[CTPP] Census News Brief

[Ed Christopher]

IN THIS CENSUS NEWS BRIEF:
MN Lawmaker Challenges Mandatory Census Response
Stakeholder Activities
Census Bureau Confirms New Data Tabulation Policy
2010 Census Operational Update

MINNESOTA LAWMAKER CHALLENGES CENSUS RESPONSE REQUIREMENT
In a news interview last week, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) said her 
family would not answer any questions in next year's decennial census 
beyond the number of people in her household.  The two-term 
congresswoman told the Washington Times "America's Morning News" on June 
17, "We won't be answering any information beyond [how many people are 
in our home], because the Constitution doesn't require any information 
beyond that," according to an article in the newspaper.  Article I, 
section 2, of the Constitution, as modified by the Fourteenth Amendment, 
requires a census of population every ten years for purposes of 
congressional apportionment, in "such Manner as they [Congress] shall by 
Law direct."  Congress delegated authority for taking the census to the 
Secretary of  Commerce, who may "obtain such other census information as 
necessary" in conducting the decennial census of population (13, U.S.C., 
§141).  The U.S. Supreme Court also has applied the Constitution's 
"equal protection clause" to a series of cases involving the size and 
composition of congressional districts, which historically have been 
drawn -- by law or necessity -- using census data.

The Census Act (13, U.S.C., §221) requires responses to the decennial 
census.  A person who "refuses" or "willfully neglects" to answer any 
census questions is subject to a fine of not more than $100.  A person 
who "willfully" provides false information can be fined up to $500 
(§222).  The 2010 census questionnaire covers six topics: age; gender; 
relationship to head of household; Hispanic origin; race; and tenure 
(homeowner or renter).  The Census Bureau requests names of people 
residing in the household, to ensure full coverage and minimize the 
likelihood of duplication, and a telephone number, in case it must 
follow-up to obtain missing or unclear information, but it does not ask 
for social security or any other identification number.  Rep. Bachmann 
said in the interview that she was concerned about the role of the 
Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN), one of 
thousands of  national, regional, and local groups that will be 2010 
census "partners."  "They [ACORN] will be in charge of going door to 
door and collecting data from the American public," the congresswoman 
said.  Last week, Rep. Bachmann criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi 
(D-CA) for allowing the Rules Committee to limit the number of 
amendments offered to the Fiscal Year 2010 Commerce, Justice and Science 
Appropriations bill, which funds the Census Bureau.  The congresswoman 
and Rep. Steve King (R-IA) had  hoped to prevent ACORN or its affiliates 
from receiving federal funds through agencies covered by the bill; their 
amendments were not made "in order" during floor debate.

The 2010 Census Partnership Program encourages organizations to sign an 
agreement, "formally pledging their commitment to share the 2010 Census 
message and mobilize their constituents in support of the Census 
Bureau's goal of achieving a complete count," according to the agency's 
web site. The Census Bureau offers promotional, educational, and 
outreach materials for partner organizations to use and modify, as 
appropriate, to reach their audiences.  Partner organizations are 
encouraged to display and distribute promotional materials; serve as 
Questionnaire Assistance Centers and Be Counted sites; include articles 
about the census in their newsletters; and urge their constituents to 
complete their census forms, among other activities.  Partners also can 
refer individuals to the Census Bureau for temporary census jobs; 
applicants must take a test and are subject to background checks and 
fingerprinting, regardless of who referred them for the position. 
Census partners do not receive direct monetary assistance, and they are 
not directly responsible for any formal aspect of the enumeration. 
Republicans press Census Bureau to explain ACORN partnership: Rep. 
Patrick McHenry (R-NC), the senior Republican on the House census 
oversight subcommittee, sent a letter to Acting Census Director Thomas 
Mesenbourg last week, seeking an explanation for "the continued 
involvement of the criminally-charged [ACORN] in 2010 census 
operations."  The congressman noted that he and other committee 
Republicans had written previously to the Census Bureau, questioning the 
involvement in the census of "an organization with a history of 
falsifying government documents," but that the agency "had failed to 
respond."

STAKEHOLDER ACTIVITIES
Census stakeholders across the country are turning up the spotlight on 
the importance of participating in next year's population count. 
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the formation of the 
State's Complete Count Committee on June 12, saying, "We must reach out 
to all Californians across the state to make certain everyone  is 
counted so that California gets its fair share of federal dollars and 
representation in congress."  The committee's 53 members represent a 
wide range of sectors that  rely on accurate census data, including 
state and municipal offices, educational institutions, community service 
and public policy organizations, labor unions and businesses, 
faith-based groups, and civil rights advocates.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors' Census 2010 Task Force convened at the 
organization's annual meeting in Providence, RI, on June 15, to discuss 
ways that local governments can promote participation in the decennial 
count.  Task Force Chairman Mark Mallory, Mayor of Cincinnati, urged his 
colleagues to play a leadership role in bringing together diverse 
constituencies in support of the 2010 census.  Utah's two largest 
cities, Salt Lake City and West Valley City, have formed complete count 
committees, in an effort to convince their residents -- especially 
Latinos, a group local officials believe was undercounted in 2000 -- 
according to a June 17 article in the Salt Lake Tribune.

The New York Immigrant Coalition held a news conference earlier this 
month to educate the City's ethnic media about the importance of an 
accurate census for immigrant communities.  Participants included New 
York Regional Census Director Tony Farthing and New York City's 
Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs Guillermo Linares.

The Coalition of Bar Associations of Color adopted a resolution 
supporting full funding for the 2010 census, calling for a moratorium on 
immigration raids during the census, and encouraging its members and 
chapters to become 2010 Census Partners and to participate on Complete 
Count Committees in their local areas.

Editor's note: This summary of recent stakeholder activities in support 
of an accurate 2010 census is not meant to be inclusive (which, 
fortunately, would be difficult), but rather to demonstrate the scope of 
interest in next year's count, through a few noteworthy examples, and to 
share ideas across all communities of interest.

CENSUS BUREAU CONFIRMS POLICY CHANGE ON SAME-SEX SPOUSE RESPONSES
The Census Bureau confirmed that it will change its policy with respect 
to tabulating marital status responses in the 2010 census.  Spokesman 
Steve Jost told The Associated Press (June 19, 2009) that, "They [same 
sex married couples] will be counted, and they ought to report the way 
they see themselves," promising that publications following the census 
would offer a "good data set on which to discuss this phenomenon that is 
evolving in this country."  Under the new policy, which it has not yet 
formally issued, the bureau would tabulate same-sex spouse responses to 
the relationship question as married couples, reversing a policy set 
during the previous Administration that would have re-coded these 
couples as "unmarried partners." The agency had previously cited 
provisions of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as prohibiting federal 
agencies from tabulating data that reflected gay marriages.

2010 CENSUS OPERATIONAL UPDATE
The Census Bureau will open two of three Data Capture Centers (DCCs) in 
the coming weeks, one in Baltimore (June 29) and one in Jeffersonville, 
IN (July 8), also home to the bureau's National Processing Center.  The 
centers will hire thousands of workers to process tens of millions of 
questionnaires during the height of census operations next year.

Lockheed Martin won a six-year contract in 2005 for the 2010 Census 
Decennial Response Integration System (DRIS), which will capture and 
standardize information reported on census forms.  Census questionnaires 
begin rolling off the presses next month.


Census News Briefs are prepared by Terri Ann Lowenthal, an independent 
legislative and policy consultant specializing in the census and federal 
statistics. All views expressed in the News Briefs are solely those of 
the author. Please direct questions about the information in this News 
Brief to Ms. Lowenthal at TerriAnn2K at aol.com. Please feel free to 
circulate this document to other interested individuals and 
organizations. Ms. Lowenthal is a consultant to the nonpartisan Census 
Project, organized by the Communications Consortium Media Center in 
Washington, DC. Previous Census News Briefs are posted at 
www.thecensusproject.org 
[http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102617629772&s=12&e=001mj_hpcvrJaEdVhKfns-PmffDPWGf8xnESH_faRerAvWXTnQnvkBOmHkWhCIjsd33GsDRbNwDgiH5hZ7aTuMvBXEQLB7qgRmf2zF1ZDmNStG5ZEqWJdavzg==].

-- 
Ed Christopher
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