American Community Survey
On Aug. 15, the Census Bureau will release the 2005 American Community
Survey (ACS) data on social and demographic characteristics for the
nation, all 50 states and the District of Columbia, every congressional
district and all counties and places with populations of 65,000 or more.
The release marks the first time that ACS data will be available for
areas with populations of less than 250,000. By 2010, the survey will
provide current data on an annual basis for all levels of geography
(including census tracts and block groups). (Scheduled for release
August 15.)
--
Ed Christopher
708-283-3534 (V)
708-574-8131 (cell)
FHWA RC-TST-PLN
19900 Governors Dr
Olympia Fields, IL 60461
We have scheduled a 1-hour web-based training session on tables from the
American Community Survey.
Date: Friday August 25, 2006
Time: 2:00- 3:00 p.m. EASTERN
Connections: 50 (If we get more requests, we will try to get additional
connections)
RSVP by sending an email to ctpp(a)fhwa.dot.gov
In advance of the webinar, you must check your computer for the Flash
player (see instructions below).
Description:
1. Status report on AASHTO Standing Committee on Planning Census Data
Work Group.
2. Using American FactFinder to access transportation-related tables
from the American Community Survey.
TO JOIN THE MEETING:
Meeting Room URL: http://fhwa.breezecentral.com/ctpp/
Teleconference number: 888-820-8951
Passcode: 41796
A SPECIAL WEB CONFERENCE INVITATION FOR YOU
"ACS Training" Web Conference
Moderated by Ed Christopher, FHWA
Presented by Ken Bryson and Nanda Srinivasan
Questions? Contact Nanda Srinivasan at 202-366-5021
Friday, August 25, 2006
2:00-3:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)
Meeting Access Info:
http://fhwa.breezecentral.com/ctpp/
Click the above link to
Register as a GUEST
Audio Access Info:
888-820-8951
41796
Not sure about Web conferencing?
Get instruction <http://fhwa.breezecentral.com/wctparticipate> s on how
to join a
Web conference as a Guest.
Check your system NOW for the Flash player:
Click here
<http://admin.breezecentral.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm>
LIMITED TO FIRST 50 PARTICIPANTS
RSVP by August 18, 2006 to ctpp(a)fhwa.dot.gov
Outcomes of this session:
* Learning about the American Community Survey
* Getting familiar about American Factfinder
* Learning about where to find transportation related ACS data and
download.
Who Should Attend?
* MPO staff
* DOT staff
* Consultants
Please RSVP to ctpp(a)fhwa.dot.gov by August 18, 2006
We are committed to providing equal access to this online event for all
participants. If you need alternative formats or other reasonable
accommodations, please contact Webconferencing(a)fhwa.dot.gov as soon as
possible.
Tom Marchwinski asked about more detailed public transit data in the ACS
tables.
More detailed transit tabulations ARE included. You have to go to
"detailed tables"
Residence Geography
Tables B08006 sex by means of transportation (21)
B08134 means of transportation (12) by travel time (10)
Workplace Geography
Table B08406 sex by means of transportation (21)
B08534 means of transportation (12) by travel time (10)
The category of 12 include:
Public Transportation (total, excluding taxi)
Public Trans: bus or trolley bus
Public Trans: streetcar, trolley car, subway or elevated
Public Trans: railroad or ferryboat
The category of 21 includes:
Public Transportation (total, excluding taxi)
Public Trans: bus or trolley bus
Public Trans: streetcar, trolley car,
Public Trans: subway or elevated
Public Trans: railroad
Public Trans: ferryboat
Also, Tom asked about "light rail". USDOT had an opportunity to ask
the CB to test revisions to the ACS questionnaire itself, and there was
discussion about asking to add the phrase "light rail" to the response
list, however, at that time, USDOT did NOT make that request to the CB.
There were some cost implications for testing revisions.
BTW, Celia Boertlein of the CB will be posting to the listserv,
reminding people that Workplace tabulations WERE included in the 2004
ACS tables. I was remiss in mentioning this in my earlier email,
because only about one-third of counties were included in the 2004
sample. Celia's email will be more detailed.
_____
From: TMarchwinski(a)njtransit.com [mailto:TMarchwinski(a)njtransit.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2006 12:44 PM
To: Murakami, Elaine
Subject: RE: [CTPP] Get ready-- 2005 ACS data coming soon-- August 15
and 29
Elaine- I looked at the ACS survey, and they do get data on individual
modes, however all of the ACS data I have ever seen shows just a summary
for "Public Transit", which unfortunatly includes taxi. Do you know if
ACS will make available for the new JTW data breakouts of public transit
to exclude taxi, or to show some individual modes? I realize because of
the smaller sample size, and cofidence limits, it is hard to have a
breakout of individual modes unless there are a significant number of
mode specific transit trips. We in New Jersey have areas where a bus
mode vs. total transit breakout would be very helpful, espcecially since
we have built two new light rail lines since 2000. Is there anyone at
Census I could talk to about this, and is there any procedure for
getting a breakdown of public transit modes if we made a special
request, since I suspect the raw weighted data is there to estimate
this. I think I brought this up a couple of years ago, same for
including "Light Rail" as a mode as part of streetcar, since streetcar
is not really used very much, but light rail is. I have taken a web
based course in ACS, so I am a bit more familiar with it now. If you
could give me contacts on this or some direction on if this is available
(ie mode breakdown). Even if this was confined to MSA's over 1 million
it would be helpful to us to track mode shifts and submodes. THanks.
Tom Marchwinski, NJ TRANSIT, Director of Forecasting.
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Special/Alerts/Latest.htm#News1
In case you are not subscribed to the ACS-Alert, just a reminder to be
prepared:
1. August 15. This will include population totals, race, Hispanic
origin, age, sex.
2. August 29. This will include economic characteristics at Place
of Residence including work status and journey to work.
3. October. First Place of Work tabulations. NEW as standard ACS
product. Previously Place of Work tabulations were only available from
CTPP.
The reasons that 2005 ACS is important is because 2005 is the first year
of "full implementation." This means that surveys were conducted in ALL
counties in the United States. Previous ACS samples were in test phase
and included about one-third of the counties in the U.S. MSA statistics
were not often available in earlier ACS, because all of the counties in
the MSA were not included in the sample. Also, in 2005, the Census
Bureau implemented different non-response follow-up rates, depending on
expected mail-back return rates. For example, lower income
neighborhoods often have lower mail-back returns, so the telephone and
in-person follow-up rates were increased in those neighborhoods.
As you know, the media gets access to the data a few days early as
"embargoed data." This means that they can get articles ready in
advance but cannot release any data until the embargoed date/time is
met. For the August 15 release, they will get access to the data on
August 8. In addition to the media, the State Data Centers are also
included as recipients. Here is the link to find YOUR SDC,
http://www.census.gov/sdc/www/ They will NOT be able to release the
data to you in advance, but you can communicate with them in case they
can develop some materials that will make your life easier when August
15 arrives.
What is Elaine (FHWA Office of Planning) working on?
Elaine is working with Nanda Srinivasan (Cambridge Systematics) and Ed
Christopher (FHWA Resource Center) to develop a profile similar to the
State profiles completed for CTPP 2000 as the starting point. These are
posted on the AASHTO webpage. Here is the link to the VA profile from
CTPP 2000. http://ctpp.transportation.org/home/va/VA.htm
We plan to include: 1990 Census, 2000 Census, and 2005 ACS data.
Geographic coverage: National total (will include 2000 ACS (aka C2SS))
in the table
States (all 50)
MSAs over 1 million population (using
Census 2000 to figure out which ones to include--this is about 50 MSAs-
see our JTW Trends report)
Cities over 1 million population (using
Census 2000)
Topics to include:
1. Total Population
2. Total workers
3. Travel mode to Work
4. Travel time to work
a. distribution
b. mean travel time
5. Vehicles available
6. Income
Other reminders: The geographies that will show the greatest
differences from decennial census are areas that have high seasonal
population shifts. The ACS is collected over all 12 months of the year,
not "April 1".
My product goal is SPREADSHEETs.
We know that the TRANSIT share for MODE TO WORK is going to be one of
the KEY ITEMS of interest.
I will be vacation in Japan starting Aug 12 and will not return to work
until Sept 5, so I will be relying on Nandu and Ed C to get things done
in my absence.
Also, Ed and Nandu are working on some web-based training to get people
familiar with using American Fact Finder to access the 2005 ACS tables.
But, I don't think we have the dates set yet. Of course, you can go to
American Fact Finder on your own and review the 2004 ACS tables as a
starting point.
If I have made any mistakes in this email about Census Bureau products,
I hope that someone from the CB will post corrections to the listserv!
Elaine Murakami
206-220-4460
I don't think it is your connection Ed. With every message I receive there are more attachments and the names of the attachments changes. Also I received Ken's message twice. I think it may be something with the server.
Sam J. Shea
Long Range Planning Coordinator
Linn County Regional Planning Commission
Cedar Rapids Community Development
50 Second Ave Bridge
Cedar Rapids IA. 52401
Ph. (319)286-5042 Fax.(319)286-5141
"Theoretically, planning may be good. But nobody has ever figured out the cause of government stupidity and until they do all ideal plans will fall into quicksand." - Richard Feynman
-----Original Message-----
From: ctpp-news-bounces(a)chrispy.net
[mailto:ctpp-news-bounces(a)chrispy.net]On Behalf Of kcervenka(a)nctcog.org
Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2006 2:35 PM
To: ctpp-news(a)chrispy.net
Subject: RE: [CTPP] Census News Brief
Hmmm...now my guess is that Ed keeps sending this message in hopes we
will actually read it....so I read it!
There sure are some statements in the announcement that should give us
pause for consideration:
"Noting that the Census Bureau is vulnerable to cuts to fund other
popular programs, Rep. Wolf said, There is not a lobby downtown for the
Census Bureau."
"We are talking about funding cops, the war on drugs, homeland security,
or $72 million more for the Bureau of the Census, Rep. Jim Ramstad
(R-MN) offered. To me that is a no-brainer: We fund Byrne grants, which
every law enforcement official in America is pleading for. Rep. Mark
Souder (R-IN) called the choice a matter of priorities. Right now, we
need more help on the streets with crime than we do in the Census
Bureau."
"The bureau said it would put off aligning the TIGER digital mapping
system with GPS coordinates in all counties, a project currently
scheduled for completion in 2008. New initiatives to reduce undercounts
and overcounts in the 2010 census also would be compromised."
Now that's a tough choice: should moneys be used to focus on fighting
crime by fighting crime wherever you currently see it, or should moneys
be used to improve the underlying databases that will help Organizations
more efficiently deal with crime and dozens of other important topics of
national and local immediate AND longer-range interest? Somebody sure
needs to do a "truly comprehensive" long-term Cost/Benefit analysis of
federal programs. Fundamentally, the problem seems to be that "data
collection for multiple purposes" is just not a particularly exciting
(or popular) topic, and there are very few vocal champions whom people
are listening to--but that doesn't make it any less important to
society.
Ken Cervenka
NCTCOG (Dallas-Fort Worth MPO)
-----Original Message-----
From: ctpp-news-bounces(a)chrispy.net
[mailto:ctpp-news-bounces(a)chrispy.net] On Behalf Of edc(a)berwyned.com
Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2006 12:11 PM
HOUSE CUTS $58.3M FROM CENSUS BUDGET; SENATE PANEL APPROVES $50M LESS
THAN BUSH REQUEST
PLUS: Hand-Held Computers in Census, and Group Quarters in ACS, at Risk,
Agency Says; Stakeholders Caution Lawmakers About Consequences of
Funding Shortfall; SIPP Funding Increased in House
The U.S. House of Representatives approved three amendments that would
cut a total of $58.3 million from the Census Bureaus 2007 budget before
passing the Science, State, Justice and Commerce Appropriations bill
(H.R. 5672) on June 29. The reduction would leave the agency with
$815.7 million, about $14 million over current year funding. In 2007,
the Census Bureau must prepare for the 2008 Census Dress Rehearsal and
2007 Economic Census and Census of Governments, award an advertising
contract for the 2010 census, and continue large contracts to develop
the data integration and processing infrastructure for the census.
The U.S. Senate began consideration of its own 2007 funding bill today,
with the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science
approving roughly $828 million for the Census Bureau, about $50 million
less than the Presidents request of $878 million. The funding
reduction will affect programs in the Periodic Censuses and Programs
account, not the Salaries and Expenses account, but no further details
are available about which activities might be affected. The full
Appropriations Committee will take up the bill on July 13.
House questions need for increased census funding: In the House, the
largest single funding cut came through an amendment sponsored by Reps.
Mark Kennedy (R-MN), Lee Terry (R-NB), and a bipartisan group of
legislators, which shifted $50 million from the Census Bureau to the
Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program. The
amendment passed by a vote of 291 129.
Supporters of the amendment noted that the Administration had eliminated
funding for the Byrne JAG program in its proposed Fiscal Year 2007
budget. The Appropriations Committee approved $367 million for the
grants, but program advocates said that amount still represented a
significant reduction from the previous high funding level of $600
million. During the debate, many legislators highlighted local law
enforcement efforts to combat methamphetamine use, which they called an
epidemic.
Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Frank Wolf (R-VA) countered that
the Kennedy amendment would devastate the census and impact
fundamental missions of the Census Bureau. The immediate ramifications
are a disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations,
irretrievable loss of testing opportunities to identify problems, the
chairman warned, referring to efforts to improve coverage of
historically hard-to-count populations in the census. Noting that the
Census Bureau is vulnerable to cuts to fund other popular programs,
Rep. Wolf said, There is not a lobby downtown for the Census Bureau.
Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV), ranking Democrat on the Appropriations
subcommittee, also opposed the Kennedy amendment, calling the offset of
census funds unacceptable. Rep. Mollohan pointed out that law
enforcement uses census data to determine how to allocate manpower and
equipment.
Supporters of the Kennedy amendment did not criticize the Census
Bureaus work, but several noted that the Appropriations Committee had
increased the agencys budget by $72 million over the 2006 funding
level. We are talking about funding cops, the war on drugs, homeland
security, or $72 million more for the Bureau of the Census, Rep. Jim
Ramstad (R-MN) offered. To me that is a no-brainer: We fund Byrne
grants, which every law enforcement official in America is pleading
for. Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) called the choice a matter of
priorities. Right now, we need more help on the streets with crime
than we do in the Census Bureau. The mandate for every 10 years is
every 10 years. Rep. Souder, who had previously served on the census
oversight subcommittee, also suggested that the private sector could pay
for some of the Census Bureaus other tasks if they need the data.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), a long time member of the Census Bureaus
oversight subcommittee, countered that, The Census doesnt just appear
in an instant and then disappear every ten years; it is a constant,
massive effort that never stops. She reminded her colleagues that the
distribution of [Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants] is based on
population and crime statistics, both of which are based on Census
statistics.
The House also approved, by voice vote, two additional amendments that
shifted funds from the Census Bureaus Periodic Censuses and Programs
account to other anti-crime programs. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL)
authored a proposal to increase funding for the Violence Against Women
Act by $10 million, with $5 million coming from the Census Bureau and
the other $5 million from the Justice Departments administrative
account. The amendment further specified that $2.5 million of the
Census Bureaus cut would come from economic statistics programs (which
include the Economic Census) and $2.5 million would come from
demographic statistics, which includes Geographic Support System
activities that help keep the Master Address File accurate. Rep. Nancy
Johnson (R-CT) and Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA) sponsored an
amendment to increase funding for the FBIs Innocent Images program
(which pursues on-line sex predators) by $3.3 million, with the money
coming from the Census Bureau.
Reengineered census at risk, agency says: Following the House action,
the Census Bureau issued an impact statement, saying the proposed
funding reduction would force it to abandon plans to use GPS-equipped
hand-held computers to collect information from unresponsive households
in the census. Reverting to paper-based operations will add at least
$1 billion to the overall cost of the 2010 census, the agency said.
The bureau said it would put off aligning the TIGER digital mapping
system with GPS coordinates in all counties, a project currently
scheduled for completion in 2008. New initiatives to reduce undercounts
and overcounts in the 2010 census also would be compromised, the
bureau wrote.
Funding at the House-passed level also would result in cancellation of
group quarters coverage in the American Community Survey (ACS),
according to the Impact Statement. Group quarters, which include
nursing homes, college dorms, military barracks, and prisons, were first
added to the ACS this year. Ultimately not including the GQ population
in the ACS means the ACS cannot fully be the replacement for the long
form in 2010, the Census Bureau said.
Stakeholders convey support for census funding to Senate: A diverse
group of census stakeholders, under the umbrella of The Census Project,
sent a letter to all Senate appropriators yesterday, urging support for
full funding for the Census Bureau. The letter was signed by 25
organizations representing local governments, scientific professions and
researchers, the business community, housing and social justice
advocates, and organized labor. The letter is posted at
www.thecensusproject.org.
The Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank, published two
editorials, explaining how census data are used to administer effective
law enforcement programs and to prepare for and respond to disasters.
To Take a Bite Out of Crime: Safeguard the Census
(www.brookings.edu/views/op-ed/reamer/20060626.htm) and Anticipating
the Unimaginable: The Crucial Role of the Census in Disaster Planning
and Recovery (www.brookings.edu/views/op-ed/reamer/20060710.htm) are
authored by Andrew Reamer, Brookings Fellow and Deputy Director, Urban
Markets Initiative, Metropolitan Policy Program.
SIPP funding partially restored in House: The House Committee on
Appropriations allocated $29.2 million for the Census Bureau to continue
fielding the Survey of Income and Program Participation while the agency
designs an alternative program to produce data on the dynamics of
economic well-being. The Bush Administration has proposed eliminating
the survey next year, saying the current design is burdensome for
respondents and that data processing is time-consuming and difficult.
The President requested $9.2 million to close out data collection in
2006 and begin developing a replacement program.
House appropriators, however, approved an amendment offered by Rep. Jose
Serrano (D-NY) to restore $10 million for SIPP in 2007. In addition,
the committee report accompanying the Census Bureaus appropriations
bill directed the agency to use $10 million in mandatory funds
previously designated for other data collection activities related to
welfare reform, to continue the SIPP while it develops a new system.
The total amount included in the House bill for SIPP is $29.2; the
survey cost about $39 million to administer in 2006.
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
FHWA Resource Center
19900 Governors Drive
Olympia Fields, Illinois 60461
708-283-3534 (v) 708-283-3501 (f)
708-574-8131 (cell)
_______________________________________________
ctpp-news mailing list
ctpp-news(a)chrispy.nethttp://www.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/ctpp-news
Hmmm...now my guess is that Ed keeps sending this message in hopes we
will actually read it....so I read it!
There sure are some statements in the announcement that should give us
pause for consideration:
"Noting that the Census Bureau is vulnerable to cuts to fund other
popular programs, Rep. Wolf said, There is not a lobby downtown for the
Census Bureau."
"We are talking about funding cops, the war on drugs, homeland security,
or $72 million more for the Bureau of the Census, Rep. Jim Ramstad
(R-MN) offered. To me that is a no-brainer: We fund Byrne grants, which
every law enforcement official in America is pleading for. Rep. Mark
Souder (R-IN) called the choice a matter of priorities. Right now, we
need more help on the streets with crime than we do in the Census
Bureau."
"The bureau said it would put off aligning the TIGER digital mapping
system with GPS coordinates in all counties, a project currently
scheduled for completion in 2008. New initiatives to reduce undercounts
and overcounts in the 2010 census also would be compromised."
Now that's a tough choice: should moneys be used to focus on fighting
crime by fighting crime wherever you currently see it, or should moneys
be used to improve the underlying databases that will help Organizations
more efficiently deal with crime and dozens of other important topics of
national and local immediate AND longer-range interest? Somebody sure
needs to do a "truly comprehensive" long-term Cost/Benefit analysis of
federal programs. Fundamentally, the problem seems to be that "data
collection for multiple purposes" is just not a particularly exciting
(or popular) topic, and there are very few vocal champions whom people
are listening to--but that doesn't make it any less important to
society.
Ken Cervenka
NCTCOG (Dallas-Fort Worth MPO)
-----Original Message-----
From: ctpp-news-bounces(a)chrispy.net
[mailto:ctpp-news-bounces(a)chrispy.net] On Behalf Of edc(a)berwyned.com
Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2006 12:11 PM
HOUSE CUTS $58.3M FROM CENSUS BUDGET; SENATE PANEL APPROVES $50M LESS
THAN BUSH REQUEST
PLUS: Hand-Held Computers in Census, and Group Quarters in ACS, at Risk,
Agency Says; Stakeholders Caution Lawmakers About Consequences of
Funding Shortfall; SIPP Funding Increased in House
The U.S. House of Representatives approved three amendments that would
cut a total of $58.3 million from the Census Bureaus 2007 budget before
passing the Science, State, Justice and Commerce Appropriations bill
(H.R. 5672) on June 29. The reduction would leave the agency with
$815.7 million, about $14 million over current year funding. In 2007,
the Census Bureau must prepare for the 2008 Census Dress Rehearsal and
2007 Economic Census and Census of Governments, award an advertising
contract for the 2010 census, and continue large contracts to develop
the data integration and processing infrastructure for the census.
The U.S. Senate began consideration of its own 2007 funding bill today,
with the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science
approving roughly $828 million for the Census Bureau, about $50 million
less than the Presidents request of $878 million. The funding
reduction will affect programs in the Periodic Censuses and Programs
account, not the Salaries and Expenses account, but no further details
are available about which activities might be affected. The full
Appropriations Committee will take up the bill on July 13.
House questions need for increased census funding: In the House, the
largest single funding cut came through an amendment sponsored by Reps.
Mark Kennedy (R-MN), Lee Terry (R-NB), and a bipartisan group of
legislators, which shifted $50 million from the Census Bureau to the
Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program. The
amendment passed by a vote of 291 129.
Supporters of the amendment noted that the Administration had eliminated
funding for the Byrne JAG program in its proposed Fiscal Year 2007
budget. The Appropriations Committee approved $367 million for the
grants, but program advocates said that amount still represented a
significant reduction from the previous high funding level of $600
million. During the debate, many legislators highlighted local law
enforcement efforts to combat methamphetamine use, which they called an
epidemic.
Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Frank Wolf (R-VA) countered that
the Kennedy amendment would devastate the census and impact
fundamental missions of the Census Bureau. The immediate ramifications
are a disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations,
irretrievable loss of testing opportunities to identify problems, the
chairman warned, referring to efforts to improve coverage of
historically hard-to-count populations in the census. Noting that the
Census Bureau is vulnerable to cuts to fund other popular programs,
Rep. Wolf said, There is not a lobby downtown for the Census Bureau.
Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV), ranking Democrat on the Appropriations
subcommittee, also opposed the Kennedy amendment, calling the offset of
census funds unacceptable. Rep. Mollohan pointed out that law
enforcement uses census data to determine how to allocate manpower and
equipment.
Supporters of the Kennedy amendment did not criticize the Census
Bureaus work, but several noted that the Appropriations Committee had
increased the agencys budget by $72 million over the 2006 funding
level. We are talking about funding cops, the war on drugs, homeland
security, or $72 million more for the Bureau of the Census, Rep. Jim
Ramstad (R-MN) offered. To me that is a no-brainer: We fund Byrne
grants, which every law enforcement official in America is pleading
for. Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) called the choice a matter of
priorities. Right now, we need more help on the streets with crime
than we do in the Census Bureau. The mandate for every 10 years is
every 10 years. Rep. Souder, who had previously served on the census
oversight subcommittee, also suggested that the private sector could pay
for some of the Census Bureaus other tasks if they need the data.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), a long time member of the Census Bureaus
oversight subcommittee, countered that, The Census doesnt just appear
in an instant and then disappear every ten years; it is a constant,
massive effort that never stops. She reminded her colleagues that the
distribution of [Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants] is based on
population and crime statistics, both of which are based on Census
statistics.
The House also approved, by voice vote, two additional amendments that
shifted funds from the Census Bureaus Periodic Censuses and Programs
account to other anti-crime programs. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL)
authored a proposal to increase funding for the Violence Against Women
Act by $10 million, with $5 million coming from the Census Bureau and
the other $5 million from the Justice Departments administrative
account. The amendment further specified that $2.5 million of the
Census Bureaus cut would come from economic statistics programs (which
include the Economic Census) and $2.5 million would come from
demographic statistics, which includes Geographic Support System
activities that help keep the Master Address File accurate. Rep. Nancy
Johnson (R-CT) and Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA) sponsored an
amendment to increase funding for the FBIs Innocent Images program
(which pursues on-line sex predators) by $3.3 million, with the money
coming from the Census Bureau.
Reengineered census at risk, agency says: Following the House action,
the Census Bureau issued an impact statement, saying the proposed
funding reduction would force it to abandon plans to use GPS-equipped
hand-held computers to collect information from unresponsive households
in the census. Reverting to paper-based operations will add at least
$1 billion to the overall cost of the 2010 census, the agency said.
The bureau said it would put off aligning the TIGER digital mapping
system with GPS coordinates in all counties, a project currently
scheduled for completion in 2008. New initiatives to reduce undercounts
and overcounts in the 2010 census also would be compromised, the
bureau wrote.
Funding at the House-passed level also would result in cancellation of
group quarters coverage in the American Community Survey (ACS),
according to the Impact Statement. Group quarters, which include
nursing homes, college dorms, military barracks, and prisons, were first
added to the ACS this year. Ultimately not including the GQ population
in the ACS means the ACS cannot fully be the replacement for the long
form in 2010, the Census Bureau said.
Stakeholders convey support for census funding to Senate: A diverse
group of census stakeholders, under the umbrella of The Census Project,
sent a letter to all Senate appropriators yesterday, urging support for
full funding for the Census Bureau. The letter was signed by 25
organizations representing local governments, scientific professions and
researchers, the business community, housing and social justice
advocates, and organized labor. The letter is posted at
www.thecensusproject.org.
The Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank, published two
editorials, explaining how census data are used to administer effective
law enforcement programs and to prepare for and respond to disasters.
To Take a Bite Out of Crime: Safeguard the Census
(www.brookings.edu/views/op-ed/reamer/20060626.htm) and Anticipating
the Unimaginable: The Crucial Role of the Census in Disaster Planning
and Recovery (www.brookings.edu/views/op-ed/reamer/20060710.htm) are
authored by Andrew Reamer, Brookings Fellow and Deputy Director, Urban
Markets Initiative, Metropolitan Policy Program.
SIPP funding partially restored in House: The House Committee on
Appropriations allocated $29.2 million for the Census Bureau to continue
fielding the Survey of Income and Program Participation while the agency
designs an alternative program to produce data on the dynamics of
economic well-being. The Bush Administration has proposed eliminating
the survey next year, saying the current design is burdensome for
respondents and that data processing is time-consuming and difficult.
The President requested $9.2 million to close out data collection in
2006 and begin developing a replacement program.
House appropriators, however, approved an amendment offered by Rep. Jose
Serrano (D-NY) to restore $10 million for SIPP in 2007. In addition,
the committee report accompanying the Census Bureaus appropriations
bill directed the agency to use $10 million in mandatory funds
previously designated for other data collection activities related to
welfare reform, to continue the SIPP while it develops a new system.
The total amount included in the House bill for SIPP is $29.2; the
survey cost about $39 million to administer in 2006.
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
FHWA Resource Center
19900 Governors Drive
Olympia Fields, Illinois 60461
708-283-3534 (v) 708-283-3501 (f)
708-574-8131 (cell)
_______________________________________________
ctpp-news mailing list
ctpp-news(a)chrispy.nethttp://www.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/ctpp-news
HOUSE CUTS $58.3M FROM CENSUS BUDGET; SENATE PANEL APPROVES $50M LESS
THAN BUSH REQUEST
PLUS: Hand-Held Computers in Census, and Group Quarters in ACS, at Risk,
Agency Says; Stakeholders Caution Lawmakers About Consequences of
Funding Shortfall; SIPP Funding Increased in House
The U.S. House of Representatives approved three amendments that would
cut a total of $58.3 million from the Census Bureaus 2007 budget before
passing the Science, State, Justice and Commerce Appropriations bill
(H.R. 5672) on June 29. The reduction would leave the agency with
$815.7 million, about $14 million over current year funding. In 2007,
the Census Bureau must prepare for the 2008 Census Dress Rehearsal and
2007 Economic Census and Census of Governments, award an advertising
contract for the 2010 census, and continue large contracts to develop
the data integration and processing infrastructure for the census.
The U.S. Senate began consideration of its own 2007 funding bill today,
with the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science
approving roughly $828 million for the Census Bureau, about $50 million
less than the Presidents request of $878 million. The funding
reduction will affect programs in the Periodic Censuses and Programs
account, not the Salaries and Expenses account, but no further details
are available about which activities might be affected. The full
Appropriations Committee will take up the bill on July 13.
House questions need for increased census funding: In the House, the
largest single funding cut came through an amendment sponsored by Reps.
Mark Kennedy (R-MN), Lee Terry (R-NB), and a bipartisan group of
legislators, which shifted $50 million from the Census Bureau to the
Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program. The
amendment passed by a vote of 291 129.
Supporters of the amendment noted that the Administration had eliminated
funding for the Byrne JAG program in its proposed Fiscal Year 2007
budget. The Appropriations Committee approved $367 million for the
grants, but program advocates said that amount still represented a
significant reduction from the previous high funding level of $600
million. During the debate, many legislators highlighted local law
enforcement efforts to combat methamphetamine use, which they called an
epidemic.
Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Frank Wolf (R-VA) countered that
the Kennedy amendment would devastate the census and impact
fundamental missions of the Census Bureau. The immediate
ramifications are a disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations,
irretrievable loss of testing opportunities to identify problems, the
chairman warned, referring to efforts to improve coverage of
historically hard-to-count populations in the census. Noting that the
Census Bureau is vulnerable to cuts to fund other popular programs,
Rep. Wolf said, There is not a lobby downtown for the Census Bureau.
Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV), ranking Democrat on the Appropriations
subcommittee, also opposed the Kennedy amendment, calling the offset of
census funds unacceptable. Rep. Mollohan pointed out that law
enforcement uses census data to determine how to allocate manpower and
equipment.
Supporters of the Kennedy amendment did not criticize the Census
Bureaus work, but several noted that the Appropriations Committee had
increased the agencys budget by $72 million over the 2006 funding
level. We are talking about funding cops, the war on drugs, homeland
security, or $72 million more for the Bureau of the Census, Rep. Jim
Ramstad (R-MN) offered. To me that is a no-brainer: We fund Byrne
grants, which every law enforcement official in America is pleading
for. Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) called the choice a matter of
priorities. Right now, we need more help on the streets with crime
than we do in the Census Bureau. The mandate for every 10 years is
every 10 years. Rep. Souder, who had previously served on the census
oversight subcommittee, also suggested that the private sector could pay
for some of the Census Bureaus other tasks if they need the data.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), a long time member of the Census Bureaus
oversight subcommittee, countered that, The Census doesnt just appear
in an instant and then disappear every ten years; it is a constant,
massive effort that never stops. She reminded her colleagues that the
distribution of [Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants] is based on
population and crime statistics, both of which are based on Census
statistics.
The House also approved, by voice vote, two additional amendments that
shifted funds from the Census Bureaus Periodic Censuses and Programs
account to other anti-crime programs. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL)
authored a proposal to increase funding for the Violence Against Women
Act by $10 million, with $5 million coming from the Census Bureau and
the other $5 million from the Justice Departments administrative
account. The amendment further specified that $2.5 million of the
Census Bureaus cut would come from economic statistics programs (which
include the Economic Census) and $2.5 million would come from
demographic statistics, which includes Geographic Support System
activities that help keep the Master Address File accurate. Rep. Nancy
Johnson (R-CT) and Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA) sponsored an
amendment to increase funding for the FBIs Innocent Images program
(which pursues on-line sex predators) by $3.3 million, with the money
coming from the Census Bureau.
Reengineered census at risk, agency says: Following the House action,
the Census Bureau issued an impact statement, saying the proposed
funding reduction would force it to abandon plans to use GPS-equipped
hand-held computers to collect information from unresponsive households
in the census. Reverting to paper-based operations will add at least
$1 billion to the overall cost of the 2010 census, the agency said.
The bureau said it would put off aligning the TIGER digital mapping
system with GPS coordinates in all counties, a project currently
scheduled for completion in 2008. New initiatives to reduce undercounts
and overcounts in the 2010 census also would be compromised, the
bureau wrote.
Funding at the House-passed level also would result in cancellation of
group quarters coverage in the American Community Survey (ACS),
according to the Impact Statement. Group quarters, which include
nursing homes, college dorms, military barracks, and prisons, were first
added to the ACS this year. Ultimately not including the GQ population
in the ACS means the ACS cannot fully be the replacement for the long
form in 2010, the Census Bureau said.
Stakeholders convey support for census funding to Senate: A diverse
group of census stakeholders, under the umbrella of The Census Project,
sent a letter to all Senate appropriators yesterday, urging support for
full funding for the Census Bureau. The letter was signed by 25
organizations representing local governments, scientific professions and
researchers, the business community, housing and social justice
advocates, and organized labor. The letter is posted at
www.thecensusproject.org.
The Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank, published two
editorials, explaining how census data are used to administer effective
law enforcement programs and to prepare for and respond to disasters.
To Take a Bite Out of Crime: Safeguard the Census
(www.brookings.edu/views/op-ed/reamer/20060626.htm) and Anticipating
the Unimaginable: The Crucial Role of the Census in Disaster Planning
and Recovery (www.brookings.edu/views/op-ed/reamer/20060710.htm) are
authored by Andrew Reamer, Brookings Fellow and Deputy Director, Urban
Markets Initiative, Metropolitan Policy Program.
SIPP funding partially restored in House: The House Committee on
Appropriations allocated $29.2 million for the Census Bureau to continue
fielding the Survey of Income and Program Participation while the agency
designs an alternative program to produce data on the dynamics of
economic well-being. The Bush Administration has proposed eliminating
the survey next year, saying the current design is burdensome for
respondents and that data processing is time-consuming and difficult.
The President requested $9.2 million to close out data collection in
2006 and begin developing a replacement program.
House appropriators, however, approved an amendment offered by Rep. Jose
Serrano (D-NY) to restore $10 million for SIPP in 2007. In addition,
the committee report accompanying the Census Bureaus appropriations
bill directed the agency to use $10 million in mandatory funds
previously designated for other data collection activities related to
welfare reform, to continue the SIPP while it develops a new system.
The total amount included in the House bill for SIPP is $29.2; the
survey cost about $39 million to administer in 2006.
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
FHWA Resource Center
19900 Governors Drive
Olympia Fields, Illinois 60461
708-283-3534 (v) 708-283-3501 (f)
708-574-8131 (cell)
_______________________________________________
ctpp-news mailing list
ctpp-news(a)chrispy.nethttp://www.chrispy.net/mailman/listinfo/ctpp-news
The fundamental problem is that almost no one (outside of us data
junkies) recognizes that data are infrastructure. Everyone expects
the information to be there when needed, but gives no thought to how
the data come into being--just like taking those sewers and roads for granted.
Patty Becker
At 01:56 PM 07/13/2006, you wrote:
There sure are some statements in the announcement that should give us
pause for consideration:
"Noting that the Census Bureau is vulnerable to cuts to fund other
popular programs, Rep. Wolf said, There is not a lobby downtown for the
Census Bureau."
"We are talking about funding cops, the war on drugs, homeland security,
or $72 million more for the Bureau of the Census, Rep. Jim Ramstad
(R-MN) offered. To me that is a no-brainer: We fund Byrne grants, which
every law enforcement official in America is pleading for. Rep. Mark
Souder (R-IN) called the choice a matter of priorities. Right now, we
need more help on the streets with crime than we do in the Census
Bureau."
"The bureau said it would put off aligning the TIGER digital mapping
system with GPS coordinates in all counties, a project currently
scheduled for completion in 2008. New initiatives to reduce undercounts
and overcounts in the 2010 census also would be compromised."
Now that's a tough choice: should moneys be used to focus on fighting
crime by fighting crime wherever you currently see it, or should moneys
be used to improve the underlying databases that will help Organizations
more efficiently deal with crime and dozens of other important topics of
national and local immediate AND longer-range interest? Somebody sure
needs to do a "truly comprehensive" long-term Cost/Benefit analysis of
federal programs. Fundamentally, the problem seems to be that "data
collection for multiple purposes" is just not a particularly exciting
(or popular) topic, and there are very few vocal champions whom people
are listening to--but that doesn't make it any less important to
society.
===============================
Patricia C. (Patty) Becker 248/354-6520
APB Associates/SEMCC FAX 248/354-6645
28300 Franklin Rd Home 248/355-2428
Southfield, MI 48034 pbecker(a)umich.edu
