[CTPP] CENSUS NEWS BRIEF: Senate funding numbers

Received this Census News Brief from Terri Ann Lowenthal. Things are looking rather bleak at the moment.... SENATE SUBCOMMITTEE SLASHES FY06 FUNDING FOR 2010 CENSUS AND AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY; FINAL FIELD TEST AND 2010 IMPROVEMENTS AT RISK The Senate subcommittee responsible for Census Bureau funding yesterday slashed the Bush Administration’s budget request for fiscal year 2006 by $150 million, leaving the future of many planned improvements for the 2010 census, as well as the American Community Survey, in doubt for now. The appropriation of $727,385,000 for all Census Bureau programs is not only $85 million below the House-passed level of $812,237,000, it is below the 2005 funding level of $744.798 million. The Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science allocated $144.059 million for the American Community Survey (ACS), roughly the same amount as in 2005. The bureau needs about $170 million to add group quarters, such as nursing homes, military barracks, prisons, and college dorms, to the survey for the first time. Without group quarters, ACS data cannot be compared to data from the Census 2000 long form, and complete five-year averages for smaller geographic areas would not be available in 2011, as originally planned. The panel, chaired by Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), appropriated $162.990 million for redesigning a short form-only 2010 census. The Administration requested roughly $213 million to plan and prepare for a streamlined count. The redesign effort includes the final census field tests, in Travis County, Texas, and on the Cheyenne Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Key design changes scheduled for testing include the use of hand-held computers to collect information in the field from households that do not respond by mail; dual English-Spanish language questionnaires; and a targeted second mailing to unresponsive households. Hand-held computers would eliminate most of the paper handled by enumerators during the non-response follow-up phase of the census, saving time, office space, and processing costs. The Census Bureau has said it will not incorporate any changes in the 2010 census that have not been fully and successfully tested in advance. The subcommittee also reduced funding for the Salaries & Expenses account, which includes ongoing surveys and population estimates programs, by more than 50 percent. The Census Bureau has not yet formally commented on the impact of the Senate subcommittee funding level. However, the bureau said at least one 2006 test site could be canceled after the House of Representatives cut $10 million last week from 2010 census redesign funding. A funding cut on the magnitude proposed by the Senate panel would likely jeopardize the entire test. The field test cannot be delayed until 2007 because the Census Dress Rehearsal, a dry-run for the actual count, takes place in 2008. The full Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider the Commerce-Justice-Science funding bill tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon. New web site for census stakeholders: The Communications Consortium Media Center, which organized the Census 2000 Initiative several years ago, has launched a new web site to keep stakeholders informed about key policy and operational decisions affecting the American Community Survey and Census 2010 planning. The Census Project is a coordinated effort by a wide range of stakeholder organizations to support a comprehensive American Community Survey and accurate 2010 census. Stakeholder letters to policymakers, Census News Briefs, and other relevant information are posted at www.thecensusproject.org. Census News Briefs are prepared by Terri Ann Lowenthal, an independent consultant in Washington, DC, with support from The Annie E. Casey Foundation and other organizations. Ms. Lowenthal is also a consultant to The Census Project, sponsored by the Communications Consortium Media Center. All views expressed in the News Briefs are solely those of the author. Please direct questions about the information in this News Brief to Ms. Lowenthal at 202/484-3067 or by e-mail at TerriAnn2K(a)aol.com. Please feel free to circulate this document to other interested individuals and organizations. -- Ed Christopher 708-283-3534 (V) 708-574-8131 (cell) FHWA RC-TST-PLN 19900 Governors Dr Olympia Fields, IL 60461