[CTPP] Census 2000 News Alert

From: Census2000(a)ccmc.org Lawmakers Seek Legislative Solutions In Wake of Supreme Court Ruling in Census Case Several bills have been introduced in Congress that would, if enacted, change the way the 2000 census is conducted. House census subcommittee Chairman Dan Miller (R-FL) introduced "The Local Census Quality Control Act" (H.R. 472) to require that local government officials be allowed to review preliminary census housing unit and population counts. Rep. Miller said the bill is "designed to provide a much needed quality check on census numbers before they become final." The Census Bureau replaced the 1990 Post Census Local Review with expanded pre-census activities that give local governments an opportunity to review and make changes to address lists and maps. Last week, the chairman unveiled an initiative, called America Counts Today, to enhance traditional counting methods. Reinstating post census local review was one component of that proposal. The census subcommittee has scheduled a hearing on the local review program for Thursday, February 11, at 10:00 a.m., in room 2247 Rayburn House Office Building. Reacting to the recent Supreme Court ruling in Department of Commerce v. U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) introduced legislation (H.R. 548) to allow sampling to produce the census numbers used for all purposes if the Secretary of Commerce deems it feasible. The census subcommittee's senior Democrat was joined by 33 original cosponsors in her effort to amend section 195 of the Census Act (title 13, United States Code), which the high Court said bars sampling to calculate the state population totals used for congressional apportionment. Rep. Maloney said she introduced the legislation because the Court's decision "force[s] the Bureau to produce two sets of numbers from the same census, and use the less accurate number to apportion seats" in Congress. Rep. Maloney announced that Sen. Daniel Moynihan (D-NY) and Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) would introduce a companion bill in the Senate. Both the Miller and Maloney bills were referred to the Committee on Government Reform. Last month, Sen. Moynihan introduced S. 166, which would require the Commerce Secretary to determine annually how much federal aid each State gained or lost because of undercounts or overcounts in the census. The bill was referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs. More congressional committee assignments: Republicans on the House Committee on Government Reform have named their members to the census subcommittee, which authorizes and oversees activities of the Census Bureau. Below is the full panel line-up. Subcommittee on the Census House Committee on Government Reform 114 O'Neill House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Republicans Rep. Dan Miller, Chairman (FL) Rep. John Doolittle (CA) Rep. Thomas M. Davis (VA) Rep. Paul Ryan (WI) Rep. Mark Souder (IN) Democrats Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Ranking Member (NY) Rep. Danny K. Davis (IL) Rep. Harold E. Ford, Jr. (TN) Correction: In the February 2 News Alert, we incorrectly attributed a statement to Commerce Under Secretary Robert Shapiro concerning the Post Census Local Review (PCLR) program conducted during the 1990 census. The Census Bureau's decision not to continue this program in the 2000 census was discussed at a mayor's conference on January 27th in Washington, D.C. In response to a comment by Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer, Mr. Shapiro praised the city for its successful partnership with the Bureau to improve the accuracy of the address lists being prepared for 2000. Mr. Shapiro did not say that many of the people added to the 1990 census through PCLR lived in Detroit. That statement was made by Rep. Maloney, who participated in the panel discussion along with Mr. Shapiro, Rep. Dan Miller, and Census Monitoring Board Co-Chair Kenneth Blackwell. We apologize for the mistake. 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.