CENSUS FUNDS SURVIVE IN STIMULUS BILL Plus: White House Clarifies Role in 2010 Census, While Republicans Express Growing “Alarm;” and more. House and Senate negotiators reportedly have reached an agreement on a $789 billion economic stimulus package that includes $1 billion for expanded 2010 census operations. Details about how the Census Bureau should spend the funds are not yet available, although both House and Senate appropriators emphasized the need to target historically hard-to-count communities in their respective committee reports. The U.S. Senate gave final approval yesterday (61 – 37) to its $838 billion version of the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009” after adopting a substitute amendment sponsored by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NB). The Collins-Nelson amendment allocated $1 billion for enhanced 2010 census operations and specified that the funds would be available until September 30, 2010, a restriction the $819 billion House version of the bill did not include. Before suspending consideration of the original stimulus proposal (H.R. 1) last week, Senators rejected (39 – 57) yet another amendment, offered by Sens. Graham (R-SC) and Conrad (D-ND), which would have eliminated funds for the census. Controvery continues over line of authority for census: Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, led by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), today sent a letter to the panel’s leadership, requesting a hearing to “investigate potential politicization of the U.S. Census Bureau.” The letter, addressed to committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Ranking Member Joe Barton (R-TX) and signed by all 22 committee Republicans, follows press reports last week that the White House planned to assume direct responsibility for the 2010 census after some stakeholders expressed concern about Commerce Secretary-designate Judd Gregg’s (R-NH) past positions on the decennial count. (See February 5th Census News Brief.) Committee Republicans said they were “alarmed to learn that senior White House officials are contemplating a plan to change the management and reporting structure of the Census Bureau,” referring to a report in Congressional Quarterly last week that the Census Director would have a “direct line to the White House.” This “change in management,” the lawmakers wrote, “may jeopardize the important and non-partisan work product of a sensitive administrative agency, and potentially disrupt completion of a competent, reliable 2010 census.” The White House sought to clarify its original statement last week by saying the Census Director would “work closely” with, not report to, senior Administration staff, and that the director “works for the Commerce Secretary and the president.” The White House today issued a second clarification of its intended role in the next census, according to an Associated Press article. AP writer Erica Werner quoted White House spokesman Benjamin LaBolt as saying the Administration “has not proposed removing the census from the Department of Commerce, and the same congressional committees that had oversight during the previous administration will retain that authority.” However, House Republican Leader John Boehner, joined by other party and committee leaders in the House, sent a letter to President Obama, urging him to “reconsider and reverse this controversial and harmful course of action,” which Rep. Boehner called a “White House census takeover.” “Placing the census under control of political operatives,” the letter said, would result in “unprecedented politicization of the census and open the door to massive waste and abuse in the expenditure of taxpayer funds” used to allocate federal program funds. The AP reported that House Republicans plan to hold a press conference on Thursday to discuss their concerns and announce formation of a Census Task Force, which will be chaired by Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), a member of the census oversight subcommittee. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation has not announced a date for Sen. Gregg’s confirmation hearing. Senate panel plans census oversight hearing: The Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security, chaired by Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE), will hold its first census oversight hearing of the 111th Congress on Thursday, March 5, at 2:30 PM, in room 342 Dirksen Senate Office Building. The hearing, titled “Lessons Learned: How the New Administration Can Achieve an Accurate and Cost-Effective 2010 Census,” will take an historical look at the census and examine the challenges facing the Census Bureau heading into 2010, including ensuring accurate funding, timely appointment of a Census Director, and problems with management of IT systems that “threaten to undermine the accuracy of Census 2010,” according to the panel’s press release. The subcommittee has not yet announced witnesses. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is the new ranking minority member on the panel. More committee assignments for the 111th Congress: Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have made subcommittee assignments for the 111th Congress. The Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives is responsible for oversight of the Census Bureau and authorization of Census Bureau activities. (Democratic members of the subcommittee are listed in the February 5th Census News Brief.) House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives (Republican Members) Ranking Member: Patrick McHenry, NC Lynn Westmoreland, GA John Mica, FL Jason Chaffetz, UT Census News Briefs are prepared by Terri Ann Lowenthal, a consultant to the nonpartisan Census Project, organized by the Communications Consortium Media Center in Washington, DC. Please direct questions about the information in this News Brief to Ms. Lowenthal at TerriAnn2K(a)aol.com. Please feel free to circulate this document to other interested individuals and organizations. Previous Census News Briefs are posted at www.thecensusproject.org CENSUS NEWS BRIEF CENSUS FUNDS SURVIVE IN STIMULUS BILL Plus: White House Clarifies Role in 2010 Census, While Republicans Express Growing “Alarm;” and more. House and Senate negotiators reportedly have reached an agreement on a $789 billion economic stimulus package that includes $1 billion for expanded 2010 census operations. Details about how the Census Bureau should spend the funds are not yet available, although both House and Senate appropriators emphasized the need to target historically hard-to-count communities in their respective committee reports. The U.S. Senate gave final approval yesterday (61 – 37) to its $838 billion version of the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009” after adopting a substitute amendment sponsored by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NB). The Collins-Nelson amendment allocated $1 billion for enhanced 2010 census operations and specified that the funds would be available until September 30, 2010, a restriction the $819 billion House version of the bill did not include. Before suspending consideration of the original stimulus proposal (H.R. 1) last week, Senators rejected (39 – 57) yet another amendment, offered by Sens. Graham (R-SC) and Conrad (D-ND), which would have eliminated funds for the census. Controvery continues over line of authority for census: Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, led by Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), today sent a letter to the panel’s leadership, requesting a hearing to “investigate potential politicization of the U.S. Census Bureau.” The letter, addressed to committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Ranking Member Joe Barton (R-TX) and signed by all 22 committee Republicans, follows press reports last week that the White House planned to assume direct responsibility for the 2010 census after some stakeholders expressed concern about Commerce Secretary-designate Judd Gregg’s (R-NH) past positions on the decennial count. (See February 5th Census News Brief.) Committee Republicans said they were “alarmed to learn that senior White House officials are contemplating a plan to change the management and reporting structure of the Census Bureau,” referring to a report in Congressional Quarterly last week that the Census Director would have a “direct line to the White House.” This “change in management,” the lawmakers wrote, “may jeopardize the important and non-partisan work product of a sensitive administrative agency, and potentially disrupt completion of a competent, reliable 2010 census.” The White House sought to clarify its original statement last week by saying the Census Director would “work closely” with, not report to, senior Administration staff, and that the director “works for the Commerce Secretary and the president.” The White House today issued a second clarification of its intended role in the next census, according to an Associated Press article. AP writer Erica Werner quoted White House spokesman Benjamin LaBolt as saying the Administration “has not proposed removing the census from the Department of Commerce, and the same congressional committees that had oversight during the previous administration will retain that authority.” However, House Republican Leader John Boehner, joined by other party and committee leaders in the House, sent a letter to President Obama, urging him to “reconsider and reverse this controversial and harmful course of action,” which Rep. Boehner called a “White House census takeover.” “Placing the census under control of political operatives,” the letter said, would result in “unprecedented politicization of the census and open the door to massive waste and abuse in the expenditure of taxpayer funds” used to allocate federal program funds. The AP reported that House Republicans plan to hold a press conference on Thursday to discuss their concerns and announce formation of a Census Task Force, which will be chaired by Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), a member of the census oversight subcommittee. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation has not announced a date for Sen. Gregg’s confirmation hearing. Senate panel plans census oversight hearing: The Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security, chaired by Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE), will hold its first census oversight hearing of the 111th Congress on Thursday, March 5, at 2:30 PM, in room 342 Dirksen Senate Office Building. The hearing, titled “Lessons Learned: How the New Administration Can Achieve an Accurate and Cost-Effective 2010 Census,” will take an historical look at the census and examine the challenges facing the Census Bureau heading into 2010, including ensuring accurate funding, timely appointment of a Census Director, and problems with management of IT systems that “threaten to undermine the accuracy of Census 2010,” according to the panel’s press release. The subcommittee has not yet announced witnesses. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) is the ranking minority member on the panel. More committee assignments for the 111th Congress: Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have made subcommittee assignments for the 111th Congress. The Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives is responsible for oversight of the Census Bureau and authorization of Census Bureau activities. (Democratic members of the subcommittee are listed in the February 5th Census News Brief.) House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives (Republican Members) Ranking Member: Patrick McHenry, NC Lynn Westmoreland, GA John Mica, FL Jason Chaffetz, UT Census News Briefs are prepared by Terri Ann Lowenthal, a consultant to the nonpartisan Census Project, organized by the Communications Consortium Media Center in Washington, DC. Please direct questions about the information in this News Brief to Ms. Lowenthal at TerriAnn2K(a)aol.com. Please feel free to circulate this document to other interested individuals and organizations. Previous Census News Briefs are posted at www.thecensusproject.org -- Ed Christopher 708-283-3534 (V) 708-574-8131 (cell) FHWA RC-TST-PLN 19900 Governors Dr Olympia Fields, IL 60461