IN THIS CENSUS NEWS BRIEF: MN Lawmaker Challenges Mandatory Census Response Stakeholder Activities Census Bureau Confirms New Data Tabulation Policy 2010 Census Operational Update MINNESOTA LAWMAKER CHALLENGES CENSUS RESPONSE REQUIREMENT In a news interview last week, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) said her family would not answer any questions in next year's decennial census beyond the number of people in her household. The two-term congresswoman told the Washington Times "America's Morning News" on June 17, "We won't be answering any information beyond [how many people are in our home], because the Constitution doesn't require any information beyond that," according to an article in the newspaper. Article I, section 2, of the Constitution, as modified by the Fourteenth Amendment, requires a census of population every ten years for purposes of congressional apportionment, in "such Manner as they [Congress] shall by Law direct." Congress delegated authority for taking the census to the Secretary of Commerce, who may "obtain such other census information as necessary" in conducting the decennial census of population (13, U.S.C., §141). The U.S. Supreme Court also has applied the Constitution's "equal protection clause" to a series of cases involving the size and composition of congressional districts, which historically have been drawn -- by law or necessity -- using census data. The Census Act (13, U.S.C., §221) requires responses to the decennial census. A person who "refuses" or "willfully neglects" to answer any census questions is subject to a fine of not more than $100. A person who "willfully" provides false information can be fined up to $500 (§222). The 2010 census questionnaire covers six topics: age; gender; relationship to head of household; Hispanic origin; race; and tenure (homeowner or renter). The Census Bureau requests names of people residing in the household, to ensure full coverage and minimize the likelihood of duplication, and a telephone number, in case it must follow-up to obtain missing or unclear information, but it does not ask for social security or any other identification number. Rep. Bachmann said in the interview that she was concerned about the role of the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN), one of thousands of national, regional, and local groups that will be 2010 census "partners." "They [ACORN] will be in charge of going door to door and collecting data from the American public," the congresswoman said. Last week, Rep. Bachmann criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for allowing the Rules Committee to limit the number of amendments offered to the Fiscal Year 2010 Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations bill, which funds the Census Bureau. The congresswoman and Rep. Steve King (R-IA) had hoped to prevent ACORN or its affiliates from receiving federal funds through agencies covered by the bill; their amendments were not made "in order" during floor debate. The 2010 Census Partnership Program encourages organizations to sign an agreement, "formally pledging their commitment to share the 2010 Census message and mobilize their constituents in support of the Census Bureau's goal of achieving a complete count," according to the agency's web site. The Census Bureau offers promotional, educational, and outreach materials for partner organizations to use and modify, as appropriate, to reach their audiences. Partner organizations are encouraged to display and distribute promotional materials; serve as Questionnaire Assistance Centers and Be Counted sites; include articles about the census in their newsletters; and urge their constituents to complete their census forms, among other activities. Partners also can refer individuals to the Census Bureau for temporary census jobs; applicants must take a test and are subject to background checks and fingerprinting, regardless of who referred them for the position. Census partners do not receive direct monetary assistance, and they are not directly responsible for any formal aspect of the enumeration. Republicans press Census Bureau to explain ACORN partnership: Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), the senior Republican on the House census oversight subcommittee, sent a letter to Acting Census Director Thomas Mesenbourg last week, seeking an explanation for "the continued involvement of the criminally-charged [ACORN] in 2010 census operations." The congressman noted that he and other committee Republicans had written previously to the Census Bureau, questioning the involvement in the census of "an organization with a history of falsifying government documents," but that the agency "had failed to respond." STAKEHOLDER ACTIVITIES Census stakeholders across the country are turning up the spotlight on the importance of participating in next year's population count. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the formation of the State's Complete Count Committee on June 12, saying, "We must reach out to all Californians across the state to make certain everyone is counted so that California gets its fair share of federal dollars and representation in congress." The committee's 53 members represent a wide range of sectors that rely on accurate census data, including state and municipal offices, educational institutions, community service and public policy organizations, labor unions and businesses, faith-based groups, and civil rights advocates. The U.S. Conference of Mayors' Census 2010 Task Force convened at the organization's annual meeting in Providence, RI, on June 15, to discuss ways that local governments can promote participation in the decennial count. Task Force Chairman Mark Mallory, Mayor of Cincinnati, urged his colleagues to play a leadership role in bringing together diverse constituencies in support of the 2010 census. Utah's two largest cities, Salt Lake City and West Valley City, have formed complete count committees, in an effort to convince their residents -- especially Latinos, a group local officials believe was undercounted in 2000 -- according to a June 17 article in the Salt Lake Tribune. The New York Immigrant Coalition held a news conference earlier this month to educate the City's ethnic media about the importance of an accurate census for immigrant communities. Participants included New York Regional Census Director Tony Farthing and New York City's Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs Guillermo Linares. The Coalition of Bar Associations of Color adopted a resolution supporting full funding for the 2010 census, calling for a moratorium on immigration raids during the census, and encouraging its members and chapters to become 2010 Census Partners and to participate on Complete Count Committees in their local areas. Editor's note: This summary of recent stakeholder activities in support of an accurate 2010 census is not meant to be inclusive (which, fortunately, would be difficult), but rather to demonstrate the scope of interest in next year's count, through a few noteworthy examples, and to share ideas across all communities of interest. CENSUS BUREAU CONFIRMS POLICY CHANGE ON SAME-SEX SPOUSE RESPONSES The Census Bureau confirmed that it will change its policy with respect to tabulating marital status responses in the 2010 census. Spokesman Steve Jost told The Associated Press (June 19, 2009) that, "They [same sex married couples] will be counted, and they ought to report the way they see themselves," promising that publications following the census would offer a "good data set on which to discuss this phenomenon that is evolving in this country." Under the new policy, which it has not yet formally issued, the bureau would tabulate same-sex spouse responses to the relationship question as married couples, reversing a policy set during the previous Administration that would have re-coded these couples as "unmarried partners." The agency had previously cited provisions of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as prohibiting federal agencies from tabulating data that reflected gay marriages. 2010 CENSUS OPERATIONAL UPDATE The Census Bureau will open two of three Data Capture Centers (DCCs) in the coming weeks, one in Baltimore (June 29) and one in Jeffersonville, IN (July 8), also home to the bureau's National Processing Center. The centers will hire thousands of workers to process tens of millions of questionnaires during the height of census operations next year. Lockheed Martin won a six-year contract in 2005 for the 2010 Census Decennial Response Integration System (DRIS), which will capture and standardize information reported on census forms. Census questionnaires begin rolling off the presses next month. Census News Briefs are prepared by Terri Ann Lowenthal, an independent legislative and policy consultant specializing in the census and federal statistics. 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 TerriAnn2K(a)aol.com. Please feel free to circulate this document to other interested individuals and organizations. Ms. Lowenthal is a consultant to the nonpartisan Census Project, organized by the Communications Consortium Media Center in Washington, DC. Previous Census News Briefs are posted at www.thecensusproject.org [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102617629772&s=12&e=001mj_hpcvrJaEdVhKfns…]davzg==]. -- Ed Christopher 708-283-3534 (V) 708-574-8131 (cell) FHWA RC-TST-PLN 19900 Governors Dr Olympia Fields, IL 60461