Date: 10 Sep 1999 10:35:27
From: Census2000 <Census2000(a)ccmc.org>
Early Fall Update: Budget Round-up; Census
Advertising Campaign; Spotlight on Counting Kids
Lawmakers returned to Washington, D.C. this week with little time left
to enact spending bills for the fiscal year that begins October 1. The
Commerce appropriations bill, which includes funding for Census 2000,
cleared both the House of Representatives and Senate before the August
recess, but the two chambers must now iron out significant differences
between their respective versions. Here's a wrap-up of key provisions
affecting Census 2000 in the Fiscal Year 2000 (FY00) Commerce, Justice,
State, and The Judiciary Appropriations bills:
House of Representatives: H.R. 2670, approved by the House on August 5,
includes about $4.5 billion for Census 2000, the amount the Census
Bureau says it needs for census operations in FY00 (which ends September
30, 2000). All of those funds are designated as "emergency spending,"
meaning the amount doesn't count toward the strict budget caps imposed
on each of the 13 annual spending bills.
The appropriations committee report (H. Rept. 106-283), which explains
or expands on the bill's provisions, directs the Census Bureau to
prepare for a count of private American citizens living overseas "at the
earliest possible time." The Bureau must also evaluate a proposal to
include census information about residents of Puerto Rico in its regular
census reports for the 50 states.
Senate: The Senate approved its version of the Commerce spending bill on
July 22. S. 1217 allocates $2.8 billion for Census 2000, the amount the
Clinton Administration requested before a Supreme Court decision last
January forced it to revise the census plan to include a direct count of
the population without sampling methods, for the purpose of apportioning
seats in Congress among the states. The Administration subsequently
asked for an additional $1.7 billion to pay for the new plan. The
appropriations panel held a hearing on July 29 to consider the
supplemental funding request but took no further action. The committee,
in its report (S. Rept. 106-76), also instructed the Census Bureau to
include private American citizens living overseas in the 2000 census.
Reconciling the two bills: A conference committee must agree on a
funding level for Census 2000 activities and reconcile policy
differences in the committee reports. The House and Senate have yet to
appoint conferees but traditionally, members of the two Commerce
appropriations subcommittees, as well as senior members of the full
spending panel, serve on the conference committee. Once conferees agree
on a final package, the House and Senate must approve the "conference
bill" before sending it on to the President for his signature or veto.
Focus on counting children in the census: The Census 2000 Initiative
hosted a press briefing on August 26 to focus attention on the
undercount of children in the census and the consequences for
communities and the educational system. Dr. William P. O'Hare,
Coordinator of The Annie E. Casey Foundation's Kids Count project,
summarized his new report, "The Overlooked Undercount: Children Missed
in the Decennial Census." Dr. O'Hare examined the correlation between
socio-economic characteristics of the child population, such as poverty
and living arrangements, and the undercount of children in the 1990
census.
Ms. Jacqueline Byers, Director of Research at the National Association
of Counties (NACo), and Dr. Ron Henderson, Director of Research at the
National Education Association, discussed the importance of accurate
data on the child population for sound educational planning and resource
allocation at the state and local levels. Ms. Byers, who represents
NACo on the Commerce Department's 2000 Census Advisory Committee,
emphasized how local governments and businesses rely on census data to
plan public transit systems, day care, and school construction, as well
as where to locate services and retail centers. Dr. Henderson, a former
public school teacher, warned that failure to count children in the
census leads to unreliable estimates of the school age population,
resulting in overcrowded classrooms. He said teachers, administrators,
and parents must make a special effort to ensure that children are
counted accurately.
Dr. O'Hare's report is available electronically on The Annie E. Casey
Foundation's web site. Go to http://www.kidscount.org; click on "KIDS
COUNT" near the top of the home page; on the KIDS COUNT home page, click
on "New Publications;" then scroll down to the report on the undercount
of children in the census. The briefing, held at the National Press Club
in Washington, D.C., attracted nearly three dozen journalists and was
carried live on C-SPAN.
House panel reviews census advertising plans: The House Subcommittee on
the Census held a hearing on July 27 to review the advertising campaign
for Census 2000. Next year's census will include a first-ever paid
advertising program. The firm of Young & Rubicam (Y & R) was selected
(through a competitive process) to develop the campaign; Y & R has
subcontracted with several smaller firms that specialize in outreach to
minority communities.
Subcommittee Chairman Dan Miller (R-FL), describing himself as a "strong
proponent" of the advertising and outreach efforts, said a successful
campaign must be "localized." He expressed concern about a "loss of
civic responsibility" that has contributed to the need for promotional
activities to encourage census participation. Rep. Carolyn Maloney
(D-NY), the subcommittee's senior Democrat, agreed with Rep. Miller that
Congress should oversee expenditures for advertising and other census
operations. She encouraged the chairman to schedule hearings on last
year's census dress rehearsal and the status of final preparations for
the count. Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) emphasized the importance of
involving local firms in the advertising campaign that have experience
marketing to hard-to-count communities.
Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt said advertising would begin in
November, requiring Y & R to buy slots starting October 1. If Congress
fails to enact a FY00 funding bill on time, Y & R might not be able to
purchase prime advertising slots, leading to "a 1990-type problem" of
ads running when few people are watching or listening, the director
warned. The Census Bureau relied on public service announcements
developed by the Advertising Council of America to promote the census
from 1950 - 1990.
The Census Bureau will spend $166.6 million on the Census 2000 paid
advertising campaign, most of which ($111 million) is needed in the
upcoming fiscal year. Dr. Prewitt said 64 percent ($106 million) of the
total advertising budget is earmarked for buying television, radio, and
print ads.
Dr. Prewitt also announced that the Bureau would launch a civic campaign
aimed at increasing mail response rates. The Bureau estimates that 61
percent of American households will mail back their census forms, a
number the director said could rise to 70 percent if the mail-back rate
for every local jurisdiction exceeded the 1990 rate by five percent.
The director noted, however, that Y & R designed its advertising
campaign to convey the benefits of census participation, rather than a
civic engagement message. Advertising can help encourage people to mail
back their census forms, Dr. Prewitt said, but "we can't advertise our
way out of the differential undercount."
The subcommittee also heard testimony from Terry Dukes, Y & R's manager
of the census campaign, and Samuel Chisolm, chairman of The
Chisolm-Mingo Group, an African American-owned firm that is developing
ads tailored to Black communities. Ms. Dukes described how Y & R
developed target audiences for the ad campaign, dividing the public into
those "most likely to participate," "undecided or passive respondents,"
and "least likely to respond." She said advertising is most effective
in convincing the middle group to send in their census forms; a media
campaign alone won't convince the least likely respondents to
participate but can help pave the way for partnership and outreach
efforts at the local level. Y & R's research showed that perceived
"irrelevance" is the primary reason for non-participation in the
census. The tagline for the Census 2000 ad campaign is, "This is your
future. Don't leave it blank."
Mr. Chisolm discussed the challenge of convincing African Americans to
answer the census, since CMG's research revealed that 46 percent of
African Americans fall into the "least likely to respond" category. CMG
modified the central tagline to read, "This is our future. Don't leave
it blank," to convey a sense of "responsibility to community, family and
self" in reaching out to African Americans. Mr. Chisolm said his firm
also has developed messages aimed at "Black emerging markets," such as
Sub Saharan African and Caribbean communities.
The final witness at the hearing was Mr. Curtis Zunigha, a leader of the
Delaware Tribe of Indians and a member of the Census Bureau's Advisory
Committee on the American Indian and Alaska Native Populations. Mr.
Zunigha said that advertising was not likely to prompt significant
response among Indians living on reservations, making partnerships and
educational materials key components of a successful outreach campaign.
The American Indian advisory panel, he said, was initially
"underwhelmed" by the media campaign developed by G & G, the
subcontractor specializing in promotion to Indians and Alaska Natives.
In response to recommendations from his committee, Mr. Zunigha said, G &
G's advertising effort now "reflect[s] the diversity of native cultures
and geography," but he stressed the need for more resources to help
Tribal governments establish useful partnerships with the Census Bureau.
Questions about the information contained in this News Alert may be
directed to TerriAnn Lowenthal at 202/484-2270 or, by e-mail at
terriann2k(a)aol.com. For copies of previous News Alerts and other
information, use our web site www.census2000.org
<http://www.census2000.org>. Please direct all requests to receive News
Alerts, and all changes in address/phone/fax/e-mail, to the Census 2000
Initiative at Census2000(a)ccmc.org or 202/326-8700. Please feel free to
circulate this information to colleagues and other interested
individuals.
On page 9 of the census 2000 TAZ program instructions, there is a detailed
description of how to send the files to the census.
V, B states:
B. Directory to Receive File Box
Enter "/geo/TAZef" after "/pub/incoming," so that it will read
"/pub/incoming/geo/TAZef."
There should be no period in the entry. It should read
"/pub/incoming/geo/TAZef"
Thanks
Nandu
the latest issue of the CTPP 2000 Status Report (newsletter) is now
online. The direct link for it is
http://www.mcs.com/~berwyned/census/newsltr/sr0999.html
Starting with this issue we are posting the newsletter in both in html
and pdf formats. The pdf format can be reached through our web page at
http://www.mcs.com/~berwyned/census
ed christopher
chair, subcommittee on census data for transportation planning
202-366-0412
The file layout requirements for submitting TAZ equivalencies to the Census
Bureau are in the Reference Section (page 7) of the TAZ-UP User Manual. For
those who said they were not using TAZ-UP, we included a paper copy of the
directions with the mailout of the TIGER Line/98 CD.
The TAZ-UP software automatically creates this file. However, this
documentation is included specifically for those who are not using TAZ-UP.
>>> berwyned(a)mcs.com 08/21/99 11:58pm >>>
i received this and was wondering if any others could help with some
advice or insight. has anyone developed amls or other software to
support their TAZ efforts out side of TAZ-UP?
-----------
From: Kirk Eby <keby(a)tompkins-co.org>
Tompkins County (FIPS 36109) currently has its TAZs in Arc/Info format.
Except
for 2 zones and one minor civil division change, all of the TAZs are
based
entirely on census blocks and MCDs. We have determined that for all but
6
census blocks, the TAZ number can easily be placed in a "table of
equivalency"
for the Tiger/Line 98 files. (If you are curious, all I did was take
the
centroids from the 98 Tiger files and use ArcView to spatially join them
with
the TAZ polygons from Arc/Info, thus allowing the TAZ number to be
easily
populated in the Tiger 98 table.)
Rather than having to spend the time and resources to do the update in
TazUp,
and having to repeat in Arc/Info any changes that may be made in the
"non-equivalent" zones, the County would prefer to change only the
Arc/Info
file, then create the required "table of equivalency." None of the
information
we have seen describes the format of this "table of equivalency" in any
detail.
Is there technical documentation of the format (required fields, file
types,
etc.) of the required "table?" Also, has anyone already developed an
AML,
Avenue, or other application to automatically generate the required
"table?" Or
is there at least a "sample" of the "table" somewhere?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
J. Kirk Eby Tompkins County
GIS Project Leader Information Technology Services
i received this and was wondering if any others could help with some
advice or insight. has anyone developed amls or other software to
support their TAZ efforts out side of TAZ-UP?
-----------
From: Kirk Eby <keby(a)tompkins-co.org>
Tompkins County (FIPS 36109) currently has its TAZs in Arc/Info format.
Except
for 2 zones and one minor civil division change, all of the TAZs are
based
entirely on census blocks and MCDs. We have determined that for all but
6
census blocks, the TAZ number can easily be placed in a "table of
equivalency"
for the Tiger/Line 98 files. (If you are curious, all I did was take
the
centroids from the 98 Tiger files and use ArcView to spatially join them
with
the TAZ polygons from Arc/Info, thus allowing the TAZ number to be
easily
populated in the Tiger 98 table.)
Rather than having to spend the time and resources to do the update in
TazUp,
and having to repeat in Arc/Info any changes that may be made in the
"non-equivalent" zones, the County would prefer to change only the
Arc/Info
file, then create the required "table of equivalency." None of the
information
we have seen describes the format of this "table of equivalency" in any
detail.
Is there technical documentation of the format (required fields, file
types,
etc.) of the required "table?" Also, has anyone already developed an
AML,
Avenue, or other application to automatically generate the required
"table?" Or
is there at least a "sample" of the "table" somewhere?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
J. Kirk Eby Tompkins County
GIS Project Leader Information Technology Services
To all MPO and State DOT contacts:
For those of you who have responded to my query about which counties you are
planing to create TAZs for, I appreciate your swift response. For the rest of
you, I still need the information. If you need the email again, let me know.
Otherwise just send me the counties you are planning to include in your TAZ
plan, indicating whether you are intending to do the full or partial county. I
would appreciate responses by Thursday, August 12. Keep in mind the entire
county does need to be covered, be that by you, another MPO, or by the state
DOT. I would also like to know if some agency other than you is submitting
your TAZ plan.
There are a few things to think about when working on you TAZ plans. It is due
October 1, 1999. The Place/Municipal boundaries in TAZ-UP are from 1990 but
they are not all still valid boundaries. If they are on a road or rail line
then they are fine to use, but if they are a non-visible feature then you may
not use them for your 2000 TAZs. If you have any questions about this, call the
CTPP hotline at 202 366 5000.
I can be reached via phone at 301 457 2454, also by fax at 301 457 2481 through
email at clara.a.reschovsky(a)ccmail.census.gov
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.
Clara Reschovsky
From: Census2000 <Census2000(a)ccmc.org>
Census 2000 Funding Survives in the House After Heated Debate over
"Emergency" Tag
Legislators Must Reconcile House and Senate Bills As New Fiscal Year
Approaches on October 1st
Funding for Census 2000 survived a heated debate in the U.S. House of
Representatives yesterday, as legislators considered a spending bill for
the fiscal year starting October 1, 1999. The Fiscal Year 2000 (FY00)
Commerce, Justice, State, and The Judiciary Appropriations bill (H.R.
2670) includes $4.476 billion for Census 2000 activities, $11.3 million
short of President Clinton's request of $4.512 billion. (Most of the
funding "cut" resulted from shifting money for development of the
American Community Survey from the Census 2000 account to a separate
account.)
The measure designates money for Census 2000 as "emergency spending,"
meaning that the funds do not count against the tight caps Congress set
earlier in the year for the Commerce-Justice-State budget account. The
House is expected to complete action today on the $35.8 billion Commerce
spending bill. The committee report explaining provisions of the
appropriations bill is House Report (H. Rept.) 106-283.
Dozens of lawmakers joined in the debate over an amendment offered by
Rep. Tom Coburn (R-OK), to cut $2.8 billion from the census allocation
of $4.476 billion. The Administration originally requested that amount
for census operations next year but later asked for an extra $1.7
billion after the Supreme Court ruled that federal law required a direct
count without sampling methods to calculate the state population totals
for congressional apportionment. The amendment was defeated, 171 to
257, with 95 Republicans and 76 Democrats voting for the Coburn
proposal.
Rep. Coburn, saying the debate "wasn't even about the census," argued
that calling the census an emergency was "pulling the wool over the
American people's eyes." He charged that in adopting the 1997 balanced
budget law, Congress failed to provide money for the census in 2000.
Rep. Coburn also questioned the cost of the census, calling the $24 per
household cost "abhorrent." "[The high cost] we're inefficient," the
congressman said. Many legislators from both political parties who
spoke in favor of the amendment said the debate was about the
"integrity" of the budget process. "This [debate] is about the
credibility of every Member of this body," said Rep. George Miller
(D-CA).
But Rep. David Obey (D-WI), senior Democrat on the appropriations
committee, said the Census Bureau would not have enough money to carry
out the census next year if the Coburn amendment passed. The House
Rules Committee, which sets the rules for debating bills on the House
floor, did not allow Rep. Obey to offer an amendment to lift the
emergency designation from the Census 2000 account. The congressman
said that while he favored removing the emergency tag, it would be far
worse to cut funds needed for the decennial count.
Rep. Dan Miller (R-FL), chairman of the census oversight subcommittee,
also opposed the Coburn amendment, calling it "irresponsible." Rep.
Miller said the Census Bureau needs more money to reduce the
disproportionate undercount of racial minorities, immigrants, the
homeless, and other hard-to-count populations. Rep. Carolyn Maloney
(D-NY), the ranking Democrat on the census subcommittee, noted that the
census would have cost less if congressional Republicans had not
challenged the use of sampling in the original Census 2000 plan in
court. Rep. Tom Sawyer (D-OH), chairman of the census subcommittee
during the 1990 count, said that protracted wrangling over funding for
the census could jeopardize activities, such as buying advertising
slots, that must be done quickly after the new fiscal year starts.
The Administration issued a "statement of policy," setting forth its
views on the committee-approved version of the Commerce spending bill.
While it "appreciates" the overall funding level for Census 2000, the
Administration is concerned that the bill divides the money into
specific operational categories. This earmarking, the statement says,
"would impose unnecessary restrictions" on the Census Bureau's ability
to deal with unexpected circumstances during the census, because the
bill requires the agency to notify Congress 15 days before it intends to
shift money from one activity to another. (See our August 2 News Alert
for a complete description of the operational categories and other
aspects of the committee-approved bill.)
Congress will begin its summer recess period at the end of this week,
returning to work after Labor Day. Legislators must then reconcile
differences between the House and Senate versions of the Commerce
appropriations measure. Each chamber will appoint members to a
"conference committee;" traditionally, "conferees" are members of the
two Appropriations Committees. After the conference committee agrees on
a final spending package, the House and Senate must each approve the
"conference report" before the bill is sent to the President for his
signature or veto.
Correction: In our August 2, 1999, News Alert, we misidentified one of
the witnesses at a July 27 House census subcommittee hearing on the
Census 2000 paid advertising campaign. The witness representing
advertising contractor Young & Rubicam is Ms. Terry Dukes. We apologize
for the mistake.
Questions about the information contained in this News Alert may be
directed to TerriAnn Lowenthal at 202/484-2270 or, by e-mail at
terriann2K(a)aol.com. For copies of previous News Alerts and other
information, use our web site www.census2000.org
<http://www.census2000.org>. Please direct all requests to receive News
Alerts, and all changes in address/phone/fax/e-mail, to the Census 2000
Initiative at Census2000(a)ccmc.org or 202/326-8700. Please feel free to
circulate this information to colleagues and other interested
individuals.
From: Census2000 <Census2000(a)ccmc.org>
House Appropriations Panel Approves Census Funding Bill;
Emergency Designation Draws Protests from Democrats
The Census Bureau's funding bill for fiscal year 2000 (FY00) took
another halting step forward as the House Committee on Appropriations
approved the FY00 Commerce, Justice, State and The Judiciary spending
measure on July 30. The bill (which is not yet numbered) includes $4.476
billion for Census 2000 operations, $3.4 billion over this year's level
but $11.3 million below the Administration's request.
The Commerce-Justice-State bill, one of 13 spending bills for all
federal activities, allocates a total of $4.619 billion for all Census
Bureau programs and expenses. The Census 2000 funds were designated as
"emergency spending," exempting the money from a discretionary spending
cap in the budget resolution adopted last spring. Budget rules allow
lawmakers to designate certain funds as emergency spending, if the
expenditure is "unforeseen, unpredictable, and unanticipated."
The committee report explaining the spending bill states that the
emergency designation is "due to the unanticipated costs associated with
the recent Supreme Court decision regarding the conduct of the 2000
Census, and the delay in receiving the Administration's estimate of the
cost" after the Court's January ruling on the use of sampling. At
Friday's session, Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY), who chairs the panel's
Commerce subcommittee, said the Clinton Administration's failure in the
past two years to provide a full cost estimate for the census forced
appropriators to declare census operations an emergency.
Democrats tried to eliminate the emergency designation during the
'mark-up' session. Rep. David Obey (D-WI), the committee's senior
Democrat, offered two amendments, one to remove the designation from all
Census 2000 funds and another to retain the emergency classification
only for the $1.7 billion supplemental appropriation the President
requested in June. Both amendments were defeated on party line votes.
The Commerce bill earmarks spending on broad census operational
categories. The $4.476 billion is distributed as follows (rounded to the
nearest million): Program Development and Management, $20 million; Data
Content and Products, $195 million; Field Data Collection and Support
Services, $3.450 billion; Address List Development, $44 million;
Automated Data Processing and Telecommunications Support, $447 million;
Testing and Evaluation, $16 million; census operations in Puerto Rico,
the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Pacific areas, $71 million; and Marketing,
and Communications, and Partnerships, $199 million. The Census 2000
appropriation also includes $3.5 million for the eight-member Census
Monitoring Board. The Census Bureau is required to submit monthly
spending reports to Congress. And in a move that Census Bureau Director
Kenneth Prewitt warned could hamstring the Bureau if unexpected problems
arise during the count, the measure requires the agency to seek approval
from Congress before shifting money from one activity to another.
The President's budget had included $25 million for the American
Community Survey (ACS) in the Census 2000 account. The committee
instead appropriated $20 million (a freeze at this year's funding level)
for continued development of the ACS in a broader Census Bureau
account. The ACS will provide updated demographic and socio-economic
information every year, starting in 2003 for larger areas and for all
communities by 2008. If fully implemented on schedule, the survey may
eliminate the need for a traditional census long form in 2010.
Additional committee concerns: Rep. Jose Serrano (D-NY), the senior
Democrat on the Commerce appropriations subcommittee, advocated
including the population of Puerto Rico in the total population of the
United States. Currently, when the Census Bureau reports the nation's
population, it includes the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Rep. Dan Miller (R-FL) opposed the idea, saying it represented a major
policy change that deserved a thorough review. Rep. Miller, chairman
of the census oversight subcommittee and also an appropriations panel
member, pledged a hearing on the issue in the fall. The committee
report explaining the spending bill directs the Census Bureau to study
Rep. Serrano's proposal and report back to Congress by September 1. The
committee also applauded as "a positive development" the decision to
collect most of the same information from residents of Puerto Rico that
is collected on the census short and long forms in the States. Rep.
Serrano is Puerto Rican. In its report, legislators instructed the
Census Bureau to develop methods for counting private American citizens
living overseas in the census "at the earliest possible time," and to
report its plans to Congress. The committee also urged the Bureau to
ensure that deaf persons can participate in the census.
Background on Census Bureau funding: Funding for the decennial census
falls under the Periodic Censuses and Programs account ("Periodics"),
one of two main funding categories for the Census Bureau. Periodics
includes other cyclical programs such as the Census of Governments and
the Economic Censuses, as well as support activities such as data
processing infrastructure and geographic systems. The
committee-approved FY00 bill allocates $4.619 billion for the Periodics
account, about $19.2 million below the President's request (including
the $11.3 million reduction from the request for Census 2000). The
second main category, Salaries and Expenses, pays for ongoing
statistical programs such as the Current Population Survey, which
produce a wide range of economic, demographic, and social information.
The appropriations committee allocated $136 million for these data
activities, a freeze at this year's funding level and about $20.8
million below the Administration's request.
Budget figure correction: The July 23 News Alert included an incorrect
figure of $1.8 billion for this year's (fiscal year 1999) Census 2000
funding level. The correct figure is $1.072 billion (original $1.027
billion allocation plus a $45 million supplemental appropriation in
May). We apologize for the error.
Other legislative news: The House Subcommittee on the Census held a
hearing on July 27 to review plans for a paid advertising campaign to
promote Census 2000. The oversight panel heard testimony from Census
Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt; Ms. Terry Peel of Young & Rubicam, the
firm developing the ad campaign; Mr. Sam Chisolm of the Chisolm-Mingo
Group, the firm responsible for the portion of the campaign aimed at
African Americans; and Mr. Curtis Zunigha, a member of the Bureau's
Advisory Committee on the American Indian and Alaska Native
Populations. A representative from Scholastic, Inc. was not available
to discuss the Census in the Schools program, as originally planned.
Due to the urgency of funding issues while Congress is in session, we
will provide more information on the advertising oversight hearing in
the near future. Interested stakeholders may request copies of the
written testimony from the Subcommittee on the Census, at 202/226-1973.
Questions about the information contained in this News Alert may be
directed to TerriAnn Lowenthal at 202/484-2270 or, by e-mail at
terriann2k(a)aol.com. For copies of previous News Alerts and other
information, use our web site www.census2000.org
<http://www.census2000.org>. Please direct all requests to receive News
Alerts, and all changes in address/phone/fax/e-mail, to the Census 2000
Initiative at Census2000(a)ccmc.org or 202/326-8700. Please feel free to
circulate this information to colleagues and other interested
individuals.
From: Census2000 <Census2000(a)ccmc.org>
Senate Appropriations Panel Considers Request For Additional Census
2000 Funds
Key Chairman Skeptical of "Emergency" Designation for Census
Spending
The Senate Committee on Appropriations held a hearing today to
consider the President's request for an additional $1.7 billion for
Census 2000. Last week, the Senate passed a version of the fiscal
year 2000 Commerce spending bill that only included the $2.789
billion originally requested for the census in fiscal year 2000. At
today's hearing, a key subcommittee chairman asked for more detailed
budget information but was skeptical about designating funds for
Census 2000 as "emergency spending," a move the House spending panel
is considering. The Clinton Administration asked for extra funds to
conduct the decennial count after the Supreme Court ruled that
sampling could not be used to calculate the population of the states
for congressional apportionment.
The only legislator at today's hearing in a cramped room of the U.S.
Capitol was Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH), chairman of the
appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, and The
Judiciary. Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt explained the
agency's need for extra funds, saying that 95 percent of the extra
$1.7 billion was a "direct result" of the January 1999 Court
decision. The Bureau, he said, has added new operations "to improve
the accuracy and completeness of the count without sampling" and
increased quality controls on existing activities, particularly in
rural areas and for the hardest-to-count populations such as the
homeless and non-English speakers.
Dr. Prewitt emphasized the need for a timely appropriation for the
fiscal year beginning October 1. "Census 2000 is well underway," he
said. "The train has left the station. We cannot park this train
on October 1, even for a few days, without severe consequences to
the schedule and accuracy of the census." "An example," the
director said, "is the need to buy air time for the media campaign
in early October, to run census educational and awareness messages
beginning in November."
Eighty-four percent ($1.451 billion) of the extra funds will pay for
field data collection efforts and support activities. Follow-up
visits to all households that don't mail back a form, Dr. Prewitt
said, will increase the workload 50 percent, or by 15 million homes,
over the Bureau's original Census 2000 plan. Reasons for the
increased costs include extending the follow-up phase by four weeks;
screening one million more applicants to fill 300,000 more temporary
positions; opening 44 additional local offices; keeping the four
data processing centers open two months longer; expanding technical
capabilities for payroll and data transmission; re-checking an
estimated 7.5 million housing units initially classified as vacant
or non-existent; visiting housing units built after the address list
was completed; and increasing paid advertising and other promotional
efforts. The Census Bureau also expects lower productivity as the
number of temporary workers grows significantly, "resulting in lower
overall skill level."
Dr. Prewitt also noted that the revised plan saves about $209
million from reducing the size of the quality-check post census
survey (called the Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation, or ACE,
program). The final census plan includes a 300,000 household survey
to measure undercounts and overcounts, down from 750,000 households.
Senator questions "emergency" designation for Census 2000: Chairman
Gregg, noting that the Constitution requires a census every ten
years, asked rhetorically: "Is the census in 2000 an emergency?"
The senator was referring to action last week by House appropriators
to designate Census 2000 funds as "emergency spending" to avoid
counting the cost of next year's operations against the restrictive
budget caps on government programs.
Sen. Gregg asked how long the Census Bureau could operate if
Congress provided only $3 billion of the full $4.512 billion at the
start of the fiscal year. Dr. Prewitt said most of the money is
spent from March to July, when the forms are mailed and most
follow-up visits and data processing takes place. The chairman
asked for more detailed information on the flow of spending each
month in fiscal year 2000 and on plans to hire 300,000 more
enumerators and other field staff than originally projected. In
1990, Congress passed a $100 million emergency spending bill in the
spring when a lower-than-expected mail response forced the Census
Bureau to raise hourly pay rates and hire more enumerators.
Questions about the information contained in this News Alert may be
directed to TerriAnn Lowenthal at 202/484-2270 or, by e-mail at
terriann2K(a)aol.com.. For copies of previous News Alerts and other
information, use our web site www.census2000.orghttp://www.census2000.org. Please direct all requests to receive
News Alerts, and all changes in address/phone/fax/e-mail, to the
Census 2000 Initiative at Census2000(a)ccmc.org or 202/326-8700.
Please feel free to circulate this information to colleagues and
other interested individuals.
From: Census2000 <Census2000(a)ccmc.org>
Census Funding Bills Move Forward in House and Senate;Path to Final Action in the Fall Still Rocky
Census Bureau Clarifies Policy on Hiring Non-Citizens
The House of Representatives took its first step yesterday toward funding next year's census as an Appropriations Committee panel approved its version of the Commerce spending bill for the fiscal year that starts on October 1, 1999. The Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, and The Judiciary, chaired by Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY),
allocated about $4.5 billion for final census preparations and operations. The amount includes an extra $1.7 billion the Administration requested on June 1st to pay for a revised plan without sampling to count some of the anticipated 46 million households that won't mail back a questionnaire.
The 1997 balanced budget law forced House and Senate appropriators to work within spending limits for discretionary (i.e. non-mandatory)
programs that are below this year's levels. The committees have been shifting money among the 13 main federal budget accounts to meet spending priorities while sticking to the overall budget ceiling. Before the Commerce subcommittee met, appropriators added to funds to its account to bring the total spending level for the fiscal year 2000 (FY00) measure to $35.8 billion.
The subcommittee paid for the large jump in census costs (this year's Census 2000 allocation is $1.8 billion) by classifying Census 2000 funding as "emergency" spending. Budget rules exempt emergency spending from annual caps, giving lawmakers a way to spend more without cutting
funds for other programs. It is not clear whether the full House, the Senate, and the Administration will support such a funding maneuver. The Commerce-Justice-State bill approved by the subcommittee includes $35.8
The Senate also debated its version of the FY00 Commerce spending measure this week. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill (S.1217) more than a month ago that does not include the extra funds the Administration requested to comply with a January Supreme Court decision. The Court ruled that federal law prohibits sampling methods
to calculate the state population totals used for congressional apportionment.
Several senators, including Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Richard Durbin (D-IL), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), urged full funding for census
operations. But they declined to offer amendments to provide the money, noting that the appropriations panel will hold a hearing (possibly next week) to review the request for supplemental funds. The Senate approved S. 1217 by voice vote yesterday.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), the senior Democrat on the census oversight subcommittee, said that while the funding level in the House bill is "great news," the "Republicans created this mergency" by failing to support a "less expensive, more accurate census plan." Congress tentatively plans to start its summer recess on August 7; legislators would not return to Washington until after Labor Day.
Census 2000 hiring policy changes: The Census Bureau has issued a new policy regarding citizenship requirements for temporary Census 2000
jobs, including enumerator, office manager, and partnership specialist positions. A waiver granted by the Department of Commerce will allow
the Bureau to hire employees without giving priority to U.S. citizens. Job applicants must be legally eligible to work in the United States.
The revised policy reflects the Bureau's goal of hiring census workers who live in the neighborhoods they will count. Originally the Bureau said it would hire non-citizens only if qualified citizens are not available, in accordance with federal hiring rules. Immigrant advocates countered that communities where large numbers of non-citizens live would be hard to count accurately unless local residents are hired to conduct outreach activities and visit unresponsive households. The Bureau said it would change its recruitment and training materials to
remove citizenship as a criterion. The agency says it must hire about 860,000 temporary workers to conduct the 2000 census.
Congressional hearing planned: The House Subcommittee on the Census will hold a hearing on July 27th to review the Census 2000 paid advertising campaign and the Census in the Schools program. The hearing will begin at 10:00 a.m. in room 2247 Rayburn House Office Building. The panel is expected to hear testimony from the Census Bureau, Census 2000 advertising firms, school materials developer Scholastic, Inc., and the Bureau's stakeholder advisory committees.
Last March, the Committee on Government Reform approved several measures sponsored by census panel Chairman Dan Miller (R-FL), including bills to authorize $300 million for census outreach and advertising and to increase outreach to schools and teachers. Although there were no hearings on the legislation, Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt said at the time that he did not oppose the proposals as long as Congress allocated sufficient funds for the activities.
Questions about the information contained in this News Alert may be directed to TerriAnn Lowenthal at 202/484-2270 or, by e-mail at <terriann2k(a)aol.com>. For copies of previous News Alerts and other information, use our web site www.census2000.org <http://www.census2000.org>.
