CTPP

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by Ed Christopher

On June 12 FHWA and Census Staff hosted a webinar on the Census Bureau's plans for defining Urbanized Area Boundaries. At the webinar more questions were asked than there was time answer. Consequently all the questions were collected and Q/A developed. It can be downloaded from the CTPP webinar room by going to http://fhwa.acrobat.com/ctpp1, entering as a guest and saving the "Census Q and A v8.pdf" file to your computer. In the webinar room there are also links to the recording of the complete June 12 webinar (http://fhwa.na3.acrobat.com/p20171907/) as well as several other recorded webinars. For your convenience I have also attached the Q/As to this email. -- Ed Christopher 708-283-3534 (V) 708-574-8131 (cell) FHWA Resource Center Planning Team 4749 Lincoln Mall Drive, Suite 600 Matteson, IL 60443

16 years, 1 month

Re: [CTPP] Job posting Omaha NE

by Michael Moan

I am on vacation until August 3rd.

16 years, 1 month

[CTPP] Job posting Omaha NE

by Jesse

POSITION AVAILABLE OMAHA-COUNCIL BLUFFS METROPOLITAN AREA PLANNING AGENCY (MAPA) ASSISTANT PLANNER - TRANSPORTATION Job Description This position involves technical planning support for the Transportation Planning Section of MAPA, the metropolitan planning organization for the Omaha region. The primary area of work will relate to development and annual update of the regional TIP, staff support for Iowa RPA activities and committee, staff support for New Freedom and Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) project and committee, coordinating ITS and other metropolitan transportation activities. Specific activities will include data collection and assembly, preparation of estimates and forecasts and data analysis and presentation. This work requires a high level of quantitative and analytical skills: familiarity with the TIP, ITS and RPA planning process is required; some familiarity with GIS and data base application is required. At times, this position will also be involved in other areas within the broader transportation planning process and a background in the overall transportation modeling process will be helpful. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE: The ability to work with local elected officials and, state/federal officials and the public is essential. The ideal candidate should be motivated, possess strong verbal and written communication skills, and have proactive work habits. This position requires a Bachelor's Degree in transportation or regional planning or engineering or related studies and three years of progressively responsible experience, or any time-equivalent combination of experience and education. SALARY: Salary negotiable: $41,653 - $56,856. MAPA reserves the right to hire at an appropriate level. Resumes and applications will be accepted until close of business July 31, 2009. Submit resume to: A.A. Ramsey, MAPA Personnel Officer, 2222 Cuming Street, Omaha, NE, 68102-4328; Email: aramsey(a)mapacog.org

16 years, 1 month

[CTPP] Census News Brief

by Ed Christopher

BREAKING NEWS: SENATE CONFIRMS ROBERT GROVES AS CENSUS BUREAU DIRECTOR The U.S. Senate voted today to confirm Dr. Robert Groves as Director of the Census Bureau, overcoming objections of several Republicans more than three months after President Obama nominated the renowned survey methodologist and former Census Associate Director to head the nation's largest statistical agency. Senators voted 76 - 15 to end debate on the nomination and then proceeded to give final approval to the nominee by voice vote. Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE), chairman of the census oversight subcommittee, told his colleagues that the census was one of the few specific obligations of the federal government mentioned in the Constitution and that the decennial census requires thousands of people and years of preparation. "We can't turn a light switch on next April and take a census," the chairman said. Sen. Carper called Dr. Groves "an inspired choice" and said the nominee was "ideally suited to this position" because of his credentials in survey methodology and his prior experience as a senior Census Bureau official. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), the senior Republican on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Census Bureau, said that her committee had "scrutinized this nominee thoroughly" and had unanimously approved his nomination on May 20. The Census Director "will need to quickly take action to ensure an accurate, actual enumeration," Sen. Collins stated, adding that the outcome must be "accurate, objective, and free from even the appearance of political interference." Sen. Collins described Dr. Groves as "superbly well-qualified" to head the agency. Addressing colleagues who were concerned that the Obama Administration will politicize the census for partisan purposes, the senator recounted Dr. Groves' pledges under oath at his confirmation hearing "to resign and actively work to stop any action to improperly influence the census for political gain." Dr. Groves also testified at the May 15 hearing that he had no intention of using statistical sampling methods to adjust the 2010 census, the senator said, and that he was "committed to a transparent census process." "I don't know what more you could ask" of a nominee, Sen. Collins concluded, adding that Dr. Groves is "not a political person; he is a scientist, a researcher, a statistician." Sen. Collins also criticized the Census Bureau for failed procurements that she said "have not been a pretty picture" and have resulted in a "dramatic increase in [the] cost of the 2010 census." The senator said that the large investment in new technology for 2010 had "gone to waste" because of "gross mismanagement," referring to a significant reduction in the Field Data Collection Automation (FDCA) contract for GPS-equipped handheld computers to gather information from households during field operations. HSGAC Chairman Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) called Dr. Groves "a brilliant social scientist" who is "well-positioned to see [the decennial census] through to a successful conclusion." "The Administration would have had a hard time appointing a better-qualified candidate to lead the Census Bureau," the chairman said in a statement applauding the final vote. Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), who introduced the nominee at his confirmation hearing, said Dr. Groves "may be the best candidate ever nominated for this position." Dr. Groves holds Master of Arts degrees in statistics and sociology and a doctorate in sociology from the University of Michigan and most recently served as Director of the University's Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research. Sen. Levin noted that six former Census Directors, appointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents, had written a letter in support of Dr. Groves' nomination. The President named Dr. Groves to head the Census Bureau on April 2, but the nomination stalled after Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) objected to a confirmation vote until they received assurances from the Administration that there would not be a statistical adjustment of the 2010 census and that the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) would not play a role in the decennial count. During today's debate on a motion to "invoke cloture," or end debate, on the nomination, Sen. Vitter said he had written to the Administration in June, asking for assurances that ACORN -- one of thousands of official 2010 Census partners that have agreed to promote participation in the census -- "will have nothing to do with the census." Sen. Shelby said that he had sought similar assurances from the Administration in March. Both senators said they had not received responses to their letters. The two senators discussed charges brought against several workers ACORN recruited to help with voter registration during the 2008 election cycle. Sen. Vitter suggested that, as a decennial census partner, ACORN would perform "exactly the sort of activity of signing people up" as it did in recruiting workers who produced "fraudulent voter registrations." As a non-governmental organization, ACORN enlisted workers to help people complete voter registration applications, but was not in a position to register voters, which generally is the responsibility of local registrars who review applications before adding people to the voting rolls. Sen. Carper pointed out that the role of partner organizations is to encourage people to respond to the census and that partners receive no money or grants from the Census Bureau. "This is not about ACORN," the chairman said, saying the group's employees would not "go door to door." The Census Bureau will begin recruiting more than three million applicants this Fall, to fill about 1.2 million temporary census positions over the next year. Partner organizations communicate the availability of census jobs to their constituencies but play no direct role in considering and hiring census workers or in collecting information from unresponsive households. All temporary census employees must pass a test and will undergo FBI background and fingerprint checks before they are approved for work. Sen. Shelby said he could not support Dr. Groves if the nominee did not "denounce" ACORN's role as a 2010 census partner organization. He expressed concern that the political party "controlling the census" could affect the distribution of political power in the redistricting process and "skew" the allocation of federal funds to communities their members represent. Census data are used to apportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, to draw federal, state, and local district lines, and to allocate more than $400 billion annually under federal formula grant programs. The fifteen Republican senators voting against the motion to end debate on the nomination were Sens. John Barrasso (WY), Sam Brownback (KS), Jim Bunning (KY), Saxby Chambliss GA), John Cornyn (TX), Mike Crapo (ID), John Ensign (NV), Michael Enzi (WY), Johnny Isakson (GA), Jim Risch (ID), Pat Roberts (KS), Jeff Sessions (AL), Richard Shelby (AL), David Vitter (LA), and Roger Wicker (MS). The National Association for Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, a member of the 2010 Census Advisory Committee, issued a statement shortly after the final vote, calling Dr. Groves "the right person to lead the Bureau at this critical time of planning for next year's enumeration" and saying that the confirmation "fills an important leadership void at the Census Bureau." The nonprofit organization urged the Census Bureau to ensure that the 2010 census communications and outreach program "takes into account the current economic and social realities" caused by natural disasters and the economic crisis. NALEO also "strongly condemn[ed] the efforts of a small group of organizations with extremist views, and even a member of Congress, calling for a boycott" of the census. The National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders has urged undocumented residents not to participate in the census until the Administration and Congress adopt comprehensive immigration reform. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has said publicly that her family will refuse to answer any census questions other than the number of people living in their household, even though census response is required by law. "A boycott would only exacerbate the undercount, which would hurt neighborhoods and communities," NALEO said. "Encouraging anyone not to participate in the census is simply wrong." 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 -- Ed Christopher 708-283-3534 (V) 708-574-8131 (cell) FHWA RC-TST-PLN 4749 Lincoln Mall Drive, Suite 600 Matteson, IL 60443

16 years, 1 month

[CTPP] ACS 2005-2007 Population Estimates

by Shimon Israel

For ACS 2005-2007 population and housing occupancy/vacancy estimates, are people finding discrepancies between ACS and other data sources, particularly in sub-county geographies? ACS estimates are controlled at the county level and, like the ACS 1-year data, ACS 2005-2007 population estimates are showing disagreement with other data sources. For example, the Oakland 3-year ACS estimate shows the population at 372,000, when CA Dept. of Finance estimates are over 400,000. This runs counter to the on-the-ground anecdotal experience - ACS shows a loss of 30,000 people during a period that showed an increase of 10,000 housing units. Will the decennial census correct this? My understanding is that Census 2010 numbers will be used to control 2010 ACS characteristic data. There will need to be some adjustment, however, given that the decennial census benchmarks population at April 1, and ACS uses a July 1 population number. It's also my understanding that population estimates for 2001-2009 will be updated, though retroactive adjustments for ACS characteristics will not be done. Does anyone else know something different about this? Other thoughts about this? Thanks, Shimon --------------------------------------------------------------- Shimon Israel Associate Transportation Planner/Analyst Metropolitan Transportation Commission 101 Eighth Street Oakland, CA 94607-4700 (510) 817-5839 (office) (510) 817-5848 (fax) ---------------------------------------------------------------

16 years, 1 month

[CTPP] Eric E Foster/D4/MODOT is out of the office.

by Eric.Foster＠modot.mo.gov

I will be out of the office starting 07/03/2009 and will not return until 07/13/2009. I will reply when I return.

16 years, 1 month

[CTPP] Census News Briefs

by Ed Christopher

Senate Appropriations Committee Approves FY2010 Commerce Spending Bill Census Director Nominee Still on "Hold" Utah Lawmakers Seek Changes in Census Methods and Universe MN Rep's Challenge to Census Questions Draws Fire The Rest of the News SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE APPROVES FY2010 COMMERCE SPENDING BILL The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its version of the spending bill that will fund 2010 census operations next year, after reducing the account by $50 million that appropriators believe reflects inflated assumptions about the cost of mileage reimbursement for census field workers. The President's budget request assumed a reimbursement of 62.5 cents per mile, 7.5 cents per mile more than the current General Services Administration reimbursement rate for federal workers, the committee said. The bill, H.R. 2847 (as amended by the committee), allocates $7.324 billion for the Census Bureau, meeting the full Administration budget request for all agency programs, except for the reduction in mileage reimbursement for temporary 2010 census employees. The Periodic Censuses and Programs account, which also funds the quinquennial Economic Census, received $7.065 billion. The Salaries and Expenses account, which covers ongoing statistical programs such as the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), received $259 million, including funds for a new initiative to improve measurement of the service sector. The Commerce Department did not issue an "impact statement" for the bill's Census Bureau allocation, suggesting that the Administration will not challenge the committee's decision to reduce funding for mileage reimbursement. At the mark-up, Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) applauded the "bipartisan cooperation" in drafting a measure that reflected "difficult decisions" among programs as diverse as community policing and the National Weather Service. Sen. Mikulski said funding the 2010 census was "one of our biggest challenges" and that the failure of technology initiatives was the panel's "greatest source of frustration." "Everybody counts and everybody needs to be counted," the chairwoman concluded, in justifying the roughly $7 billion expenditure for the census next year. In its report accompanying the Fiscal Year 2010 (FY2010) Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations bill (Senate Rpt. 111-34), the committee said it "remains apprehensive about the management" of the decennial census "based on past performance," citing the loss of laptop computers containing personally-identifiable information two years ago, and major downsizing of the contract for GPS-equipped handheld computers to collect information in the field. "[T]he Committee is watchful of new reforms to ensure no new blunders arise forcing the census to be delayed or even compromised," lawmakers wrote. Senate appropriators disagreed with a decision by their House counterparts to reduce the President's budget request for the 2010 census by $206 million, a move that Census Bureau officials said would require them to tap into a $573 million contingency fund rather than risk the consequences of cutting back 2010 census operations and programs. "Without this safety net," the Senate committee said in its report, "the census could run the risk of not fulfilling its constitutional mandate." Sources familiar with the House Appropriations Committee maneuver believe that the budget reduction may have resulted from a misunderstanding about the status of Fiscal Year 2009 funds that appeared to be available for carry-over to the following year, but in fact were committed to a paid advertising buy under the extensive 2010 census communications campaign. The Senate committee expressed concern about efforts to reach the "hardest to count populations" during the census and said it expects the Census Bureau to hire a "diverse and local pool" of temporary workers who will "bring language skills as well as cultural understanding" to the partnership and outreach programs. Appropriators also chastised the Census Bureau for failing to follow through on recommendations by the Commerce Department's Inspector General (IG) to improve the accuracy of the master address list and to contain census costs, and asked the agency to report back on its plans to implement the IG's suggestions. REPUBLICANS CONTINUE TO BLOCK CONFIRMATION OF CENSUS DIRECTOR Commerce Chief Appoints Advisers To Fill Gap The nomination of Dr. Robert Groves to be director of the U.S. Census Bureau continues to languish in the U.S. Senate, with one or more anonymous Republican senators objecting to a confirmation vote, according to Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Commerce Secretary Gary Locke issued a statement on June 24, saying that, "The Census Bureau cannot wait for strong leadership any longer. The longer this nomination is held up, the greater the risk to the accuracy and success of the 2010 census." Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE), chairman of the subcommittee that oversees the Census Bureau, said in a statement the following day that, "the Census Bureau has encountered serious challenges that threaten to jeopardize the success and cost-effectiveness of the 2010 Census." Chairman Carper called Dr. Groves a "qualified, experienced candidate who has received support by members on both sides of the aisle" and urged senators to "put partisanship aside" to confirm the nominee. "A leaderless Census Bureau is not likely to pull off an accurate count or to avoid the costly mistakes that have already plagued preparations for the upcoming census," the senator warned. Stakeholder groups continued to express their support for a quick confirmation vote in the Senate. The National Urban League and the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, co-conveners of a Unity Census 2010 Coalition last spring to mobilize the African American community in support of the census, urged Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to expedite a vote on Dr. Groves' nomination, saying, "With only 10 months remaining before the April 1, 2010 Census, we believe the appointment of the Census Bureau director has escalated to emergency status." President Obama nominated Dr. Groves, director of the University of Michigan's Institute for Survey Research and a former Census Bureau Associate Director, in April; the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs unanimously approved the nomination on May 20. Secretary Locke moved to shore up management of the decennial census by appointing three expert advisers with significant experience at the Census Bureau, to "provide an up-to-date assessment of the state of readiness and potential vulnerabilities for the looming 2010 census," according to a June 30 statement from the Commerce Department. Kenneth Prewitt, director of the Census Bureau during the 2000 count and currently a professor of public affairs at Columbia University, will advise senior agency staff on overall management of the census. John Thompson, the Census Bureau Associate Director responsible for conduct of the 2000 census and now the president of the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, will review census operations. Nancy Potok, the Census Bureau's Principal Associate Director and Chief Financial Officer in 2000 and currently Chief Operating Officer of McManis & Monsalve Associates, will provide advice on contracts and field operations. The part-time consultants will not have decision-making authority and will report to him until a new Census director is confirmed, Secretary Locke said. They will help Census Bureau managers "conduct a quick-turnaround risk assessment study to identify the chief areas of concern and prepare the new director to make his own judgments about priorities." The department chief also suggested that the confirmation delay will make the director's job more difficult, saying, "[I]f [Dr. Groves] is to move the Bureau as fast and as far as it needs to go, he'll need help." UTAH LAWMAKERS SEEK CHANGES IN CENSUS PROCESS AND COUNTING UNIVERSE Two Utah representatives are pursuing legislation to correct what they believe are deficiencies in the counting process and the universe of Americans counted for apportionment purposes. Proposal Would Shift Follow-Up Interviews to Postal Workers: Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), a member of the House census oversight subcommittee, has told several news organizations that he intends to introduce a bill that would establish a "postal holiday" to allow U.S. Postal Service workers to count residents who don't mail back their census forms. The congressman told a Fox News program host on June 26 that the Census Bureau "is partnering with nefarious organizations -- like ACORN -- in order to hire 750,000 people to go out and do this counting. Now, at the same time, we have a postal service with 760,000 employees who is a trusted entity, who already is charged with going door-to-door to every home in America." The Census Bureau estimates that people in less than two-thirds of the nation's housing units will mail back their questionnaires, requiring census enumerators to visit about 47 million unresponsive homes to collect responses to the ten questions. Rep. Chaffetz told Fox News that the Postal Service could suspend mail delivery on Census Day in order to "do the enumeration that needs to be done to fulfill our constitutional duty of a census." Under the 2010 census plan, the non-response follow-up operation is expected to take six to eight weeks, with enumerators visiting housing units up to six times to try and gather information from residents or, if necessary, from neighbors or landlords. The USPS and Census Bureau jointly studied the possibility of having postal employees go door-to-door to collect information during the non-response follow-up phase of the census. The agencies concluded in a 1993 report that using mail carriers to conduct interviews with unresponsive residents "would have a negative impact on the ability of the Postal Service to deliver the mail." (Green, S. and H.A. Scarr, Letter of Transmittal: "U.S. Postal Service-Census Cooperation in Planning for the 2000 Decennial Census of Population and Housing, U.S. Department of Commerce, November 5, 1993.) In 1995, in a report issued by the National Academy of Sciences' National Research Council, an expert panel looking at ways to update census procedures agreed with the joint study and concluded that "the decennial census cannot be conducted by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) in any way that would be cost-effective or an improvement over the conventional census." In Modernizing the U.S. Census (Barry Edmonston and Charles Schultze, eds., National Academy Press, Washington, DC), the Committee on National Statistics panel noted that letter carriers would need to work significant overtime hours to complete the count and would likely earn four times the pay of census enumerators, thereby "significantly increas[ing] census costs." The report pointed out that postal workers "are not well acquainted with the occupants of residential addresses" because they often deliver mail to central locations in apartment buildings or to cluster boxes at the entrance to suburban housing developments, instead of going door-to-door. The expert panel expressed particular concern about conducting the census in rural areas, where the actual physical location of a housing unit often is unknown to the Postal Service. In addition, the panel said, "people may have serious concerns about reporting information to letter carriers who deliver their mail every day." Bill Would Require Count of All Americans Living Overseas: Rep. Chaffetz also joined Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) in sponsoring a bill (H.R. 3013) to require the inclusion of private American citizens living abroad in the state population totals used to apportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives following each decennial census. The legislation comes on the heels of an amendment Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT) successfully attached to a State Department authorization bill in the House of Representatives last month, which would require the Census Director and Secretary of State to study the feasibility of using passports of U.S. citizens living overseas to include them in the decennial census for apportionment purposes. (See Census News Brief #66, June 19, 2009, for more information on the Matheson amendment to H.R. 2410.) The Bishop bill would direct the Secretary of Commerce (who has statutory authority to conduct the census) to take "appropriate measures" to include all Americans living abroad in the 2010 census, "to the maximum extent practicable." The counting process would include, at a minimum, reliance on administrative records submitted by non-governmental organizations, as well as "Be Counted" forms distributed at U.S. embassies. In a June 24 statement, Rep. Bishop noted that previous Census Bureau studies of conducting an overseas count focused only on "attempts to enumerate all private Americans living abroad, not just ... an option to count those who wish to be counted." The Census Act (Title 13, U.S.C., §221) makes response to the decennial census mandatory. Rep. Chaffetz added, "The government is spending millions to make sure we are counting illegal immigrants. You can't tell me that we don't have the same responsibility to U.S. citizens living abroad." The State of Utah unsuccessfully sued the Commerce Department after the 2000 census, claiming that the failure to count Mormon missionaries working abroad during the census cost the state its fourth congressional district. The state amended its lawsuit to challenge the use of statistical imputation methods (called "hot deck imputation") in compiling the final population numbers, saying the addition of people not counted directly through the mail or door-to-door visits violated both the Census Act and the Constitution's census clause and also cost the state a seat in Congress. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2002 (Utah v. Evans, 536 U.S. 452) that imputing people into the count based on the characteristics of nearby households "violates neither the statute nor the Constitution." A National Academy of Sciences panel that reviewed the 2000 census reported that about 5.8 million people were imputed into the count, including about 1.2 million people imputed into households for which there was no information about the size of the household or even, in some cases, whether the home was occupied or vacant. (Citro, Constance F., Daniel L. Cork, and Janet L. Norwood, eds., The 2000 Census: Counting Under Adversity," The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2004) The state almost certainly will regain its fourth seat after the 2010 census, according to all apportionment projections. Currently, only members of the armed forces and federal government civilian employees assigned to duty stations abroad during the census (as well as family members living with them) are included in the state population figures used only for congressional apportionment. REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS COUNTER REP. BACHMANN'S ANTI-CENSUS STANCE Several House Republicans, responding to public assertions by fellow GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) that she would refuse to answer most questions asked in the 2010 census, issued their own statement to emphasize "how important it is for every individual to fill out their census forms." Rep. Bachmann told The Washington Times and other news organizations last month that she and her family would not answer any questions in the census beyond the number of people living in their household, which she claimed was the only information the U.S. Constitution requires. The congresswoman subsequently told a Fox News interviewer, "I'm not encouraging Americans not to fill out the census," according to a June 26 article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Reps. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), and John Mica (R-FL), all members of the House Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives, said in a July 1st statement: "Boycotting the constitutionally-mandated census is illogical, illegal and not in the best interest of our country." Federal law requires response to all questions asked in the decennial census and related American Community Survey (ACS). Saying that they shared Rep. Bachmann's concern about the inclusion of the non-profit organization ACORN in the Census Bureau's 2010 Census Partnership Program, the legislators noted that, "Ms. Bachmann's boycott only increases the likelihood that ACORN-recruited census takers will be dispatched to her constituents' homes. Anyone who completes and returns their census form will remove any need for a census taker to visit their residence." The congressmen also suggested that refusing to answer all or most questions in the census "opens the door for partisans to statistically adjust census results," referring to methods, considered in the last three censuses to correct undercounts and overcounts, that will not be used in the 2010 census, according to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Census director-nominee Robert Groves in testimony before Congress earlier this year. In a June 18 letter, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), also a member of the census oversight subcommittee, asked Acting Census Director Thomas Mesenbourg to respond to Rep. Bachmann's concerns that "outside groups would have access to census data" and to comment on "the consequences for the government and the economy if substantial numbers of citizens in fact followed Rep. Bachmann's advice" not to fully participate in the 2010 census. A preliminary analysis by the Brookings Institution, a Washington, DC-based think tank, showed that Minnesota received $6.26 billion (or $1,204 per person) in federal program grants in Fiscal Year 2007, based in whole or in part on census data. The six counties within Rep. Bachmann's Sixth Congressional District received a total of nearly $1 billion in federal program funds based on census data that year, according to the Brookings analysis. THE REST OF THE NEWS ... The House Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives will hold a hearing on Thursday, July 9, to review federal agency uses of census data. The hearing, which will start at 2:00 PM in Room 2154 Rayburn House Office Building, originally was scheduled for June 25. Witnesses include a representative of Social Compact, a "non-profit organization that breaks down barriers to public investment in underserved urban areas ... by delivering the reliable, representative, and up-to-the-minute information about a community's economic health needed to make critically important investments possible." The Census Bureau's five Race and Ethnic Advisory Committees will meet in Washington, DC on July 20, while the 2010 Census Advisory Committee (CAC) will meet on July 21. The mid-summer meetings for committees that usually meet twice a year, in the spring and fall, suggest heightened interest in final census preparations, as the Census Bureau completes development of its paid advertising campaign, prepares to open hundreds of local census offices and to recruit three million prospective temporary census workers, and finalizes residential and group quarters address lists in anticipation of the start of the population and housing count next winter. 2010 CAC chairman Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, told CNN during a July 4th interview from the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans, where he served two terms as mayor, that the census represented "economic and political empowerment" and that he wanted to put next year's decennial count on the "radar screen" of African Americans. 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.

16 years, 1 month

[CTPP] Census News Brief

by Ed Christopher

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-PmffDPW…]. -- Ed Christopher 708-283-3534 (V) 708-574-8131 (cell) FHWA RC-TST-PLN 19900 Governors Dr Olympia Fields, IL 60461

16 years, 2 months

[CTPP] 2010 Census Advisory Committee meeting held May 7-8. 2009

by Elaine.Murakami＠dot.gov

One of the benefits of APDU membership is Ken Hodges' meticulous notes from the Census Advisory Committee. http://www.apdu.org/advocacy/dcac.htm Ken represents APDU in this CB committee. At the meeting, Susan Schechter gave an ACS status report, including discussion of the March 2009 Fed Register notice regarding 5-year ACS data products. Quoting from Ken's notes, "They (CB) received about 25 comments on these proposals, many from the transportation community because the most severe restrictions on 5-year ACS data are applied to the journey to work data. The Census Bureau is reviewing the comments now, and working toward final specifications." Some of the responses submitted to the FR notice are posted at the TRB Census subcommittee page: http://www.trbcensus.com/notes.html (look under the title "Census-related notes and articles" Also very interesting is that the Joint Advisory Advertising Review Panel (JAARP) issued a vote of "no confidence" in the company, DraftFCB for their work on the 2010 Census. Ken's notes include much more detail about this. FHWA is a corporate member of APDU (which is a paperwork struggle, just so you know). Ed Christopher, FHWA Resource Center Planning Team now is on the APDU Board. For more information about APDU (Association of Public Data Users, please visit their website: www.apdu.org <http://www.apdu.org/> Elaine Murakami FHWA Office of Planning 206-220-4460

16 years, 2 months

[CTPP] Removal of Name (resend)

by Zakaria

MEMORANDUM Date: June 18, 2009 To: Ed Christopher and ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net From: Thabet Zakaria Subject: Removal of Name From ctpp.net Dear Ed: Please remove my name from cttp.net effective June 30, 2009 because of retirement. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for reviewing my TRB papers and emails on transportation surveys, census data, journey-to-work, population and employment estimates, CTPP, and ACS during the last 30 years. Also, many thanks go to the members of this net including, but not limited to, Elaine Murakami, Chuck Purvis, Nancy McGuckin, Ken Cervenka, Catharine Lawson, Alan Pisarski, David Pearson, Rolf Schmitt, Peter Stopher, Nanda Srinivasan, Jerry Everet, Kevin Tierney, Clara Reschovsky, and Jonette Kreideweis. By the way, I have evaluated the latest results of the ACS (2007 and 2005-2007) and found out that the ACS data are useless for all areas promised by the Census Bureau (65,000 and 20,000 population). Even at the county level (larger than 250,000 population), I had to make some adjustments to the ACS data to make them reasonable. These adjustments are based on local data and other census information. As you know, DVRPC does not use or publish any unreasonable data. There are nine counties and 352 municipalities in the region that depend on DVRPC data. As you will recall, I have stated on this net and in many national conferences that the current ACS methods and procedures will not produce accurate or usable zonal data for transportation planning and travel forecasting. I hope that FHWA and AASHTO will convince the Census Bureau to replace the ACS with the Long-Form in Census 2020. I think that accurate data from the Long-Form every 10 years are much more useful to the transportation community than erroneous data from the ACS every year. Thabet Zakaria Deputy Director, Technical Services Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission Phone: (215) 238-2885 Email: tzakaria(a)dvrpc.org Fax: (215) 592-9125

16 years, 2 months

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