[CTPP] news alert

From: Census2000 &lt;Census2000(a)ccmc.org&gt; Census 2000 Wrap-up: Funding, GAO Report, State Legislative Activities Funding for Census 2000: The Census Bureau heads into its final months of preparation for Census 2000 with nearly the full amount of funding it requested to carry out the count in 2000. On November 29, President Clinton signed into law an omnibus spending bill covering the Commerce Department (the Census Bureau's parent agency) and a host of other federal departments. The appropriations bill included $4.5 billion for decennial census operations through the end of fiscal year 2000 on September 30, 2000, and designated the entire amount as emergency spending. The measure also mandated an across-the-board cut in federal programs of 0.38 percent but gave agency heads flexibility on how to apply the reduction. Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt said his agency would absorb the cut by scaling back or eliminating low priority census activities but did not specify which ones. Fiscal year 2000 funds for the Census Bureau are part of the Commerce, Justice, State, and The Judiciary Appropriations bill. The final version of that bill (H.R. 3421) was attached to the District of Columbia spending bill (H.R. 3194). The entire package is now Public Law 106-113. GAO cites need for contingency planning: The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) issued a report earlier this month expressing concern about the mail response rate and the Census Bureau's ability to meet its hiring goals. In "2000 Census: Contingency Planning Needed to Address Risks That Pose a Threat to a Successful Census," the nonpartisan legislative branch watchdog agency concluded that with only several months until the start of Census 2000, "significant operational uncertainties continue to surround the Bureau's efforts to increase participation in the census and to collect timely and accurate field data from nonrespondents. These uncertainties raise concerns that the 2000 Census may be less accurate than the 1990 census." GAO said the Census Bureau's estimated mail response rate of 61 percent may be difficult to achieve, since it is based in part on evaluations of the 1998 dress rehearsal in which the Bureau mailed a replacement questionnaire to all households. The Bureau decided not to include a second mailing in its final census plan because it is concerned about duplicate responses and public confusion. GAO also expressed concern about whether the Bureau's "extensive outreach and promotion effort" will "[resolve] the long-standing challenge of motivating public participation in the census," a problem that GAO called "beyond the Bureau's ability to control." The report recommends that the Census Bureau develop contingency plans to address a lower-than-expected mail response rate. It also recommends that Congress take steps to attract more temporary workers by eliminating financial disincentives in the law for recipients of Social Security, veterans healthcare, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and federal and military pensions, to take census jobs. The full report (GAO/GGD-00-6) is available on GAO's Web site at www.gao.gov http://www.gao.gov. The GAO study was requested by Rep. Dan Miller (R-FL) and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), chairman and ranking minority member, respectively, of the House Subcommittee on the Census. Both legislators commented on GAO's findings in written statements. Rep. Miller said the Census Bureau's decision not to send a second questionnaire to all households was "troubling" and that he believes the second mailing would save money and "allow [enumerators] to concentrate on the hard to count." He also chastised the Bureau for "short changing" the nonresponse follow-up operation, currently slated for ten weeks, in order "to begin the estimation plan supported by the Administration but rejected by the Supreme Court." The door-to-door visits to unresponsive households are scheduled to run from April 27 to July 7, while the post-census quality check survey of 300,000 households (part of the Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation, or ACE, program) will take place from June 19 to August 18. Rep. Maloney said the GAO report "shows that there is a quick, efficient way to protect the 2000 Census from any potential operational problems." She cited a lower than expected mail response rate and an inability to hire and retain a sufficient number of temporary enumerators as the greatest risks to the census plan. The congresswoman said she would introduce legislation when Congress reconvenes in January to create a $100 million contingency fund for Census 2000. In 1990, a low mail response rate and a shortage of temporary workers in some areas forced Congress to appropriate about $100 million in emergency funds to complete the count. State legislative activity update: The controversy over the Census Bureau's plans to use statistical sampling methods to measure and correct an expected undercount in Census 2000 continued to be the focus of debate in state legislatures. In Michigan, the Senate approved several bills to prohibit the use of census numbers compiled with sampling methods for redistricting purposes. However, on December 9, the House passed a substitute measure that designates both corrected and uncorrected census numbers as "acceptable census data" for the purpose of drawing congressional and state legislative district boundaries, provided the courts uphold the validity of the data used. Also in early December, the Pennsylvania State Senate approved a resolution calling on the Census Bureau to transmit to the states only census numbers derived from direct counting methods, instead of data corrected using statistical methods, for redistricting purposes. However, the House adjourned without acting on the measure. On November 18, in a letter to Alaska's Assistant Attorney General, the U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ) requested additional information in order to determine whether a state law affecting the use of census data for redistricting complies with Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act (as amended). Alaska is one of 16 states covered in whole or in part by Section 5, which requires approval from the U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ) for any changes to election law. The 'pre-clearance' process is intended to prevent changes that have the purpose or effect of denying or abridging the right to vote of racial, ethnic, or language minorities. The Alaska law requires its redistricting board to use census numbers that are the basis for congressional apportionment; the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last January that federal law bars sampling methods in compiling the state population totals used for apportionment, but left open the question of whether statistically corrected data could be used for redistricting and the allocation of federal funds. Alaska submitted the law for USDOJ approval in September. Census 2000 Initiative web site: Over the holiday break, the Census 2000 Initiative will be updating its Web site, to provide census stakeholders with current information on key policy and operational issues affecting the 2000 census. Look for a Special News Alert next month with a summary of up-to-date resources available on our Web site. 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. For copies of previous News Alerts and other information, use our web site www.census2000.org <http://www.census2000.org>. 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.