[CTPP] C E N S U S 2 0 0 0 B U L L E T I N

Vol. 2 - No. 40 Aug. 25, 1998 On Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 24, Secretary of Commerce William M. Daley issued a statement in response to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia's order enjoining the Census Bureau from using "any form of statistical sampling" in Census 2000. The Secretary's statement follows: "We are obviously disappointed with today's ruling on the Census. What is at stake here is the ability of the Census Bureau to use the most modern scientific methods to ensure an accurate and fair census. We will ask the Solicitor General to appeal the ruling and we expect the Supreme Court to reverse it. Meantime, the Census Bureau will proceed with its two-track planning process, preparing for both a census using an element of statistical sampling, and a census that would not use those methods. "In the cases arising out of the 1980 and 1990 census, courts have held that the use of statistical sampling methods in the decennial is both constitutional and lawful. In 1991, Congress passed and President Bush signed legislation directing the National Academy of Sciences to determine a more accurate method for counting the population, including the possible use of statistical sampling. We concur with the findings of the Academy and other experts that a census using statistical sampling will produce much more accurate results, and at far less cost, than a census not using these methods." For further information concerning this bulletin, contact Mary Hanley (202-482-4883) or Karen Cowles (202-482-1523) at the Office of Public Affairs, U.S. Commerce Department.