[CTPP] Census News Flash

I just got this from TerriAnn Lowenthal. In her latest news flash TerriAnn notes that there are several probable amendments that will be made to the Census Bureau's Fiscal Year 2007 appropriations bill that would shift significant funds from census programs to other activities in the Science, State, Justice, and Commerce spending bill. The House is starting consideration of the appropriations bill as early as today and continuing through the week. AMENDMENTS WOULD CUT FY07 CENSUS FUNDING Several proposed amendments to the Census Bureau’s appropriations bill would cut the agency’s funding by tens of millions of dollars. The amendments reportedly will be offered when the House of Representatives considers the massive Fiscal Year 2007 Science, State, Justice, and Commerce Appropriations bill (H.R. 5672) starting as early as today. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) has alerted colleagues that he will offer an amendment to shift $30 million from the Census Bureau to the Justice Department’s Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program. It is not known if the proposed amendment would direct the Census Bureau to cut specific programs. The amendment’s goal is to “ensure that we fully fund the [BVP] program at its authorized level of $50 million,” according to a Dear Colleague letter from Rep. Lynch. The National Association of Police Organizations, Inc. thanked the congressman in a letter for sponsoring the amendment. Reps. Lee Terry (R-NB) and Mark Kennedy (R-MN) will offer three amendments to increase funding for the Justice Department’s Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants, which the Administration had proposed to eliminate. The Appropriations Committee had restored some funding for this program. One of the Terry-Kennedy amendments would shift $50 million from the Census Bureau to the Byrne JAG program. Rep. Michael Rogers (R-MI) reportedly will offer an amendment to shift $14.1 million from various Census Bureau activities to the Commerce Department’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership. Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-CT) is seeking to shift $3.3 million from the Census Bureau to the FBI’s Innocent Images program, while Reps. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), Rick Larsen (D-WA), and Darlene Hooley (D-OR) propose to take $20 million from census programs to fund grants for drug-endangered children. Other amendments affecting the Census Bureau are possible. The Appropriations Committee increased funding for the Census Bureau by about $72 million over current year levels, as the agency ramps up for the 2010 census and continues nationwide implementation of the American Community Survey. 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 Resource Center Planning Team Federal Highway Administration 19900 Governors Drive Olympia Fields, Illinois 60461 708-283-3534 (V) 708-574-8131 (cell) 708-283-3501 (F)