[CTPP] Census 2000 News Alert

Date: July 16, 1998 From: Keri Monihan <kmonihan(a)ccmc.org> Congressional Appropriations Activity: Update and Correction In recent weeks, Congress has moved rapidly to consider funding for the final year of census preparations, as well as policy decisions affecting the accuracy, conduct, and scope of the 2000 count. The Senate and House Appropriations Committees have approved their respective versions of the Fiscal Year 1999 Commerce, Justice, State, and The Judiciary spending bills, which provide funding from October 1, 1998 through September 30, 1999. Both chambers are likely to take up the measures before Congress heads home for the August recess; negotiations to resolve differences between the two bills, as well as disagreements with the Administration, will likely intensify after Labor Day. Following is additional information related to the actions so far, as well as a correction of information included in yesterday's News Alert: House of Representatives: The House Appropriations Committee approved its Commerce spending bill yesterday. We incorrectly reported that the committee approved an amendment sponsored by Rep. Carrie Meek (D-FL) that would allow the recipients of Federal benefits to work in temporary census jobs without counting the income earned in determining their eligibility for benefits or reducing the amount of the benefits. Rep. Meek agreed to withdraw her amendment so that legislators could further review cost and operational issues, including whether Congress can make changes in program eligibility requirements determined by the states. We apologize for the error. The committee did approve a catch-all amendment offered by subcommittee Chairman Harold Rogers (R-KY) affecting various parts of the spending bill. That amendment includes a provision calling for greater targeting of paid advertisements during the 2000 census to ensure effective outreach to minority communities. The amendment offered by Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV) to remove restrictions on full-year funding for 2000 census preparations drew the most heated debate. Rep. Rogers argued that the committee was simply carrying out an agreement reached last fall between the President and House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) to provide only six months of funding for the 2000 census, forcing the parties to resolve the controversy over sampling methods early next year. Rep. Mollohan disputed that description of last year's agreement and said that the six-month funding scheme would put the entire census at risk of failure. Rep. David Obey (D-WI), the committee's senior Democrat who opposes sampling methods, said he supported Rep. Mollohan's amendment because any interruption in funding could jeopardize the accuracy of any census, regardless of the methods used. Rep. Dan Miller (R-FL) said that Congress, not the National Academy of Sciences, is responsible for the census and should make the decision on how to conduct it. He was referring to a provision in the Mollohan amendment directing the National Academy of Sciences to review the status of census preparations and report to Congress by March 31. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) responded by saying that Congress directed NASA to put a man on the moon but didn't design the spaceship. The committee defeated the Mollohan amendment on a strictly party-line vote of 22 - 31. The report that accompanies the spending bill, which often sheds more light on the committee's concerns and intent, is not yet available. Senate: The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its version of the Commerce spending bill on June 25. The measure allocates $848.5 million in FY99 for 2000 census activities, the amount requested by the President. The bill also directs the Commerce Department to provide quarterly reports on the status of census preparations. In the report accompanying the bill, the committee said it had "grave concerns" about plans for the 2000 census and that the census was "at risk of failure" if improvements aren't made. The report raises concerns about the accuracy of address lists and development of software to detect duplicate forms, noting that the new software was not tested in the Dress Rehearsal taking place in three sites around the country. The Senate committee did not directly address the controversy over sampling methods except to note concerns about the reliability of cost estimates to prepare for a census without sampling. The Senate panel also weighed in on the question of including Americans living overseas in the census, although no hearings have been held on the issue. In its report, the committee directed the Census Bureau to work with the State Department to count Americans living abroad in the census. With two exceptions, the census has only included people living in the United States on Census Day. In 1970, with tens of thousands of soldiers fighting in Vietnam, the Bureau tallied military personnel stationed overseas for the purposes of the state population totals used for apportionment. In 1990, at the urging of Congress, the Bureau included all military and federal civilian employees and their dependents stationed abroad during the census in the state counts, assigning them to their "home of record" (the place of enlistment for members of the armed forces). The increased population counts caused a congressional seat to shift from Massachusetts to Washington, but the Supreme Court rejected a challenge from Massachusetts, saying that the Census Bureau had the authority to include government employees working abroad. The task of including overseas personnel in the 1990 census was not an easy one. Congress, the Bureau, the Defense Department, and the Office of Personnel Management struggled for months to select the fairest criteria for assigning people not living here to a particular state. Many Federal agencies, including Defense, also found that their personnel records did not always include information on an employee's home state. 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>om>. Please direct all requests to receive News Alerts, and all changes in address/phone/fax/e-mail, to Keri Monihan at <kmonihan(a)ccmc.org> or 202/326-8728. Please feel free to circulate this information to colleagues and other interested individuals.