From: Census2000 <Census2000(a)ccmc.org>
House Approves Post Census Local Review Bill
Despite Census Bureau Objections
New National Academy of Sciences Panel Report Available
The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday approved legislation to
require a 45-day local review of preliminary housing unit counts as part
of the 2000 census. Lawmakers passed the bill after rejecting an
alternative proposal to give the Census Bureau more flexibility in
providing opportunities for local officials to review address lists and
census maps.
The final vote of 223 - 206 fell mostly along party lines. Rep. Connie
Morella (R-MD) was the only Republican to vote against the bill, while
Democratic Reps. Leonard Boswell (D-IA), Virgil Goode (D-VA), Gene
Taylor (D-MS), and James Traficant (D-OH) joined all other Republicans
in voting for the measure. H.R. 472, sponsored by census subcommittee
Chairman Dan Miller (R-FL), would require the Bureau to send preliminary
household counts and jurisdictional boundaries to all local and Tribal
governments by August 1, 2000. Local officials would have 45 working
days to review and challenge the information. (The program only
involves challenges to housing unit counts or address lists, not
population counts.) The Bureau must investigate all challenges and
recanvass neighborhoods, if necessary, to identify and enumerate missed
housing units. The Bureau would have to complete its review and notify
local officials of the results by November 1, 2000.
Proponents of H.R. 472 called it a "common sense" way to give local
officials a chance to spot problems with the census count before the
numbers become final. They argued that a post- census local review
would improve the accuracy of the count and build local confidence in
the census process. Supporters generally lauded the pre-census local
review of address lists and maps (called the Local Update of Census
Addresses, or LUCA, program) but said many small towns and rural
communities did not have the fiscal resources or expertise to
participate fully in this activity.
Opponents, led by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), called the bill a
"delaying tactic" to prevent the Census Bureau from completing its
Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation (ACE) program, which includes a
post-enumeration survey to measure and correct any undercounts and
overcounts in the initial tally. They cited an April 12 letter in which
Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt said the requirements imposed by
H.R. 472 "will harm the ability of the Census Bureau to carry out its
basic mission of providing the most accurate census counts for all
purposes." The bill "would adversely affect the timing and quality of
census operations, including the Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation," Dr.
Prewitt wrote.
Rep. Maloney, the census subcommittee's senior Democrat, offered an
alternative proposal that would have allowed the Secretary of Commerce
to decide the most appropriate procedures for local review of address
lists and maps, including an opportunity for local officials to add
newly-constructed housing through Census Day and to verify housing units
identified by the Postal Service as vacant. The substitute measure also
would have ensured that any local review would not interfere with the
Bureau's ability to use scientific methods to account for people missed
by mail and door-to-door visits. The House defeated the Maloney
amendment 226 - 202.
In a statement to the press yesterday, Commerce Secretary William Daley
said H.R. 472 would "disrupt census operations by allowing 39,000 local
governments to contest counts within their jurisdictions long after
April 1, 2000. ...Based on the Bureau's analysis of the legislation, I
would strongly recommend to the President that he veto this legislation
if it was presented to him." Vice President Albert Gore issued a
statement saying the bill would "reduce the accuracy of Census 2000 and
seriously disrupt its schedule."
National Academy of Sciences panel issues final report: The National
Academy of Sciences' National Research Council Panel on Alternative
Census Methodologies has issued its final report, "Measuring a Changing
Nation: Modern Methods for the 2000 Census." The report is available
from the National Academy Press by calling 202/334-3313 or
800/624-6242., The panel began its review of the Census 2000 design and
plan in 1995. It looked at the results of the 1995 and 1996 census
tests, with a particular focus on proposed uses of sampling to complete
the count of unresponsive households and to measure the accuracy of the
initial count. In two previous interim reports, the panel discussed
several census operations, including address list development, the use
of administrative records, and plans for a replacement questionnaire.
The
final report was drafted prior to the January 1999 Supreme Court ruling
that the Census Act bars sampling to compile the state population totals
used for apportionment and the Census Bureau's subsequent revisions to
the 2000 plan.
Census deputy director departing: Bradford Huther, Deputy Director of
the Census Bureau, will step down from his position at the end of April
to pursue an opportunity with a United Nations agency in Geneva,
Switzerland. In announcing the departure, Director Prewitt called Mr.
Huther a "talented and dedicated deputy director" who "leaves [the
Census Bureau] a better institution than when he arrived." Prior to
joining the Bureau in 1997, Mr. Huther was the chief financial officer
and associate commissioner at the Commerce Department's Patent and
Trademark Office. The deputy director position at the Census Bureau is
filled by a career civil servant. Mr. Huther's replacement has not been
named.
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.
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