From: Census2000 <Census2000(a)ccmc.org>
Hearing and Document Update
Because of recent changes in, or additions to, the schedule for
congressional activities relating to the census, we want to provide
stakeholders with updated information on these events. We also want to
pass along information on how to access new materials of interest to
stakeholders.
Congressional oversight hearings: The House Subcommittee on the Census
will hold a hearing this afternoon to discuss the "America Counts Today
(ACT) Initiative," a proposal by Chairman Dan Miller (R-FL) to "enhance
traditional enumeration methods." The hearing starts at 2:00 p.m. in
room 2203 Rayburn House Office Building. Census Bureau Director Kenneth
Prewitt will testify. The subcommittee will also hear from Rep. Carrie
Meek (D-FL), sponsor of the "Decennial Census Improvement Act of 1999"
(H.R. 683). The bill would allow federal agencies to disregard income
earned by temporary census enumerators in determining eligibility for
certain federal benefits.
The census subcommittee will vote on H.R. 683 at a "mark-up" scheduled
for Thursday, March 4, at 9:15 a.m. in room 311 Cannon House Office
Building.
Congressional appropriations hearings: The House Appropriations
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, and The Judiciary has
rescheduled its hearing to review the Commerce Department's budget
request for Fiscal Year 2000 (FY00), which includes funding for the
Census Bureau. Secretary William Daley will appear before the panel,
chaired by Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY), on Wednesday, March 3, at 2:00
p.m. in room 2359 Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing originally
scheduled for March 4, to review the Census Bureau's funding request in
more detail with Director Prewitt, has been postponed.
Secretary Daley is scheduled to testify before the counterpart Senate
appropriations subcommittee, chaired by Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH), on
Thursday, March 11, at 10:00 a.m. in room S-146 of The Capitol.
Census Monitoring Board: The eight-member Census Monitoring Board will
hold a meeting on Monday, March 8, at 9:30 a.m., in the Census Bureau's
conference center at its Suitland, MD, headquarters. The agenda for the
meeting and any witnesses have not yet been announced.
Tabulating race and ethnic data: The Office of Management and Budget's
Draft Provisional Guidance on the Implementation of the 1997 Standards
for the Collection of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity can now be
found on OMB's web site at
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/OMB/html/misc-doc.html>. OMB is
accepting comments on the draft guidelines for tabulating multiple
responses to the race question in the census and other federal surveys
for two months and expects to issue provisional guidance at the end of
April.
Dress rehearsal evaluation: The Census Bureau has issued a "Report Card:
Evaluation of the Standards for Success" on its Census 2000 Dress
Rehearsal, conducted in three sites in 1998. The report compares data
from various stages of dress rehearsal operations with a set of
standards for each site: Columbia, S.C. and surrounding counties;
Sacramento, CA; and Menominee County, WI (including the Menominee
American Indian Reservation). Key elements for evaluation include the
address lists, mailing a replacement questionnaire to all households,
the paid advertising campaign, door-to-door follow-up activities, and
unduplication of multiple responses from the same household. For more
information on the dress rehearsal February 1999 Report Card, please
contact the Bureau's Planning, Research, and Evaluation Division at
301/457-3525.
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.
Show replies by date