Dear census stakeholders: Many of you have been wondering what happened to the Census Bureau's fiscal year 2006 appropriations bill since the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the Commerce, Justice, and Science funding bill last month. The bill (H.R. 2862) had been scheduled for consideration by the full Senate earlier this month. You did not miss anything! For several reasons (including the hospitalization of the subcommittee's ranking Democrat, Sen. Barbara Mikulski), consideration of the bill was delayed ... and delayed and delayed. It will not be considered before Congress adjourns for its August recess after tomorrow. When Congress reconvenes after Labor Day, it will have only several weeks to complete action on the bill before the start of the new fiscal year on October 1. After the Senate passes the bill, House and Senate negotiators (the conference committee) must iron out differences between their respective versions of the funding measure. This task will be complicated by the fact that the House and Senate bills now cover a different set of federal agencies. It is possible that the Census Bureau will be funded temporarily through a Continuting Resolution (at current year funding levels) if the appropriations bill is not completed by September 30. For a review of funding levels approved by the House and the Senate Appropriations Committee, please visit the web site of The Census Project at www.thecensusproject.org for previous Census News Briefs. Thank you to the many organizations and companies that have written letters to Congress in support of adequate funding for the American Community Survey, 2010 census planning, and other important Census Bureau surveys. There is still plenty of time to let your legislators know about the consequences of the very low funding level in the Senate bill. Terri Ann Terri Ann Lowenthal Legislative & Policy Consultant TerriAnn2K(a)aol.com -- Ed Christopher 708-283-3534 (V) 708-574-8131 (cell) FHWA RC-TST-PLN 19900 Governors Dr Olympia Fields, IL 60461