SENATE APPROVES COMMERCE FUNDING BILL; NO FUNDS ADDED FOR CENSUS BUREAU After a week of deliberations, the U.S. Senate approved the appropriations bill that will pay for Census Bureau programs in fiscal year 2006, clearing the way for a conference with the House of Representatives in the coming weeks to iron out substantial differences between the two versions of the bill. There were no changes to the Census Bureau’s funding level set by the Senate Appropriations Committee in June. The new fiscal year begins October 1, 2005. The Senate passed the massive FY06 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill (H.R. 2862) by a vote of 91 - 4 on September 15. In her opening statement on the floor, Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), ranking minority member on the Commerce spending subcommittee, called the Census Bureau “one of the flashing yellow lights in the bill,” referring to the funding level of $727.4 million, which is $150 million below the President’s request and $17 million less than 2005. She highlighted the importance of the agency’s work to “continually evaluat[e] who we are and where we live and give[s] us important information so that communities and businesses can develop everything from transportation and education plans to business targeting new demography in our country.” The committee believed the Census Bureau could operate next year with a “modest” cut from this year’s budget, Sen. Mikulski acknowledged. “We hope to restore that in conference,” she said, although it is not clear whether the senator was referring to the 2005 funding level or the $85 million-higher figure the House approved. Sen. Mikulski also cautioned, however, that in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, “[w]e will be reevaluating as we go along.” The Commerce appropriations bill also covers the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Economic Development Administration, and Small Business Administration’s disaster loans program. Senators approved a number of amendments to assist hurricane victims and to increase funding for law enforcement and anti-drug programs. The Office of Management and Budget issued its Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) last week as the Senate prepared to consider the Commerce-Justice-State spending bill. While noting that funding for the Commerce Department was $1.1 billion above the President’s request, the Administration expressed concern about funding for the Census Bureau. The SAP confirmed that, under the Senate funding level, the bureau would suspend the American Community Survey, increase the lifecycle cost of the 2010 census, and “lead to a less accurate Census.” The letter to the Senate noted that “timely and accurate Census data are necessary … in recovery efforts for crisis situations” (emphasis added).” The Senate funding level also would “jeopardize the accuracy of the national income accounts and lead to the elimination of important economic data series,” OMB said. The full statement from OMB is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/legislative/sap/109-1/hr2862sap-s.pdf. All members of the Senate Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations subcommittee, as well as the chairman and senior Democrat of the full committee, were appointed as conferees on the bill. It is too early to know how quickly House and Senate negotiators will meet. Stakeholders advocate for census programs: A diverse group of census stakeholders, representing business and industry, civil rights and child advocates, data users, and others, sent a second letter to the Senate last week, urging lawmakers to increase funding for the American Community Survey (ACS), 2010 census planning, and other important statistical programs. Organized by the Communications Consortium Media Center as The Census Project, the stakeholders noted that the Senate funding level would jeopardize continuation of the ACS and the 2006 Census Test in Travis County, TX, and on the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation. A copy of this and previous letters are posted at www.thecensusproject.org. (Note: Several organizations asked to sign the letter after it was sent; their names appear on the permanent copy posted on the web site.) Other stakeholders, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, JCPenney, and the chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe, have sent their own letters to senators, encouraging full funding for the ACS, 2010 census, and economic statistical programs endangered by potential funding cuts. New census advisory committee named: The Census Bureau has selected members of the new 2010 Census Advisory Committee, the successor to the Decennial Census Advisory Committee, which was disbanded last winter. The committee will hold its first meeting on October 27-28, following an orientation for organizations that were not members of the previous committee. The following organizations accepted invitations to join the advisory panel. An asterisk indicates groups that did not serve previously. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee American Farm Bureau Federation* American Foundation for the Blind Association of MultiEthnic Americans Association of Public Data Users California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. Consortium of Social Science Associations* Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics Election Data Services, Inc.* Federal Reserve Bank of New York* Housing Statistics Users Group National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium National Association of Counties National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund National Association of Towns and Townships National Conference of Black Mayors* National Congress of American Indians POLIDATA Political Data Analysis* U.S. Chamber of Commerce Change in prisoner count picks up support: The U.S. Conference of Mayors adopted a resolution urging Congress to change the way prisoners are counted in the decennial census. The resolution, approved at the group’s annual meeting in Chicago in June, calls for legislation to require that prison inmates be counted at their pre-incarceration home. Prisoners are counted at their place of incarceration under current census residence rules. The current method, the Mayors contend, “draws a disproportionate amount of funding to prison community locations, while restricting the amount of funds that go to the actual home communities of the inmates.” They noted that inmates’ families often require services in the home communities and that 95 percent of prisoners will return to those communities upon release. In June, the House Appropriations Committee directed the Census Bureau to evaluate a change in the way prisoners are counted in the decennial census and to issue a report within 90 days of enactment of the appropriations bill. Senate appropriators did not include a similar requirement in their report accompanying the Census Bureau’s fiscal year 2006 funding bill. 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 708-283-3534 (V) 708-574-8131 (cell) FHWA RC-TST-PLN 19900 Governors Dr Olympia Fields, IL 60461