********** C E N S U S 2 0 0 0 B U L L E T I N
**********
Vol. 2 - No.
38 Aug. 6,
1998
Both President Clinton and Commerce Secretary William Daley
issued separate statements yesterday (Aug. 5) following the
House of Representatives' vote rejecting a move to lift
restrictions on the Census Bureau's Fiscal Year 1999 budget.
They follow in their entirety:
Statement by the President
"I am very disappointed that the House failed to adopt an
amendment to the FY99 Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations
bill that would have removed onerous restrictions on the
Census Bureau's plan for the decennial census. By failing
to adopt this amendment, the House is undermining the Census
Bureau's ability to plan and conduct an accurate decennial
census.
"To ensure a fair and accurate count, my Administration has
supported the 2000 census plan developed by the experts at
the Census Bureau that was based upon recommendations by the
National Academy of Sciences. It is a plan that will correct
the inaccuracies of the 1990 census, which missed millions
of Americans and disproportionately undercounted children,
minorities, and residents in urban and rural communities.
This is the first census of the 21st Century, and we must
ensure that the census, the single most important source of
information about the American people, is accurate.
"Congress must remove these restrictions. It is critically
important that the Census Bureau have the funding it needs
to implement its 2000 census plan -- a plan that will
produce the most accurate census in history using the best,
most up-to-date scientific methods."
Statement of U.S. Commerce Secretary William M. Daley
"The House of Representatives voted today to limit FY 1999
funding for the 2000 Census to the first six months of the
coming fiscal year, while holding captive the Census
Bureau's remaining decennial census funds until Congress
decides how our nation's next count shall be conducted. Such
an action represents a veiled attempt to prevent the use of
proven scientific statistical methods, endorsed by the
National Academy of Sciences and the vast majority of
non-partisan statistical experts and professional
organizations, to ensure the most accurate census ever
conducted. I will urge the President to veto the Commerce,
Justice, State Appropriations bill should it come to his
desk with this restrictive language.
"I was disappointed that the House failed to adopt the
amendment offered by Representative Alan Mollohan which
would have restored full-year FY 1999 funding for Census
2000, allowing the Bureau to continue its current planning
for the decennial census. The Bureau is in the process of
conducting critical large-scale operations, such as the
creation of the address lists, the contracting for the
printing of census forms, the purchasing of advanced data
processing equipment, and the hiring of thousands of
workers. These and other activities are essential to a
successful census. Without the certainty of full-year
funding, the Bureau cannot move forward with these
operations and the prospects for Census 2000 are greatly
undermined.
"The Administration remains absolutely committed to
conducting the best census in our nation's history, one
which accounts for all Americans regardless of race,
economic status, or geographic location. To do this requires
FY 1999 budget certainty from the Congress and a plan that
utilizes the most modern scientific techniques. I call upon
the Congress to remedy this problem and fund the Census
Bureau with its full-year appropriation. The American people
deserve our very best in fulfilling this vital
responsibility."
For further information about this bulletin, contact either
Mary F. Hanley (202-482-4883) or Karen A. Cowles
(202-482-1523) of the Commerce Department's Office of Public
Affairs.
Date: Thu, 6 Aug 1998 11:23:28 -0400
From: census2000 <census2000(a)ccmc.org>
House Approves Funding Restriction on Census Operations,
Rejecting Mollohan Amendment
Appropriators Also Say Operational Problems Put Census At
Risk
The House of Representatives yesterday approved, by a vote
of 225 - 203, a $34 billion spending measure that includes
$952 million for 2000 census preparations but withholds half
of that amount until Congress and the Administration agree
on a final census design by March 1999. On a mostly party
line vote of 201 - 227, the House rejected an amendment
offered by Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV) to remove the funding
restriction. The amendment also would have required the
Census Bureau to continue planning for the census on dual
tracks until the Supreme Court rules on two pending lawsuits
challenging the constitutionality and legality of sampling
in the census.
In two hours of debate, supporters and opponents of the 2000
census plan sparred over the validity of scientific methods
to augment direct counting efforts, constitutional
requirements, and the timing of a final resolution of the
controversy over census methods. Rep. Mollohan said his
goal was to "again focus the debate on issues of science and
accuracy," and noted that the Bureau needed $644 million to
carry out census preparations through March 1999, $169
million more than the funding bill allows. He warned that
the funding split proposed by critics of the Bureau's plan
would be "fatally destabiliz[e]" the census. Rep. Harold
Rogers (R-KY), head of the Commerce appropriations
subcommittee, said the two-part arrangement represented an
agreement
between the President and congressional Republican leaders
last November to resolve the dispute over methods next
spring. The President was afraid that his "radical plan for
polling" would not withstand public scrutiny, Rogers said.
Rep. Dan Miller (R-FL), chair of the census oversight panel,
praised parts of the Bureau's 2000 plan, including the move
to paid advertising. He condemned the proposed use of
scientific methods, however, saying that the Bureau will
"intentionally not count 26 or 27 million people," but
instead will use "cloning techniques" to create a "virtual
population." Rep. Miller suggested that administrative
records, including data on Medicaid recipients, could help
reduce the undercount. The Census Bureau decided not to
collect social security numbers after tests showed a
significant drop in response if people are asked to give
that information. Social security numbers would be needed
to access most government records. Rep. Tom Sawyer (D-OH),
who headed the census subcommittee during the last census,
pointed out that direct counting methods resulted in a large
number of mistakes in 1990, including a 38 percent error
rate during the final weeks of the door-to-door visits.
The Fiscal Year 1999 Commerce, State, Justice, and The
Judiciary Appropriations bill (H.R. 4276) also includes $4
million for the Census Monitoring Board. The Senate passed
its version of the funding measure (S. 2260) on July 23. A
conference committee of the House and Senate must resolve
differences between the two bills, and both chambers must
give final approval to the conference agreement, before
sending it to the President for a signature or veto.
While the controversy over sampling continued to dominate
public debate, House appropriators also raised serious
concerns about the progress of certain key census
preparations. In a written report explaining provisions of
the Commerce bill in more detail, the funding committee
noted that the Bureau faces problems with "every major
component and activity of the Census plan," including
address list development, outreach, and computer software to
weed out duplicate forms. The fiscal year 1999 bill
includes $32 million above the Bureau's request for
additional promotion and outreach efforts and $82 million
more to open local census offices earlier than originally
planned. The committee directed the Bureau to provide
Congress with monthly reports on how it was spending its
2000 census funds.
Census Monitoring Board activities: On August 5, the Census
Monitoring Board visited Columbia, South Carolina, one of
three sites where the Census Bureau is trying out procedures
for the 2000 census. The Bureau agreed last year to conduct
a dry run without using scientific sampling methods in
Columbia and eleven surrounding rural counties. The
Monitoring Board also planned to hear testimony from
Regional Census Bureau Director Susan Hardy and local
government officials and community leaders.
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>. Please direct all
requests to receive News Alerts, and all changes in
address/phone/fax/e-mail, to Keri Monihan at
<kmonihan(a)ccmc.org> or 202/326-8728. Please feel free to
circulate this information to colleagues and other
interested individuals.
********** C E N S U S 2 0 0 0 B U L L E T I N
**********
Vol. 2 - No. 37 Aug. 5,
1998
About 15,000 temporary workers, armed with clipboards, lists
and small-area maps, headed late last week into the remoter
parts of the countryside where dwellings do not have
city-style house-number and street-name addresses. Their
job: to verify the accuracy and currency of the Census
Bureau's address information.
It was the first major Census 2000-related operation visible
to the general public in communities across the country. The
preparations will culminate on Census Day, April 1, 2000.
The address-listing operation is crucial to an accurate and
complete census since the resulting master address list will
be used for delivering questionnaires, following up with
nonrespondents and as the universe from which to draw
representative samples.
The operation covering "non-city-style" address areas will
be conducted in three waves, generally working from north to
south, although the first wave will take place, to some
extent, in all 12 of the Census Bureau's regions. The first
wave, with "listers" working out of 82 census field offices,
will extend to Sept. 11.
The second wave, in which 199 field offices will
participate, runs from Oct. 8 through Nov. 19. The third
wave, involving the remaining 120 offices, is scheduled to
take place from Nov. 9 through Dec. 18. By the time the
non-city-style address-listing operation is completed, some
30,000 temporary workers will have been employed. Later,
other address listers will do similar checking in urban and
suburban areas where housing units have city-style
addresses.
The current corps of address "listers" worked in two-person
teams, driving down country roads and dirt paths to obtain
complete and accurate addresses for every habitable dwelling
and then, "spotting" them on local-area maps.
In many cases, address listers interviewed residents to
determine the most accurate addresses for cabins, trailers,
converted barns, packing houses, boxcars, even caves. In
agricultural areas, they visited farms, fields and orchards
in search of migrant workers' living quarters.
News coverage in sparsely-settled eastern San Diego County,
Calif., helped listers working those areas. According to
Census Bureau area manager Julie Ly, several listers were
greeted warmly by residents, who offered to help them locate
sheds and mobile homes being used as housing that could not
have been spotted from the roads. The residents heard about
the address-listing operation on local radio stations.
Two of the oldest applicants for the address-lister job were
an 84-year-old woman from New Hampshire, who asked the
recruiter, "I think I'm young enough to do this job, don't
you, dear?" and an 82-year-old in Douglas County, S.D., near
Sioux Falls. Both women were veterans of past censuses, the
South Dakota woman starting in 1950.
The address-listing job is open to retired people, most
current federal government employees, students, people who
want to work a second job -- in short, anyone 18 or over who
passes the written test and has four to five hours available
during the day or evenings and on weekends. Since they
generally must be familiar with the areas on their maps,
most end up working close to their homes.
U.S. citizenship is required, except where specific language
needs exist and a qualified U.S. citizen is not available.
Address listers also must have a driver's license and
reliable transportation. In Spanish-speaking areas, the
Census Bureau has tried to hire bilingual people who can
communicate with local residents.
For further information about this bulletin, contact J. Paul
Wyatt of the Public Information Office on 301-457-3052 (fax:
301-457-3670; e-mail: pio(a)census.gov).
Dear Urban Mobility Professional,
Due to the summer holidays there was no issue of our Urban Mobility
Professional last month. This month's issue will be discussing Traffic
Management and will be sent to the subscriber the end of next week (August
13/14).
In the September issue we will be discussing Logistics. I would like to ask
you if you have any information such as articles and press releases that
could be of interest to our subscribers. In addition I am looking for
"Logistics" experts to list in our magazine.
If you are interested I will need the following information:
1. Name
2. E-mail
3. A short CV
4. Your picture (if available)
Looking forward to your reactions.
Thank you and best regards,
Cindy Kerckhoffs
Editor / Information Manager
Urban Mobility Network
P.O. Box 917
6200 AX Maastricht
Tel. ++31 43 3213022
Fax. ++31 43 3211062
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Hartog (a.hartog(a)mobility-net.com)
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1998 12:45:38 -0400
From: Keri Monihan <kmonihan(a)ccmc.org>
Senate Committee Hears Dress Rehearsal Report From GAO
House Members Fire First Salvos in Debate Over Census
Funding
In testimony yesterday before a Senate committee, the U.S.
General Accounting Office (GAO) gave the 2000 Census Dress
Rehearsal a mixed report card, citing some successes and
some challenges that the Bureau must address before the
actual count 18 months from now. Similarly, committee
members were divided in their assessment of the Census
Bureau's ability to take an accurate count using only
conventional methods or supplementing those methods with
scientific ones.
GAO told members of the Committee on Governmental Affairs
that staffing efforts and the pace of field operations were
two early successes in the dry run. The Bureau had a
lower-than-expected turnover rate among census takers and
completed the door-to-door follow-up visits on or ahead of
schedule in all three sites. GAO cautioned, however, that
the successful recruitment and hiring in the dress rehearsal
didn't mean that the Bureau had "licked the problem for
2000," given the magnitude of the actual census compared to
the test run.
GAO warned that the Bureau "still faces major obstacles to a
cost-effective census." The congressional auditors cited
the following as its primary concerns: incomplete address
lists and maps, low (though not unexpected) mail response
rates, glitches with new data capture equipment, and the
limited success of partnerships with local governments and
community-based organizations. GAO encouraged the Bureau to
reconsider its decision not to send a second questionnaire
to all households, noting that the replacement form had
boosted mail response rates in the dry run by seven percent.
Chairman Fred Thompson (R-TN) compared the status of census
preparations to rail transportation, saying: "The train is
on schedule but we're still not sure it's going to get
there." The chairman also expressed concern that the use
of sampling to supplement the direct counting effort put the
census "in uncharted territory." He suggested that the
Commerce Department's positive assessment of the dress
rehearsal "did not square" with GAO's report of continuing
problems.
Senator John Glenn (D-OH), the panel's senior Democrat,
asked the GAO if conventional methods had "exhausted the[ir]
potential" to count the population accurately. GAO
concurred, saying that (constitutional and legal questions
aside) they still believed that sampling is an appropriate
tool to improve accuracy. "On average," GAO said, the
Bureau's 2000 census design would improve the accuracy of
the population figures for areas as small as census tracts,
which include about 4,000 people. The auditors emphasized
that implementation of the scientific methods still
presented "enormous challenges," but withheld judgment of
those operations because they were ongoing in the dress
rehearsal. Critics of sampling have claimed that the methods
would make the census counts less accurate in all places
with a population of less than 100,000.
Census 2000 funding: The controversy over the proposed use
of scientific methods in the census erupted with full force
again as the House of Representatives took its initial step
toward consideration of the Census Bureau's funding for
Fiscal Year 1999 (FY99). On July 30, the House approved by
voice vote the "rule" that governs the terms of debate for
the Commerce, Justice, State and The Judiciary
Appropriations bill. The rule grants two hours of debate,
evenly divided between proponents and opponents, on an
amendment to be offered by Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV) which
would lift the funding restriction on the 2000 census
account. The bill (H.R. 4276) allocates $952 million for
census preparations but only allows the Census Bureau to
spend half of that amount until the dispute over the use of
sampling is resolved next March. The House is expected to
consider the Commerce appropriations bill early next week.
During debate on the rule, critics of the Bureau's plan
compared the proposed use of sampling to polling while
supporters of the plan argued that conventional methods
alone would miss millions of Americans again. Rep. Mollohan
emphasized that the Bureau's plan had been reviewed and
endorsed by three expert panels convened by the National
Academy of Sciences. Rep. Dan Miller (R-FL), chair of the
census oversight subcommittee, responded that the Academy
was "not beyond politics and sadly, I think, they've been
used." Rep. Miller also charged that Dr. Charles Schultze,
who headed one of the Academy panels, was a "Democratic
political operative." Dr. Schultze served in the Johnson
and Carter Administrations and is a former chair of the
Office of Management and Budget and the Council of Economic
Advisors.
Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY), who heads the Commerce funding
subcommittee, said that he only opposed the use of sampling
methods to produce the counts used for congressional
reapportionment and redistricting and did not object to the
use of data derived partially through scientific methods for
the allocation of Federal program funds.
Census Monitoring Board: The new Census Monitoring Board
will meet on August 5 in Columbia, South Carolina, one of
the three Census Dress Rehearsal sites, to continue its
oversight of 2000 census preparations. The location, time
and format of the meeting have not been announced.
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>. Please direct all
requests to receive News Alerts, and all changes in
address/phone/fax/e-mail, to Keri Monihan at
<kmonihan(a)ccmc.org> or 202/326-8728. Please feel free to
circulate this information to colleagues and other
interested individuals.
Those who are diehard readers of the electronic version of
our newsletter "ctpp status report" may recall a reference
to a special report on the TAZ update program that was in
the snail-mail version. That report is now up on our web
site. Here is the direct link to it.
http://www.mcs.com/~berwyned/census/newsltr/taz0698.html
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1998
From: Keri Monihan <kmonihan(a)ccmc.org>
Senate Begins Debate on Census Funding; House Action
Expected Later in the Week
Bill Introduced to Add Internet Questions to Census Long
Form
The Senate is set to begin consideration of the Census
Bureau's funding bill for the next fiscal year. The measure
approved by the Appropriations Committee (S. 2260) allocates
$848 million for 2000 census work but the Senate so far has
avoided the controversy over the use of scientific methods
which will likely dominate debate when the House takes up
the Fiscal Year 1999 Commerce, Justice, State, and The
Judiciary Appropriations bill.
The House Rules Committee will set the terms for floor
debate on Wednesday; the House is expected to begin
consideration of its spending bill on Thursday. In a July
16 written statement, Secretary of Commerce William Daley
said that the six-month funding limit on 2000 census work
approved by the House Appropriations Committee "would put
the success of the Census 2000, whatever the design used, in
serious jeopardy." He warned that the initial allocation of
only $476 million would force the Census Bureau to suspend
census preparations in late January 1999. The consequences
include delays in completing address list development,
opening local census offices, hiring and training local
staff, and awarding contracts for questionnaire printing and
data processing equipment, according to the Secretary's
statement. To receive the remainder of the year's funds,
Secretary Daley said, the Bureau "would be forced to agree
to a plan it does not endorse."
Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV), senior Democrat on the Commerce
appropriations subcommittee, will ask the Rules panel to let
him offer an amendment to remove the funding cap when the
House takes up the Commerce spending bill. The Mollohan
amendment, which was defeated in a party-line vote in
committee on July 15, also requires the Bureau to continue
planning for two different censuses -- one that uses
scientific methods and one that doesn't - until the Supreme
Court rules on legal challenges to the constitutionality and
legality of sampling. In a July 15 letter to Appropriations
Committee Chairman Bob Livingston (R-LA), Office of
Management and Budget head Jacob Lew said that the
President's senior advisers would recommend a veto of the
Commerce spending bill if it includes the restrictions on
full funding for 2000 census activities.
Hispanic legislators weigh-in: The Congressional Hispanic
Caucus plans a press conference at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday,
July 22, at the House Triangle, to call for unrestricted
full funding for the 2000 census. Rep. Xavier Becerra
(D-CA), chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said
last week that Hispanic legislators would "hold this
Congress hostage" if congressional leaders refused to drop
the six-month funding cap for the 2000 census. "[W]e're not
going to let all these folks that deserve to be counted be
held hostage by this Congress because the Congress is
unwilling to provide the dollars to fund the census
properly," Becerra said after a meeting with Vice President
Albert Gore to discuss efforts to ensure an accurate count.
Census Bureau evaluations showed that the 1990 count missed
almost five percent of Hispanic Americans.
Census 'Long Form' Legislation: Rep. Dan Miller (R-FL),
chairman of the House census subcommittee, and Rep. Rick
White (R-WA) introduced a bill (H.R. 4270) on July 17 to
require the addition of two questions on the census long
form. The new questions would ask if the household has a
personal computer and if the household is connected to the
Internet. In a written statement, Chairman Miller said that
"it is appropriate that we use the 2000 census to get a
handle on just how widespread home computers and Internet
access have become." H.R. 4270 was referred to the House
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight; no hearings
have been scheduled yet.
In March 1997, the Census Bureau submitted to Congress the
subject matters of questions it plans to ask in the 2000
census. The Bureau only included the collection of data
that is required to implement a federal law or program. The
2000 census schedule calls for awarding a contract for
questionnaire printing by the end of this year; printing
must begin in April 1999.
Upcoming briefing: The National Council of Women's
Organizations is sponsoring a briefing, "Down for the Count?
How the Census Affects Women and Families." The event will
be on July 24, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m., in room 2203 Rayburn
House Office Building, Washington, D.C. Please call Pat
Reuss or Elsa Fan, at 202/544-4470, for further information
(RSVP not required).
Stakeholder activities: The Census 2000 Initiative and the
Leadership Conference Education Fund hosted an educational
briefing for reporters at the National Press Club on July
20. Three census experts talked about the best ways to
ensure an accurate census and answered questions about the
use of scientific methods to supplement direct counting
efforts. The panelists were Dr. Eugene Ericksen, Temple
University, co-chair of the Special Advisory Panel that
advised the Secretary of Commerce on adjustment of the 1990
census; Dr. Robert Hill, Morgan State University, noted
author of books on the black family and a member of the
Census Bureau's Advisory Committee on the African American
Population; and Dr. Lynne Billard, University of Georgia,
former President of the American Statistical Association who
created a blue ribbon panel in 1996 to examine the use of
sampling methods to improve census accuracy and contain
costs.
Secretary of Commerce William Daley plans to discuss the
2000 census plan in a speech to the National Conference of
State Legislatures in Las Vegas on July 22. NCSL is a
member of the Secretary's 2000 Census Advisory Committee.
Helpful reading: The U.S. General Accounting Office has
issued a report on the history of key policy issues
affecting the census. The report, "Decennial Census:
Overview of Historical Census Issues" (GAO/GGD-98-103, May
1998) can be ordered by calling 202/512-6000 or writing to
GAO at P.O. Box 37050, Washington, D.C. 20013. GAO's web
site is <http://www.gao.gov>.
Administrative Note: We would like to apologize to those of
you who receive our News Alerts by fax. Due to a technical
glitch, multiple copies of the latest News Alert were sent
out. We regret any inconvenience.
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>. Please direct all
requests to receive News Alerts, and all changes in
address/phone/fax/e-mail, to Keri Monihan at
<kmonihan(a)ccmc.org> or 202/326-8728. Please feel free to
circulate this information to colleagues and other
interested individuals.
Dear Urban Mobility Professional,
The next issue of our Urban Mobility Professional
(http://www.mobility-net.com/ump) magazine will discuss Traffic Management
. Presently I am searching for related press releases, articles, research
projects to publish. Furthermore I am also interested in Traffic
Management experts who would like to be listed in our magazine with the
following information: name, company, e-mail, URL, a short CV and a picture.
All the information received will be included in our Internet platform. Only
a selection of the received information will be published in our magazine.
You can send the information by e-mail, fax or to our postal address. Please
contact me if you have any questions.
Looking forward to your reaction.
Best regards,
Cindy Kerckhoffs
Editor / Information Manager
Urban Mobility Network
P.O. Box 917
6200 AX Maastricht
Tel. ++31 43 3213022
Fax. ++31 43 3211062
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