[CTPP] Census 2000 News Alert

From: Census2000 <Census2000(a)ccmc.org> Census Advisory Committee Readies Final Report; House Panel to Vote on Local Review Bill The 2000 Census Advisory Committee will present a final report to the Secretary of Commerce next week that includes recommendations on outreach and partnership activities, the paid advertising campaign, efforts to improve the count of historically-undercounted populations, and the use of sampling. The report's recommendations were "unanimously approved" by the committee, which comprises organizations representing local and state elected officials, civil rights advocates, scientific disciplines and data users, community service providers, veterans and senior citizens, and businesses. (See below for information on the advisory committee meeting.) The report emphasizes the importance of locally focused activities and the need for "flexible field operations" to increase participation among hard-to-count and distrustful populations. The Secretary should evaluate the paid advertising campaign's "creative message" and change it, if necessary, the committee suggests. The panel also proposes expanding plans for language assistance and school-oriented materials, as well as the availability of 'Be Counted' forms in public places. The committee recommends a "post-census local review" that would allow local officials to review housing unit, but not population, counts before the numbers are finalized. Communities that formally participated in a pre-census address compilation program (the Local Update of Census Addresses, or LUCA) should receive a detailed list of responding addresses and group facilities for review, while other communities would receive only summaries of household counts for each block. Noting its previous support for statistical methods if testing demonstrated their effectiveness in reducing the undercount, the committee advises the Secretary "to conduct Census 2000 as accurately and efficiently as the most current scientific knowledge and operational feasibility allow." If sampling is not allowed for reapportionment purposes, the panel said, the census should include a sufficiently large post enumeration survey (PES) to measure census accuracy down to small geographic areas. "The Secretary should direct the Census Bureau to prepare and release, on a timely basis, counts corrected for the PES estimates of coverage errors," the report also states. Census subcommittee schedules hearing and "mark-up": The House Subcommittee on the Census will hear testimony on legislation authored by its chairman and then vote on (or "mark-up") the measure at a meeting scheduled for Thursday, February 11. The "Local Census Quality Check Act" (H.R. 472) was introduced last week by Rep. Dan Miller (F-FL) and seven cosponsors. The bill would amend the Census Act (title 13, United States Code) to require a "postcensus local review" in every census, giving local governments an opportunity to review housing unit counts and boundaries before the final census numbers are tabulated. During the census, local officials would receive block level maps and address lists by August 1 or within 30 days after the follow-up visits to unresponsive households are complete, whichever is earlier. They would have 45 days, excluding weekends and holidays, to review and challenge the information; the Census Bureau would then re-canvass the challenged areas and notify the local governments of any resulting corrections to the housing lists or maps by November 1. Among the witnesses invited to testify are the mayors of Scottsdale, AZ, and Richmond, VA, the National Association of Development Organizations, and Census Monitoring Board Co-Chairman Kenneth Blackwell. The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in room 2247 Rayburn House Office Building, followed immediately by the mark-up. Census Advisory Committee meeting: The 2000 Census Advisory Committee will meet on Friday, February 19, to present its final report and recommendations to the Secretary of Commerce. The committee's charter is set to expire but the Commerce Department is expected to renew the panel's authority. The February 19 meeting, which is open to the public, will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 1900 Diagonal Rd., Alexandria, VA (tel: 703/684-5900). The census and civil rights: The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights will hold a briefing for its members on the civil rights implications of the debate over census methods. The meeting will take place on February 12, beginning at 10 a.m., at the Commission's offices (624 9th Street, N.W., Room 540, Washington, DC) Among those invited to present information are the Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights, National Congress of American Indians, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and Matthew Glavin, president of the Southeastern Legal Foundation, whose lawsuit against sampling led to last month's Supreme Court ruling that the Census Act bars sampling to count the population for purposes of congressional apportionment. Senate bill introduced: Senators Daniel P. Moynihan (D-NY) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) introduced legislation last week to allow the use of sampling methods in compiling the state population totals used to reapportion Congress. S. 355 responds to the recent Supreme Court ruling that the Census Act bars sampling for apportionment purposes. Sen. Moynihan said in a statement "sampling is vital to achieving the goal of the most accurate census possible." Rep. Carolyn Maloney sponsored a companion bill in the House (H.R. 548). 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 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.