thoughts??
Alternately... Census SF3 table P55 offers crosstab of age group X household income X Block Groups. Perhaps start there and synthesize the additional segmentation by household size. This might work better! - but then there's the additional hassle of correspondence between Block Groups vs TAZ Zones.
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.
-- Todd Graham
Metropolitan Council Research
651/602-1322
LOCKE CONFIRMED AS COMMERCE SECRETARY; HOUSE PANEL REVIEWS 2010 CENSUS
COMMUNICATIONS CAMPAIGN Plus: Address Canvassing Starts; Stakeholder
Activities; and more.
On March 24, the U.S. Senate confirmed, by voice vote, the nomination of
former Washington State Governor Gary Locke to be the nation’s 36th
Secretary of Commerce, with responsibility for a number of diverse
federal agencies including the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of
Economic Analysis (BEA), both part of the department’s Economics and
Statistics Administration (ESA).
The President has not yet nominated a Census director or Under Secretary
of Commerce for Economic Affairs, who would head ESA; both positions
require Senate confirmation. The director of BEA is a career civil servant.
House panel reviews 2010 census communications campaign: The House
Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives held a
hearing on March 23 to review the Census Bureau’s strategy for reducing
the undercount of “hard to count” populations. The hearing focused on
the 2010 Census Communication Campaign, which includes paid media,
outreach, Census in the Schools, and the Partnership Program. Witnesses
included Acting Census Bureau Director Thomas Mesenbourg and
representatives of the Government Accountability Office (GAO),
Communications Campaign contractor DraftFCB, and New York City’s 2010
census campaign. Statements and testimony from the hearing are
available on-line at
http://informationpolicy.oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=2350.
Subcommittee Chairman William “Lacy” Clay (D-MO) noted that many of the
people missed in the 2000 census “were African American or Hispanic,
most were poor, and all of them deserved to be counted,” said Chairman
Clay. “I expect the Census Bureau, the Partnership organizations and the
advertising campaign to aggressively target these hard to count
populations and to make serious progress in reducing the chronic
undercount of minorities.” Mr. Mesenbourg and DraftFCB Executive Vice
President Jeff Tarakajian reported that the total advertising and
outreach budget for the 2010 census is $312 million, which includes
additional funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(the stimulus bill); $258 million of that amount is allocated for paid
media. According to the GAO, 55 percent of the advertising budget will
be used for national media, and 45 percent will be used for local media,
primarily to target specific hard-to-count communities. Stimulus funds
also are being used to expand the Partnership Program; the Census Bureau
will hire about 2,000 partnership specialists by June 2009, adding to
the 680 partnership staff hired earlier this year under the original
2010 census plan.
During the hearing, Chairman Clay expressed concern about the amount of
stimulus funds allocated for media and outreach targeting African
American, Hispanic, and Asian American communities. The congressman
said he believed more money should be spent on advertising in Black and
Hispanic communities, and he questioned the preliminary decision to
increase advertising in Asian American communities by $13 million,
saying that Asian Americans were “historically over counted” in the census.
In response to Rep. Clay’s remarks, which were reported in the St. Louis
Post Dispatch, the Asian American Justice Center (AAJC), a member of the
Census Bureau’s 2010 Census Advisory Committee, prepared a fact sheet,
“The Truth About Asian Americans and the Census: Debunking the Myths,”
posted on its web site at
(http://www.advancingequality.org/censuspubs/). Addressing the
assertion that Asian Americans were overcounted in the 2000 census, the
publication notes that, “The Census Bureau itself did not have
confidence in its measures of census accuracy in 2000, especially for
smaller population groups such as Asian Americans. The Census Bureau
cited ‘troubling anomalies and unexplained results’ in its decision not
to use the results of its accuracy-check survey to adjust the final
census numbers.” The fact sheet refers to the Accuracy and Coverage
Evaluation (A.C.E.) Revision II report issued in March 2003, which
documents the Census Bureau’s final decision not to use the results of
the A.C.E. survey to adjust the 2000 census for any official purpose,
such as the allocation of federal program funds.
Later in the week, Rep. Clay and Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA), chairman of the
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and a member of the House
appropriations subcommittee that funds the Census Bureau, issued a joint
statement recognizing Senate confirmation of Commerce Secretary Gary
Locke. The lawmakers said they looked forward to working with the
Secretary and the President to help ensure adequate resources for
“outreach to all hard-to-count communities, including African American,
Asian American and Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and tribal communities. “
Noting that many racial and ethnic minorities distrust government
agencies and are reluctant to answer government surveys, Reps. Honda and
Clay said, “We support the Census Bureau’s media and other outreach to
linguistically and culturally isolated communities, such as households
in the African, Asian, Latino, and other diasporas.” The statement
emphasized the need for “robust resources for in-language paid media,”
noting high proportions of limited English-language proficiency among
Asian Americans and in Latino households where Spanish is spoken at
home. The legislators also cited a 300 percent increase in Asian media
outlets in the United States between 1990 and 2007.
2010 Census operational update: 2010 Census field operations kick-off
on a large scale this week with the start of address canvassing. More
than 140,000 “address listers” will update and verify 145 million
addresses on the Census Bureau’s Master Address File (MAF) over several
months, ending in mid-July. The work will be conducted out of 151 Local
Census Offices (LCOs); the remaining 350 LCOs will open in the Fall.
Address canvassing will include “group quarters,” such as college dorms,
prisons, and military barracks, for the first time. Census workers also
will update the address list this Spring to include shelters, soup
kitchens, mobile food vans, and similar locations that serve people
without a usual home.
The Census Bureau formally kicks-off its 2010 Census Partnership Program
with a National Partner Briefing in Washington, DC on March 30. About
250 non-profit, corporate, and government partner organizations are
expected to attend. The goal of the briefing is to “inform partners
about the 2010 Census; articulate the role partners can play; identify
where partners can access resources; and motivate partners to launch
2010 Census outreach efforts,” according to a Census Bureau description
of the event. The Census Bureau will make a video and audio recording
of the briefing available on-line for the thousands of partner
organizations not able to attend; it said that more than 10,000
organizations nationwide have signed Partnership Agreements for the 2010
census. About 140,000 organizations were official census partners in 2000.
Advocates question tabulation plans for married gay couples: Advocates
for the gay community are challenging the Census Bureau’s decision to
re-code married couples of the same sex as “unmarried partners” in the
2010 census relationship question. New York City Councilman Bill de
Blasio (D-District 39) introduced a resolution earlier this month,
calling on the Census Bureau to publish data on same-sex couples who
report that they are married. New York State recognizes same-sex
marriages performed in states and other countries where gay marriage is
legal.
According to articles in The New York Times and other news outlets, the
Census Bureau has determined that the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996
prohibits it from tabulating data on marriages that are not between
opposite-sex couples. Similarly, same-sex couples with children will
not meet the Census Bureau’s definition of a “family” when the agency
publishes data on families and households; the children will be
considered part of a single-parent household.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund, calling the Census
Bureau’s tabulation policy “expensive and insulting” and “a holdover
from the Bush Administration,” is circulating a petition to Acting
Census Director Thomas Mesenbourg, asking him “to reverse the Census
Bureau’s current policy and count all legally recognized marriages
equally in the 2010 census — including those of same-sex couples.”
Stakeholder activities highlight 2010 census: Stakeholder organizations
are continuing to highlight the importance of an accurate count and
mobilizing their constituencies across the country to promote participation.
The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) held a national
teleconference on March 23 to promote an accurate count of Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders in the 2010 census. CAPAC Chairman Mike
Honda (D-CA) moderated the discussion, which included remarks by
Associate Census Director for Decennial Census, Arnold Jackson; Terry
Ao, Asian American Justice Center; Bill Imada, President of IW Group,
which is developing the 2010 census media campaign for the Asian
American community; and other census stakeholders.
On April 1, 2009, a coalition of national Spanish-language media and
Latino organizations will launch their “ya es hora HAGASE CONTAR! (It’s
Time, Make Yourself Count!) campaign , to “motivate and inform the
nearly 50 million U.S. Latinos to participate in the 2010 Census.” The
announcement comes one year before Census Day, which is set by law
(Title 13, United States Code) and provides the reference point for all
census responses.
The Population Reference Bureau (PRB) is hosting a policy seminar,
“Countdown to the 2010 Census: What You Need to Know,” on April 15 in
Washington, DC. The “brown bag lunch” event will feature Dr. Daniel
Weinberg, Assistant Director for Decennial Census and ACS, U.S. Census
Bureau; Dr. William O’Hare, Senior Fellow at the Annie E. Casey
Foundation and a consultant to the Funder Census Initiative; and Mary Jo
Hoeksema, Director of Government and Public Affairs for the Population
Association of America and a consultant to The Census Project.
For more information about any of these events, please visit the web
sites of the sponsoring organizations.
Census advisory committees to hold spring meetings: The Census Advisory
Committee of Professional Associations will meet on April 16-17, 2009,
at Census Bureau headquarters in Suitland, MD. The meeting, which is
open to the public, runs from 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM on April 16, and from
8:30 AM – 12:00 PM on April 17.
The Census Bureau’s five Race and Ethnic Advisory Committees (REACs)
will meet on April 22-24, 2009, and the 2010 Census Advisory Committee
will meet on May 7-8, 2009, both at Census Bureau headquarters. Agendas
for these meetings will be available soon.
Anyone interested in attending advisory committee meetings must call
301-763-3231 upon arrival at the Census Bureau on the day of the meeting
and present a photo ID, due to increased security procedures.
Census News Briefs are prepared by Terri Ann Lowenthal, a 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. Please feel free to circulate this document to
other interested individuals and organizations and to reprint any or all
of the information. Previous Census News Briefs are posted at the
Census Project web site (www.thecensusproject.org).
--
Ed Christopher
708-283-3534 (V)
708-574-8131 (cell)
FHWA RC-TST-PLN
19900 Governors Dr
Olympia Fields, IL 60461
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>
please remove me from this list. Thank you.
Vanessa Guerra
Planner
Planning Department
1120 San Bernardo Ave.
Laredo, TX 78042
Tel: (956) 794-1604
Fax: (956) 794-1624
________________________________
From: ctpp-news-bounces(a)chrispy.net
[mailto:ctpp-news-bounces@chrispy.net] On Behalf Of Dave Belz
Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2009 7:39 AM
To: ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
Subject: Re: [CTPP] (no subject)
Please delete me from the list!!!!
Thank you
----- Original Message -----
From: Mike Lammey <mailto:mlammey@k3county.net>
To: ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
Sent: Thursday, March 19, 2009 12:12 PM
Subject: RE: [CTPP] (no subject)
Me too.
Mike Lammey
Senior Transportation Planner
Kankakee Illinois MPO
From: ctpp-news-bounces(a)chrispy.net
[mailto:ctpp-news-bounces@chrispy.net] On Behalf Of
Lin.Barnett(a)cwftx.net
Sent: Thursday, March 19, 2009 9:54 AM
To: ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
Cc: ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net; ctpp-news-bounces(a)chrispy.net
Subject: Re: [CTPP] (no subject)
I too request to be removed from this mailing list.
Thank you,
Lin Barnett
Wichita Falls MPO Transportation Planning Director
Transportation Planning Division
Department of Traffic, Transportation & Aviation
Metropolitan Planning Organization
2100 Seymour Highway
Wichita Falls, TX 76301
Ph 940-761-7450
Fax 940-761-6813
Email: Lin.Barnett(a)cwftx.net
Web: www.wfmpo.com
"Don Lewis" <DLEWIS1(a)dot.state.tx.us>
Sent by: ctpp-news-bounces(a)chrispy.net
03/19/2009 09:39 AM
Please respond to
ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
To
<ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net>
cc
Subject
Re: [CTPP] (no subject)
me too, pls.
>>>
From:
"Marlie Sanderson" <sanderson(a)ncfrpc.org>
To:
<ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net>
Date:
Thursday, March 19, 2009 9:02 AM
Subject:
[CTPP] (no subject)
Please delete me from this mailing list- I am getting too many
emails from people who should not be replying to all when they respond.
Marlie
Marlie Sanderson, Assistant Executive Director
North Central Florida Regional Planning Council
2009 NW 67th Place
Gainesville, FL 32653-1603
(352) 955-2200, ext. 103
_______________________________________________
ctpp-news mailing list
ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
http://www.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/ctpp-news
<http://www.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/ctpp-news>
________________________________
_______________________________________________
ctpp-news mailing list
ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
http://www.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/ctpp-news
_______________________________________________
ctpp-news mailing list
ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
http://www.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/ctpp-news
Please delete me from this mailing list- I am getting too many emails
from people who should not be replying to all when they respond.
Marlie
Marlie Sanderson, Assistant Executive Director
North Central Florida Regional Planning Council
2009 NW 67th Place
Gainesville, FL 32653-1603
(352) 955-2200, ext. 103
Since these come up in other listservs also, I suggest that everyone
make a "rule" in your email program that shoots all messages with "out
of the office" in the subject line into a junk mail folder. Then you
will never see them.
Jay Hoekstra
Email: jay.hoekstra(a)gvmc.org
Grand Valley Metro Council, 40 Pearl NW, Suite 410, Grand Rapids,
Michigan, 49503
Phone 616-776-7605
-----Original Message-----
From: ctpp-news-bounces(a)chrispy.net
[mailto:ctpp-news-bounces@chrispy.net] On Behalf Of Kuo-Ann Chiao
Sent: Monday, March 23, 2009 12:17 PM
To: ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
Subject: Re: [CTPP] Diana Portillo is out of the office.
These "out of office" messages shouldn't be going to the whole mailing
list.
Kuo-Ann Chiao
Director of Technical Group
NY Metropolitan Transportation Council
199 Water Street, 22nd Floor
New York, NY 10038
212-383-7212 (office)
917-796-0841 (cell)
212-383-2439 (fax)
>>> diana_portillo(a)dot.ca.gov 3/20/2009 4:59 PM >>>
I will be out of the office starting 03/20/2009 and will not return
until 04/08/2009.
_______________________________________________
ctpp-news mailing list
ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
http://www.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/ctpp-news
LOCKE CONFIRMATION MOVING THROUGH SENATE; GAO FAULTS SYSTEM TESTING
PLANS FOR 2010 CENSUS
Plus: New Legislation; Recent Funding News; Congressional Oversight;
Stakeholder Activities
On March 19, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation unanimously approved former Washington Governor Gary
Locke to be Secretary of Commerce, sending the nomination to the full
Senate for a vote. The committee agreed to Gov. Locke’s nomination one
day after the President’s third nominee for the Cabinet post with
responsibility for the decennial census assured committee members at his
confirmation hearing that the Census director would continue to report
to the Commerce Secretary and that the Census Bureau had no plans to use
statistical sampling methods in the 2010 census to produce population
figures.
Committee Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller (D-WV) called the Commerce
Secretary position “undeniably crucial to the improvement of our
economy” and Gov. Locke, “a man with his finger on the pulse of what
direction America must head toward in generations to come.” The
chairman urged quick Senate confirmation of the nominee.
The committee’s senior Republican, Co-Chairman Kay Bailey Hutchison
(R-TX), said in her opening statement that she “was pleased to hear your
position that the census will stay in the Department of Commerce and it
will be handled on a professional basis,” referring to the traditional
courtesy meeting she had with Gov. Locke in the days before the
confirmation hearing. In an exchange with Sen. Hutchison later in the
hearing about the use of statistical sampling methods to adjust the
census count, Gov. Locke noted that the Supreme Court had ruled (in
1999) that the Census Act (Title 13, U.S.C., §195) prohibits the use of
sampling to produce the state population totals used for congressional
apportionment and said the Commerce Department “will enforce the law.”
The nominee pointed to other, acceptable uses of sampling, including to
measure census accuracy and to collect a wider range of data about the
nation’s demographic and economic characteristics.
Sen. Hutchison pressed Gov. Locke as to whether the Census Bureau would
statistically adjust the census numbers for purposes other than
apportionment, such as redistricting. Gov. Locke said there are “no
plans in the Department of Commerce or the Census Bureau to use any type
of statistical sampling with respect to population count.”
On February 26, after President Obama nominated Gov. Locke for the
Commerce post, Rep. Patrick McHenry wrote to the Governor, asking him if
he “intended to comply with the partisan ambitions of the President or
to fulfill your constitutional obligation as Secretary of Commerce and
oversee a fair and accurate 2010 Decennial Census?” The ranking
Republican on the House Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and
National Archives cited in his letter the “Administration’s plan to
circumvent the authority of the Secretary of Commerce and place the
traditionally non-partisan census under White House influence.” White
House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, in response to a reporter’s question
the previous day about Gov. Locke’s nomination, said, “The director of
the census always would report to the Secretary of Commerce.” The week
before Gov. Locke’s confirmation hearing, White House spokeman Benjamin
LaBolt issued another statement to clarify the Administration’s role in
overseeing the decennial census. “The president wants to ensure that
the census conducts a fair and accurate count. The census director will
report to the commerce secretary,” Mr. LaBolt said. “Like in every
census under Democratic or Republican administrations, there will be
interest in Congress and at the White House in this national priority.”
Rep. McHenry also asked Gov. Locke if his goal was to “count every
person or to employ statistical adjustment,” referring to what he called
“partisans who advocate statistical ‘adjustment’ or extrapolation over
precise counting.” The Census Bureau did not recommend that the results
of its post-2000 census coverage measurement survey be used to adjust
the results to correct undercounts and overcounts. In 1990, Census
Director Barbara Everitt Bryant, appointed by President George H.W.
Bush, did recommend an adjustment of the raw census counts based on the
post-enumeration survey; Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher rejected
the recommendation.
Meanwhile, eight professional associations, led by the American
Statistical Association, sent a letter to President Obama on March 10,
urging him to nominate a Census director quickly “because of the need
for strong and decisive leadership in the decisions now being made in
preparation for the 2010 Census.”
GAO cites “weaknesses” in 2010 census testing plans: The Government
Accountability Office (GAO), in a new report issued this month,
concluded, “[C]ritical testing activities remain to be performed before
systems will be ready to support the 2010 census.” GAO officials told
members of the Census Bureau’s House oversight subcommittee at a March
5th hearing that while the agency has “made progress in conducting
system, integration, and end-to-end testing for the 2010 census, [much]
remains to be done.” The auditing agency cited “lack of sufficient
executive-level oversight and guidance on testing” as two key factors
contributing to “weaknesses in the Bureau’s IT testing.” The GAO report
notes that the Census Bureau is “still in the preliminary phase of
program planning and initial system development” for paper-based
operations, which the Census Bureau will use instead of handheld
computers to follow-up with unresponsive households during the census.
The 2008 Dress Rehearsal, GAO said, included end-to-end testing for some
(e.g. address canvassing and group quarters validation) but not all
(e.g. nonresponse follow-up, enumeration of transitory locations, and
group quarters enumeration) key census operations.
The report, “Information Technology: Census Bureau Testing of 2010
Decennial Systems Can Be Strengthened” (GAO-09-262), is available
on-line at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09262.pdf. Statements and
testimony from the hearing of the House Subcommittee on Information
Policy, Census, and National Archives are available at
http://informationpolicy.oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=2318.
The Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government
Information, Federal Services, and International Security also held a
hearing on March 5, “Lessons Learned: How the New Administration Can
Achieve an Accurate and Cost-Effective 2010 Census,” featuring two
former Census directors, GAO, and other census experts. In addition to
noting that “a number of operations and support systems still need to be
designed, planned, or tested,” GAO expressed concern about the cost of
the 2010 census, saying the Census Bureau “finds itself lacking
sufficient policies, procedures, and trained staff to develop
high-quality cost estimates[.]” “[U]ncertainties surround the Bureau’s
readiness for 2010,” GAO cautioned. Hearing statements and testimony
are available at
http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&Hearing….
Legislation would create an independent Census Bureau: Reps. Carolyn
Maloney (D-NY), Charles Gonzalez (D-TX), Charlie Dent (R-PA), and Jim
Gerlach (R-PA) introduced legislation (H.R. 1254) to establish the U.S.
Census Bureau as an independent federal agency and to create a fixed,
five-year term of service for the Census director, all starting in 2012.
The head of the Census Bureau currently is appointed by the President
and confirmed by the U.S. Senate and serves at the pleasure of the
President; Census directors routinely resign at the end of a President’s
term of office.
In a press statement announcing introduction of the bill, Rep. Maloney,
a member of the Census Bureau’s oversight subcommittee, said the
agency’s work “is too important to be a stepchild of a larger
organization – buffeted by year-to-year budget whims and political
storms,” a reference to the Department of Commerce of which the bureau
is a part. She suggested that an independent Census Bureau could
“conduct its ten-year planning, testing and execution process without
interference.” Rep. Dent said that Congress must “assure the American
public of the Census’ integrity, objectivity and dedication to its
crucial task.”
Some Republicans questioned the benefits of removing the Census Bureau
from the Commerce Department. A spokesman for Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA),
the senior Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform
Committee, said, “Simply turning a troubled agency loose at this time is
not the answer.”
Seven former Census directors signed a letter in support of the
“Restoring the Integrity of American Statistics Act” when it was first
introduced in the last Congress. The former agency heads, who served in
both Republican and Democratic Administrations, said Americans must have
confidence that census numbers are produced by an “independent,
non-partisan, apolitical, and scientific” agency. They noted that the
Census Bureau’s activities are not always a priority for the large
Commerce Department and that the Census director could offer “more
timely and thorough responses” to Congress if it had direct access to
lawmakers.
Ten stakeholder organizations, led by the American Statistical
Association and including the National Association of Latino Elected and
Appointed Officials (NALEO), also sent a letter of support to Rep.
Maloney that noted the independent status of several other federal
research agencies.
Congress finishes funding bill for 2009: Congress gave final approval
to, and the President signed, an omnibus spending bill for the remainder
of Fiscal Year 2009 (FY2009), which ends on September 30. Public Law
111-8 includes $3.14 billion for the Census Bureau, the amount requested
by the Bush Administration last year. About $2.7 billion of the
appropriation is for 2010 census preparations. (See the February 24
Census News Brief for more details on census funding in this bill.)
Congressional oversight hearings continue: The House Subcommittee on
Information Policy, Census, and National Archives will hold a hearing to
examine the 2010 census Regional Partnership Program on March 23, at
10:00 AM in Room 2154 Rayburn House Office Building. Witnesses include
Acting Census Director Thomas Mesenbourg and other Census Bureau
officials; New York City’s 2010 census coordinator; and representatives
of the Government Accountability Office and Draftfcb, the 2010 census
Communications Campaign contractor.
Last week, Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (GA), chair of the Republican Census
Task Force and a member of the census oversight subcommittee, raised
concerns that the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now
(known as ACORN) had signed on as an official 2010 census “partner.”
Rep. Westmoreland told FOXNews.com that, “all the different charges of
voter fraud … should be the concern of every citizen in the country. We
want an enumeration. We don’t want to have any false numbers.”
FOXNews.com called ACORN a “group with a history of voter fraud” in a
March 18 report, citing charges against a handful of ACORN employees
during the last election cycle for fraudulent voter registrations. A
spokesman for the non-profit organization told the news outlet that,
“ACORN as an organization has not been charged with any crime.” The
group, which calls itself the “nation’s largest grassroots community
organization of low- and moderate-income people,” said it is “committed
to a fair and accurate count.” Another member of the Census Bureau’s
oversight panel, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), said that he is “fairly
confident that the penalties for an individual manipulating the count
are pretty severe.”
In 2000, tens of thousands of national and community-based
organizations, businesses, and state and local governments were part of
the Census Bureau’s Partnership Program, widely credited with helping to
stem the decline in census mail response. The Census Bureau asks its
“partners” to help recruit census workers and provide space for testing
and training temporary employees, distribute census materials, and
sponsor community events to promote the census.
Stakeholder activities highlight 2010 census: With the start of the
2010 census only a year away, stakeholder organizations are highlighting
the importance of an accurate count and mobilizing their constituencies
across the country to promote participation.
The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials
(NALEO) and the Brookings Institution hosted a discussion on “Politics,
Policy, and the 2010 Decennial Census,” moderated by NPR News Senior
Washington Editor Ron Elving, in Washington, DC, on March 18. (A
summary, transcript, and audio recording are available at
http://www.brookings.edu/events/2009/0318_census.aspx.)
The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation is hosting a “Census
2010 Call to Action Leadership Summit,” featuring presentations by
senior Census Bureau officials and program heads. Members of the
Congressional Black Caucus also will participate in the March 23 event.
The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights will mobilize its national
network of social and economic justice organizations in support of the
2010 census with a conference call on March 24. As part of its “Calling
for Justice” series, LCCR will focus on “Making the Count Right:
Achieving an Accurate 2010 Census for Underrepresented Communities.”
On March 25, a coalition of Latino organizations -- including Voto
Latino, the National Institute of Latino Policy, MALDEF, and LULAC --
are hosting “The State of Latinos: Census 2010.” Members of the
Congressional Hispanic Caucus and census oversight subcommittees, as
well as senior Census Bureau staff, will join the discussion. (For more
information about any of these events, please visit the web sites of the
sponsoring organizations.)
Census News Briefs are prepared by Terri Ann Lowenthal, a 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. Please feel free to circulate this document to
other interested individuals and organizations and to reprint any or all
of the information. Ms. Lowenthal is a consultant to the nonpartisan
Census Project, organized by the Communications Consortium Media Center
in Washington, DC. Previous Census News Briefs are posted at
www.thecensusproject.org.
--
Ed Christopher
708-283-3534 (V)
708-574-8131 (cell)
FHWA Resource Center
19900 Governors Dr
Olympia Fields, IL 60461
