[CTPP] Census News Brief--January 15th

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>