From: Census2000 <Census2000(a)ccmc.org>
Census 2000 Funding Survives in the House After Heated Debate over
"Emergency" Tag
Legislators Must Reconcile House and Senate Bills As New Fiscal Year
Approaches on October 1st
Funding for Census 2000 survived a heated debate in the U.S. House of
Representatives yesterday, as legislators considered a spending bill for
the fiscal year starting October 1, 1999. The Fiscal Year 2000 (FY00)
Commerce, Justice, State, and The Judiciary Appropriations bill (H.R.
2670) includes $4.476 billion for Census 2000 activities, $11.3 million
short of President Clinton's request of $4.512 billion. (Most of the
funding "cut" resulted from shifting money for development of the
American Community Survey from the Census 2000 account to a separate
account.)
The measure designates money for Census 2000 as "emergency spending,"
meaning that the funds do not count against the tight caps Congress set
earlier in the year for the Commerce-Justice-State budget account. The
House is expected to complete action today on the $35.8 billion Commerce
spending bill. The committee report explaining provisions of the
appropriations bill is House Report (H. Rept.) 106-283.
Dozens of lawmakers joined in the debate over an amendment offered by
Rep. Tom Coburn (R-OK), to cut $2.8 billion from the census allocation
of $4.476 billion. The Administration originally requested that amount
for census operations next year but later asked for an extra $1.7
billion after the Supreme Court ruled that federal law required a direct
count without sampling methods to calculate the state population totals
for congressional apportionment. The amendment was defeated, 171 to
257, with 95 Republicans and 76 Democrats voting for the Coburn
proposal.
Rep. Coburn, saying the debate "wasn't even about the census," argued
that calling the census an emergency was "pulling the wool over the
American people's eyes." He charged that in adopting the 1997 balanced
budget law, Congress failed to provide money for the census in 2000.
Rep. Coburn also questioned the cost of the census, calling the $24 per
household cost "abhorrent." "[The high cost] we're inefficient," the
congressman said. Many legislators from both political parties who
spoke in favor of the amendment said the debate was about the
"integrity" of the budget process. "This [debate] is about the
credibility of every Member of this body," said Rep. George Miller
(D-CA).
But Rep. David Obey (D-WI), senior Democrat on the appropriations
committee, said the Census Bureau would not have enough money to carry
out the census next year if the Coburn amendment passed. The House
Rules Committee, which sets the rules for debating bills on the House
floor, did not allow Rep. Obey to offer an amendment to lift the
emergency designation from the Census 2000 account. The congressman
said that while he favored removing the emergency tag, it would be far
worse to cut funds needed for the decennial count.
Rep. Dan Miller (R-FL), chairman of the census oversight subcommittee,
also opposed the Coburn amendment, calling it "irresponsible." Rep.
Miller said the Census Bureau needs more money to reduce the
disproportionate undercount of racial minorities, immigrants, the
homeless, and other hard-to-count populations. Rep. Carolyn Maloney
(D-NY), the ranking Democrat on the census subcommittee, noted that the
census would have cost less if congressional Republicans had not
challenged the use of sampling in the original Census 2000 plan in
court. Rep. Tom Sawyer (D-OH), chairman of the census subcommittee
during the 1990 count, said that protracted wrangling over funding for
the census could jeopardize activities, such as buying advertising
slots, that must be done quickly after the new fiscal year starts.
The Administration issued a "statement of policy," setting forth its
views on the committee-approved version of the Commerce spending bill.
While it "appreciates" the overall funding level for Census 2000, the
Administration is concerned that the bill divides the money into
specific operational categories. This earmarking, the statement says,
"would impose unnecessary restrictions" on the Census Bureau's ability
to deal with unexpected circumstances during the census, because the
bill requires the agency to notify Congress 15 days before it intends to
shift money from one activity to another. (See our August 2 News Alert
for a complete description of the operational categories and other
aspects of the committee-approved bill.)
Congress will begin its summer recess period at the end of this week,
returning to work after Labor Day. Legislators must then reconcile
differences between the House and Senate versions of the Commerce
appropriations measure. Each chamber will appoint members to a
"conference committee;" traditionally, "conferees" are members of the
two Appropriations Committees. After the conference committee agrees on
a final spending package, the House and Senate must each approve the
"conference report" before the bill is sent to the President for his
signature or veto.
Correction: In our August 2, 1999, News Alert, we misidentified one of
the witnesses at a July 27 House census subcommittee hearing on the
Census 2000 paid advertising campaign. The witness representing
advertising contractor Young & Rubicam is Ms. Terry Dukes. We apologize
for the mistake.
Questions about the information contained in this News Alert may be
directed to TerriAnn Lowenthal at 202/484-2270 or, by e-mail at
terriann2K(a)aol.com. For copies of previous News Alerts and other
information, use our web site www.census2000.org
<http://www.census2000.org>. Please direct all requests to receive News
Alerts, and all changes in address/phone/fax/e-mail, to the Census 2000
Initiative at Census2000(a)ccmc.org or 202/326-8700. Please feel free to
circulate this information to colleagues and other interested
individuals.
From: Census2000 <Census2000(a)ccmc.org>
House Appropriations Panel Approves Census Funding Bill;
Emergency Designation Draws Protests from Democrats
The Census Bureau's funding bill for fiscal year 2000 (FY00) took
another halting step forward as the House Committee on Appropriations
approved the FY00 Commerce, Justice, State and The Judiciary spending
measure on July 30. The bill (which is not yet numbered) includes $4.476
billion for Census 2000 operations, $3.4 billion over this year's level
but $11.3 million below the Administration's request.
The Commerce-Justice-State bill, one of 13 spending bills for all
federal activities, allocates a total of $4.619 billion for all Census
Bureau programs and expenses. The Census 2000 funds were designated as
"emergency spending," exempting the money from a discretionary spending
cap in the budget resolution adopted last spring. Budget rules allow
lawmakers to designate certain funds as emergency spending, if the
expenditure is "unforeseen, unpredictable, and unanticipated."
The committee report explaining the spending bill states that the
emergency designation is "due to the unanticipated costs associated with
the recent Supreme Court decision regarding the conduct of the 2000
Census, and the delay in receiving the Administration's estimate of the
cost" after the Court's January ruling on the use of sampling. At
Friday's session, Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY), who chairs the panel's
Commerce subcommittee, said the Clinton Administration's failure in the
past two years to provide a full cost estimate for the census forced
appropriators to declare census operations an emergency.
Democrats tried to eliminate the emergency designation during the
'mark-up' session. Rep. David Obey (D-WI), the committee's senior
Democrat, offered two amendments, one to remove the designation from all
Census 2000 funds and another to retain the emergency classification
only for the $1.7 billion supplemental appropriation the President
requested in June. Both amendments were defeated on party line votes.
The Commerce bill earmarks spending on broad census operational
categories. The $4.476 billion is distributed as follows (rounded to the
nearest million): Program Development and Management, $20 million; Data
Content and Products, $195 million; Field Data Collection and Support
Services, $3.450 billion; Address List Development, $44 million;
Automated Data Processing and Telecommunications Support, $447 million;
Testing and Evaluation, $16 million; census operations in Puerto Rico,
the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Pacific areas, $71 million; and Marketing,
and Communications, and Partnerships, $199 million. The Census 2000
appropriation also includes $3.5 million for the eight-member Census
Monitoring Board. The Census Bureau is required to submit monthly
spending reports to Congress. And in a move that Census Bureau Director
Kenneth Prewitt warned could hamstring the Bureau if unexpected problems
arise during the count, the measure requires the agency to seek approval
from Congress before shifting money from one activity to another.
The President's budget had included $25 million for the American
Community Survey (ACS) in the Census 2000 account. The committee
instead appropriated $20 million (a freeze at this year's funding level)
for continued development of the ACS in a broader Census Bureau
account. The ACS will provide updated demographic and socio-economic
information every year, starting in 2003 for larger areas and for all
communities by 2008. If fully implemented on schedule, the survey may
eliminate the need for a traditional census long form in 2010.
Additional committee concerns: Rep. Jose Serrano (D-NY), the senior
Democrat on the Commerce appropriations subcommittee, advocated
including the population of Puerto Rico in the total population of the
United States. Currently, when the Census Bureau reports the nation's
population, it includes the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Rep. Dan Miller (R-FL) opposed the idea, saying it represented a major
policy change that deserved a thorough review. Rep. Miller, chairman
of the census oversight subcommittee and also an appropriations panel
member, pledged a hearing on the issue in the fall. The committee
report explaining the spending bill directs the Census Bureau to study
Rep. Serrano's proposal and report back to Congress by September 1. The
committee also applauded as "a positive development" the decision to
collect most of the same information from residents of Puerto Rico that
is collected on the census short and long forms in the States. Rep.
Serrano is Puerto Rican. In its report, legislators instructed the
Census Bureau to develop methods for counting private American citizens
living overseas in the census "at the earliest possible time," and to
report its plans to Congress. The committee also urged the Bureau to
ensure that deaf persons can participate in the census.
Background on Census Bureau funding: Funding for the decennial census
falls under the Periodic Censuses and Programs account ("Periodics"),
one of two main funding categories for the Census Bureau. Periodics
includes other cyclical programs such as the Census of Governments and
the Economic Censuses, as well as support activities such as data
processing infrastructure and geographic systems. The
committee-approved FY00 bill allocates $4.619 billion for the Periodics
account, about $19.2 million below the President's request (including
the $11.3 million reduction from the request for Census 2000). The
second main category, Salaries and Expenses, pays for ongoing
statistical programs such as the Current Population Survey, which
produce a wide range of economic, demographic, and social information.
The appropriations committee allocated $136 million for these data
activities, a freeze at this year's funding level and about $20.8
million below the Administration's request.
Budget figure correction: The July 23 News Alert included an incorrect
figure of $1.8 billion for this year's (fiscal year 1999) Census 2000
funding level. The correct figure is $1.072 billion (original $1.027
billion allocation plus a $45 million supplemental appropriation in
May). We apologize for the error.
Other legislative news: The House Subcommittee on the Census held a
hearing on July 27 to review plans for a paid advertising campaign to
promote Census 2000. The oversight panel heard testimony from Census
Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt; Ms. Terry Peel of Young & Rubicam, the
firm developing the ad campaign; Mr. Sam Chisolm of the Chisolm-Mingo
Group, the firm responsible for the portion of the campaign aimed at
African Americans; and Mr. Curtis Zunigha, a member of the Bureau's
Advisory Committee on the American Indian and Alaska Native
Populations. A representative from Scholastic, Inc. was not available
to discuss the Census in the Schools program, as originally planned.
Due to the urgency of funding issues while Congress is in session, we
will provide more information on the advertising oversight hearing in
the near future. Interested stakeholders may request copies of the
written testimony from the Subcommittee on the Census, at 202/226-1973.
Questions about the information contained in this News Alert may be
directed to TerriAnn Lowenthal at 202/484-2270 or, by e-mail at
terriann2k(a)aol.com. For copies of previous News Alerts and other
information, use our web site www.census2000.org
<http://www.census2000.org>. Please direct all requests to receive News
Alerts, and all changes in address/phone/fax/e-mail, to the Census 2000
Initiative at Census2000(a)ccmc.org or 202/326-8700. Please feel free to
circulate this information to colleagues and other interested
individuals.
From: Census2000 <Census2000(a)ccmc.org>
Senate Appropriations Panel Considers Request For Additional Census
2000 Funds
Key Chairman Skeptical of "Emergency" Designation for Census
Spending
The Senate Committee on Appropriations held a hearing today to
consider the President's request for an additional $1.7 billion for
Census 2000. Last week, the Senate passed a version of the fiscal
year 2000 Commerce spending bill that only included the $2.789
billion originally requested for the census in fiscal year 2000. At
today's hearing, a key subcommittee chairman asked for more detailed
budget information but was skeptical about designating funds for
Census 2000 as "emergency spending," a move the House spending panel
is considering. The Clinton Administration asked for extra funds to
conduct the decennial count after the Supreme Court ruled that
sampling could not be used to calculate the population of the states
for congressional apportionment.
The only legislator at today's hearing in a cramped room of the U.S.
Capitol was Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH), chairman of the
appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, and The
Judiciary. Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt explained the
agency's need for extra funds, saying that 95 percent of the extra
$1.7 billion was a "direct result" of the January 1999 Court
decision. The Bureau, he said, has added new operations "to improve
the accuracy and completeness of the count without sampling" and
increased quality controls on existing activities, particularly in
rural areas and for the hardest-to-count populations such as the
homeless and non-English speakers.
Dr. Prewitt emphasized the need for a timely appropriation for the
fiscal year beginning October 1. "Census 2000 is well underway," he
said. "The train has left the station. We cannot park this train
on October 1, even for a few days, without severe consequences to
the schedule and accuracy of the census." "An example," the
director said, "is the need to buy air time for the media campaign
in early October, to run census educational and awareness messages
beginning in November."
Eighty-four percent ($1.451 billion) of the extra funds will pay for
field data collection efforts and support activities. Follow-up
visits to all households that don't mail back a form, Dr. Prewitt
said, will increase the workload 50 percent, or by 15 million homes,
over the Bureau's original Census 2000 plan. Reasons for the
increased costs include extending the follow-up phase by four weeks;
screening one million more applicants to fill 300,000 more temporary
positions; opening 44 additional local offices; keeping the four
data processing centers open two months longer; expanding technical
capabilities for payroll and data transmission; re-checking an
estimated 7.5 million housing units initially classified as vacant
or non-existent; visiting housing units built after the address list
was completed; and increasing paid advertising and other promotional
efforts. The Census Bureau also expects lower productivity as the
number of temporary workers grows significantly, "resulting in lower
overall skill level."
Dr. Prewitt also noted that the revised plan saves about $209
million from reducing the size of the quality-check post census
survey (called the Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation, or ACE,
program). The final census plan includes a 300,000 household survey
to measure undercounts and overcounts, down from 750,000 households.
Senator questions "emergency" designation for Census 2000: Chairman
Gregg, noting that the Constitution requires a census every ten
years, asked rhetorically: "Is the census in 2000 an emergency?"
The senator was referring to action last week by House appropriators
to designate Census 2000 funds as "emergency spending" to avoid
counting the cost of next year's operations against the restrictive
budget caps on government programs.
Sen. Gregg asked how long the Census Bureau could operate if
Congress provided only $3 billion of the full $4.512 billion at the
start of the fiscal year. Dr. Prewitt said most of the money is
spent from March to July, when the forms are mailed and most
follow-up visits and data processing takes place. The chairman
asked for more detailed information on the flow of spending each
month in fiscal year 2000 and on plans to hire 300,000 more
enumerators and other field staff than originally projected. In
1990, Congress passed a $100 million emergency spending bill in the
spring when a lower-than-expected mail response forced the Census
Bureau to raise hourly pay rates and hire more enumerators.
Questions about the information contained in this News Alert may be
directed to TerriAnn Lowenthal at 202/484-2270 or, by e-mail at
terriann2K(a)aol.com.. For copies of previous News Alerts and other
information, use our web site www.census2000.orghttp://www.census2000.org. Please direct all requests to receive
News Alerts, and all changes in address/phone/fax/e-mail, to the
Census 2000 Initiative at Census2000(a)ccmc.org or 202/326-8700.
Please feel free to circulate this information to colleagues and
other interested individuals.
From: Census2000 <Census2000(a)ccmc.org>
Census Funding Bills Move Forward in House and Senate;Path to Final Action in the Fall Still Rocky
Census Bureau Clarifies Policy on Hiring Non-Citizens
The House of Representatives took its first step yesterday toward funding next year's census as an Appropriations Committee panel approved its version of the Commerce spending bill for the fiscal year that starts on October 1, 1999. The Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, and The Judiciary, chaired by Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY),
allocated about $4.5 billion for final census preparations and operations. The amount includes an extra $1.7 billion the Administration requested on June 1st to pay for a revised plan without sampling to count some of the anticipated 46 million households that won't mail back a questionnaire.
The 1997 balanced budget law forced House and Senate appropriators to work within spending limits for discretionary (i.e. non-mandatory)
programs that are below this year's levels. The committees have been shifting money among the 13 main federal budget accounts to meet spending priorities while sticking to the overall budget ceiling. Before the Commerce subcommittee met, appropriators added to funds to its account to bring the total spending level for the fiscal year 2000 (FY00) measure to $35.8 billion.
The subcommittee paid for the large jump in census costs (this year's Census 2000 allocation is $1.8 billion) by classifying Census 2000 funding as "emergency" spending. Budget rules exempt emergency spending from annual caps, giving lawmakers a way to spend more without cutting
funds for other programs. It is not clear whether the full House, the Senate, and the Administration will support such a funding maneuver. The Commerce-Justice-State bill approved by the subcommittee includes $35.8
The Senate also debated its version of the FY00 Commerce spending measure this week. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill (S.1217) more than a month ago that does not include the extra funds the Administration requested to comply with a January Supreme Court decision. The Court ruled that federal law prohibits sampling methods
to calculate the state population totals used for congressional apportionment.
Several senators, including Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Richard Durbin (D-IL), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), urged full funding for census
operations. But they declined to offer amendments to provide the money, noting that the appropriations panel will hold a hearing (possibly next week) to review the request for supplemental funds. The Senate approved S. 1217 by voice vote yesterday.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), the senior Democrat on the census oversight subcommittee, said that while the funding level in the House bill is "great news," the "Republicans created this mergency" by failing to support a "less expensive, more accurate census plan." Congress tentatively plans to start its summer recess on August 7; legislators would not return to Washington until after Labor Day.
Census 2000 hiring policy changes: The Census Bureau has issued a new policy regarding citizenship requirements for temporary Census 2000
jobs, including enumerator, office manager, and partnership specialist positions. A waiver granted by the Department of Commerce will allow
the Bureau to hire employees without giving priority to U.S. citizens. Job applicants must be legally eligible to work in the United States.
The revised policy reflects the Bureau's goal of hiring census workers who live in the neighborhoods they will count. Originally the Bureau said it would hire non-citizens only if qualified citizens are not available, in accordance with federal hiring rules. Immigrant advocates countered that communities where large numbers of non-citizens live would be hard to count accurately unless local residents are hired to conduct outreach activities and visit unresponsive households. The Bureau said it would change its recruitment and training materials to
remove citizenship as a criterion. The agency says it must hire about 860,000 temporary workers to conduct the 2000 census.
Congressional hearing planned: The House Subcommittee on the Census will hold a hearing on July 27th to review the Census 2000 paid advertising campaign and the Census in the Schools program. The hearing will begin at 10:00 a.m. in room 2247 Rayburn House Office Building. The panel is expected to hear testimony from the Census Bureau, Census 2000 advertising firms, school materials developer Scholastic, Inc., and the Bureau's stakeholder advisory committees.
Last March, the Committee on Government Reform approved several measures sponsored by census panel Chairman Dan Miller (R-FL), including bills to authorize $300 million for census outreach and advertising and to increase outreach to schools and teachers. Although there were no hearings on the legislation, Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt said at the time that he did not oppose the proposals as long as Congress allocated sufficient funds for the activities.
Questions about the information contained in this News Alert may be directed to TerriAnn Lowenthal at 202/484-2270 or, by e-mail at <terriann2k(a)aol.com>. For copies of previous News Alerts and other information, use our web site www.census2000.org <http://www.census2000.org>.
To all --
It has come to our attention that the City/Place boundaries currently
showing up in the TAZ-Up software is actually the boundaries as they were in
the 1990 Census. TIGER does have updated boundaries within them. If you
find a need for updated boundaries as you delineate your TAZs, simply e-mail
me and we'll process your counties and e-mail you back a file. You'll be
able to add these new boundaries with the "Add a Theme" function that already
exists in the software.
If you desire these, make sure your e-mail includes the following:
Your name
MPO organization name
Your e-mail address
A list of the Counties, with their state & county codes
(i.e., 37085), for all the counties you're working on.
Depending on the load, we should be able to send them back to you in
about two days from receipt of your e-mail.
Thanks
Kim Brace
Election Data Services, Inc.
With the help from Howard Simkowitz and Caliper Corp I was able to use TransCAD 3.5 and their District Management tools for the Phase Two Census work. The key is their "atomized polygons." Although the jury is still out, I feel obliged to other TransCAD users in the group to report the procedures used in Indianapolis. The attached is that initial effort. I will refine that document as we gain more experience in our operations.
So far, I am impressed with the ease of Phase 2 Utilities. Due to the messy natures Census segments, I have not yet to assess the accuracy of tagging operations. I have certainly achieve significant time saving by tagging the existing TAZ layer to the TIGER polygons. Please consider the attached very preliminary working document. I would welcome any comments and questions.
Sweson Yang, AICP
Chief Transportation Planner
City of Indianapolis/Indianapolis MPO
(317) 327-5137 FAX: (317) 327-5103
E-mail: syang(a)IndyGov.org
From: Census2000 <Census2000(a)ccmc.org>
Funding Tops List of Census Concerns As Congress Tackles Fiscal Year
2000 Spending Bills
Operational Update: Address List Appeal Process Set
With Congress returning to work in Washington, D.C. this week, the
schedule for considering the appropriations bills that will fund
Census 2000 operations next year is still unclear. The Senate
Committee on Appropriations approved its version of the Fiscal Year
2000 Commerce, Justice, and State, The Judiciary and Related
Agencies Appropriations bill (S. 1217) last month, but Senate
leaders have not announced a date for the full Senate to consider
the measure. The committee-approved bill allocates $2.789 billion
for census operations but does not include an extra $1.723 billion
the Administration requested on June 1 to pay for its revised census
plan.
The Senate Appropriations Committee modified the amount of money
each of its 13 subcommittees can spend on non-mandatory programs in
fiscal year 2000 (FY00). The committee increased the discretionary
spending limit for the Commerce-Justice-State account from $28
billion to $29.5 billion, still about $4 billion less than the
current year's (FY99) funding level of $33.3 billion for that
account.
In the House, the appropriations Commerce-Justice-State subcommittee
has tentative plans to consider its version of the spending bill
during the week of July 19. The panel, chaired by Rep. Harold
Rogers (R-KY), has not released a draft bill.
Census long form still topic of debate: When the Senate takes up the
FY00 spending bill that covers the Census Bureau, Senator Sam
Brownback (R-KS) may offer an amendment to add questions on marital
status to the census short form. The senator is circulating a draft
amendment that would require the Census Bureau to collect
information on respondents' marital status, their age when married,
and previous marriages from all households in the 2000 census.
Senator Brownback was a member of the Committee on Governmental
Affairs, which oversees the census, in the 105th Congress (1997 -
98).
Three years before each census, the Census Bureau must report to
Congress the topics it will cover on the census forms. It must
report the actual questions it will include on the short and long
forms two years before the census starts. The Bureau notified
Congress in March 1997 that it would include a question on marital
status only on the long form, which goes to one in six households
(about 17 percent of all households). Information on marital status
is needed to administer federal programs but is not required for
areas as small as census blocks, the smallest geographic unit for
reporting data collected from 100 percent of the nation's homes.
The 1990 census asked about marital status on the short form that
goes to all households. In 2000 the census will include one
question asking long form respondents if they are or have ever been
married, or are currently widowed, separated, or divorced. Private
contractors have already started printing the more than 120 million
questionnaires that are needed for the 2000 census.
More legislative news: Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), the senior
Democrat on the census oversight subcommittee, has introduced
legislation to require a "special census" in 2003 of private
American citizens living overseas. Rep. Maloney said that while it
was too late to include Americans living abroad in the 2000 census,
she was "impressed by the patriotic desire, organization, and
planning ...overseas Americans have devoted to being counted." The
"Census of Americans Abroad Act" (H.R. 2444) was referred to the
Committee on Government Reform.
Last month, the census subcommittee held a hearing on proposals to
count all Americans living abroad in the census. Rep. Benjamin
Gilman (R-NY) introduced a resolution (H. Con. Res. 129) expressing
the "sense of the Congress" that Americans living overseas should be
counted in the 2000 census. The Census Bureau will use
administrative records from the Defense Department and other federal
agencies to count military personnel and federal civilian employees
stationed overseas in the 2000 census for congressional
apportionment purposes only.
Final rules set for address list appeals: The Census Address List
Appeals Office, an independent office established by the Office of
Management and Budget, has issued final rules governing pre-census
challenges to the census address lists under the Local Update of
Census Addresses (LUCA) program. The rules provide a final
opportunity for local and Tribal governments that participated in
address development activities (the LUCA program) to challenge the
address list for their jurisdiction before the census starts in
March 2000. Localities may appeal Census Bureau decisions not to
accept additional addresses or corrections submitted during the LUCA
process.
The rules were published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, June
30, 1999, and can be found in Vol. 64, No. 125, Part V, pp.
35548-35558. The rules, entitled "Procedures for Participating in
the Census Bureau Reconciliation and the Office of Management and
Budget Appeal Processes for the Development of the Census 2000
Address List," are also available through the National Archives and
Records Administration web site at www.nara.gov/fedreg
<http://www.nara.gov/fedreg>. Stakeholders may also contact Mr.
Phil Fulton, director of the Appeals Office, for more information at
202/208-4613.
Congressional staff changes: Thomas Hofeller, staff director of the
House Subcommittee on the Census, is leaving the subcommittee to
oversee post-2000 census redistricting efforts for the Republican
National Committee. Mr. Hofeller, a seasoned redistricting expert
for the GOP, assumed the top staff position when the census panel
was created in early 1998. The subcommittee's deputy staff
director, Thomas Brierton, has been named "Acting Director." Mr.
Brierton's congressional experience includes legislative work for
Rep. (now Speaker) J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL). Florida Rep. Dan
Miller chairs the census oversight panel.
Questions about the information contained in this News Alert may be
directed to TerriAnn Lowenthal at 202/484-2270 or, by e-mail at
terriann2k(a)aol.com. For copies of previous News Alerts and other
information, use our web site www.census2000.org . Please direct
all requests to receive News Alerts, and all changes in
address/phone/fax/e-mail, to the Census 2000 Initiative at
Census2000(a)ccmc.org or 202/326-8700. Please feel free to circulate
this information to colleagues and other interested individuals.
Don thanks for reminding me to follow up. the webcast did not go out live as
there was some technical difficulty with the hotel's network. however, the
session was recorded and i am told it will be uploaded and put online later this
week. i will keep checking and once it goes up i will let the list serve know.
Don Burrell wrote:
> Ed:
> I am curious as to whether or not Sunday's TRB CTPP session was successfully
> broadcast over the Net. I was not successful in accessing it despite
> downloading MediaPlay. While I often suspect such failures are due to my
> inexperience with the software, once in a while it turns out that the system
> screwed up.
> --
> >You will be able to access the live broadcast (and related information
> >about this event) through a link in http://www-cta.ornl.gov.
To asist those who have questions about the TAZ-UP process, the CTPP
Planning Group has develop a web page of frequently asked
questions. The page will be updated as new questions emerge. It
can be reached directly at
http://www.mcs.com/~berwyned/census/notes/tazfaq.html
or from the subcomittee's main page under the "committee notes and
articles" button
http://www.mcs.com/~berwyned/census/
This weekend the TRB data committees will be having their mid-year
meeting (http://www.bts.gov/midyear.html). As part of it, the
Subcommittee on Census Data for Transportation planning will be hosting
a session entitled "The Reality of the American Community Survey for
Transportation", Sunday, June 27th, 1999, 4:00 PM. The session will be
held in the Swissotel Washington--The Watergate, Washington, D.C.
I have just learned that the Center for Transportation Analysis at the
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) together with the TRB will be
conducting the first live Internet broadcast of a TRB session during our
session. Internet users will be able to see the overhead transparencies
(and other visual materials) while listening to the talk in real time.
Users will also be able to send questions to the speaker through the
chat room connection provided.
You will be able to access the live broadcast (and related information
about this event) through a link in http://www-cta.ornl.gov. Please
notice that in order to see and hear the live broadcast you need to have
installed in your computer the Windows Media Player software. Use the
"Test" button on the top bar of the web page to determine whether or not
this software is installed in your machine. If it is not, then use the
"Download Windows MP" button to get a free copy of the software. After
downloading Windows Media Player you must proceed to install it.
Thanks and questions to Oscar Franzese of Oak Ridge for this,
ofz(a)ornl.gov, 423-576-8682.
