[CTPP] CENSUS NEWS BRIEF

[Ed Christopher]

CENSUS QUESTION CONTROVERSY DELAYS 2010 FUNDING BILL FOR COMMERCE 
DEPARTMENT; FORMER DIRECTORS WARN OF "INCALCULABLE" COST AND CENSUS DELAY

* House Members urge higher Senate funding level for 2010 count

* GAO cites "noteworthy gains" in 2010 census preparations; tight 
timeframes still pose challenges

* Pew report: Philadelphia census prep lagging; cities lack resources

* Stakeholders "Rock the Count!": 'Indian Country Counts' launch; new 
toolkit available for nonprofits; and more

PROPOSAL TO ADD NEW CENSUS QUESTIONS DELAYS COMPLETION OF 2010 COMMERCE 
FUNDING BILL

Former Census Directors warn of delayed census &"incalcuable" costs; 
Vote on Vitter-Bennett amendment could come this week. The U.S. Senate 
failed to complete work last week on a massive funding bill that 
includes the Census Bureau, in large part because of controversy over an 
amendment that would require new questions on citizenship and 
immigration status in the 2010 census, according to both Democratic and 
Republican leaders. Democratic efforts to end debate on the bill failed 
earlier in the week, prompting the Majority Leader to accuse the 
amendment's primary sponsor, Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) of "injecting 
partisan politics into a debate that is already well-settled, at the 
cost of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars." Sen. Harry Reid's 
(D-NV) spokesman, Jim Hanley, said in a statement (10/15/09) that, "Most 
mainstream Americans should be offended that Senator Vitter would 
mislead the American public about the important work that the Census is 
undertaking." Sen. Vitter and Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT) filed an 
amendment to the Fiscal Year 2010 (FY2010) Commerce, Justice, and 
Science Appropriations bill (H.R. 2847) on October 7 that would cut off 
funding for the upcoming decennial count unless the Census Bureau asks 
respondents if they are U.S. citizens or in the country lawfully. The 
sponsors said their intent is to exclude undocumented residents from the 
state population totals used for congressional apportionment. (See the 
October 9, 2009 Census News Flash #78 for a full explanation of the 
amendment and its potential consequences <www.thecensusproject.org

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A procedural vote to end debate on the Commerce appropriations bill 
(called a "cloture vote") failed on Tuesday, leading Democratic leaders 
to postpone further consideration of the measure until some time this 
coming week. The Majority Leader will likely try to close debate again, 
which requires 60 votes to pass. A successful "cloture" vote could put 
an end to consideration of the Vitter-Bennett amendment if the Senate 
Parliamentarian finds the proposal in violation of chamber rules 
regarding spending bills. Failure to invoke cloture means the Senate 
would proceed to consider all pending amendments. Sen. Vitter said in a 
subsequent statement on the Senate floor that he would modify his 
amendment to require only a question on citizenship, if the proposal 
came up for a vote. The senator said he didn't believe any non-citizens 
should be counted in the census for purposes of allocating seats in 
Congress among the states, maintaining that states with smaller numbers 
of non-citizens should not be "penalized." Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE), 
chairman of the subcommittee that oversees the census, also filed an 
amendment aimed at mitigating the consequences of the Vitter-Bennett 
proposal. The Carper proposal would allow the Secretary of Commerce to 
reject any census questions that would prevent the Census Bureau from 
meeting the "constitutional mandate to count the whole number of persons 
residing in each State."

Former Census Directors weigh-in on consequences of last-minute census 
changes: Eight former Census Directors urged lawmakers not "to place a 
decade of careful and demanding preparations at risk" by adding new 
questions only months before the start of the decennial count. Appointed 
during both Republican and Democratic Administrations, the directors 
said that changing the census form now would entail redesigning and 
reformatting questionnaires, language assistance guides, and related 
materials; revising instructions and training manuals for census takers; 
rebuilding data capture and processing software; and overhauling the 
$400 billion communications campaign.

The cost of such a "massive revision," the former agency heads warned, 
is "almost incalculable." Adding untested questions to the 2010 census 
"would put the accuracy of the enumeration in all communities at risk 
and would likely delay the start of the census and all subsequent 
activities," the directors wrote in a statement issued last week.

Federal law (13 U.S.C. §141(f)) requires the Census Bureau to submit to 
Congress the topics and actual questions it plans to include in the 
census, three and two years, respectively, before Census Day. No member 
of Congress objected to the content before the Census Bureau finalized 
the 2010 forms for printing.

The former directors' letter (reissued with additional signatures on 
October 16) is available on the Census Project web site at 
www.thecensusproject.org 
[http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102769170506&s=12&e=001tuCfc2IwyVOwQstXtuu9aoP9E8qv7UK7b9xAeN67KeKvzeqS7uRwXPU20CRx3CO2zpqBqBHdgVzldBePySXs8LdvXimWo4TpEZEoYM-f_pQdy6eQxvKtFw== 
<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102769170506&s=12&e=001tuCfc2IwyVOwQstXtuu9aoP9E8qv7UK7b9xAeN67KeKvzeqS7uRwXPU20CRx3CO2zpqBqBHdgVzldBePySXs8LdvXimWo4TpEZEoYM-f_pQdy6eQxvKtFw==>].

"Late design changes" add cost and risk to census, GAO has observed: The 
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) also has warned about the 
risk of last minute changes to the census design, in reports to Congress 
over the decade. In 2004, GAO highlighted the importance of a "stable 
environment" in preparing for the census, to avoid "a repeat of the 2000 
census when disagreement over the Bureau's methodology led to late 
design changes and additional costs and risks." (Cost and Design Issues 
Need to be Addressed Soon, GAO-04-37, 1/15/04) In testimony two years 
later, congressional auditors again cautioned that the Census Bureau 
must "stay on schedule, as the census is conducted against a backdrop of 
immutable deadlines and an elaborate chain of interrelated pre- and 
post-Census Day activities are predicated upon those dates.

As Census Day approaches, the tolerance for any operational delays or 
changes becomes increasingly small." (Planning and Testing Activities 
Are Making Progress, GAO-06-465T, 3/1/06) Justice Department opinion on 
constitutional apportionment mandate unchanged over time: Despite Sen. 
Vitter's contention that many states would "lose representation from 
what they would otherwise have if illegal aliens are counted in 
congressional apportionment," the U.S. Department of Justice has 
consistently held that the Constitution requires the census to include 
"inhabitants of States who are illegal aliens," according to a September 
22, 1989, letter from Assistant Attorney General Carol T. Crawford to 
Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), then chairman of the census oversight 
subcommittee.

The department's legislative affairs chief was responding to a query 
from Chairman Bingaman regarding the constitutionality of legislation to 
exclude undocumented residents from the census for apportionment 
purposes, introduced on the eve of the 1990 count. "[W]e have found no 
basis for reversing this position," Ms. Crawford, an appointee in the 
George H.W. Bush Administration, wrote.

Stakeholders urge opposition to Vitter-Bennett amendment: Dozens of 
stakeholder organizations working to achieve an inclusive census 
expressed their strong opposition to the Vitter-Bennett amendment, 
calling the proposal "unworkable," "unconstitutional," and 
"scientifically and operationally irresponsible and risky." The 
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, chairs of the Census Bureau's 
Race and Ethnic Advisory Committees (in their private capacities), 
NAACP, MALDEF, Japanese American Citizens League, Association of Public 
Data Users, and the ACLU were among those sending letters to the Senate. 
Almost 40 organizations representing a wide range of stakeholder 
interests also objected to the amendment in a letter organized by The 
Census Project, a nonpartisan coalition of groups advocating for an 
accurate 2010 count. The National Association of Latino Elected and 
Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund issued a statement on 
Friday condemning what it said was "an unconstitutional and costly 
effort to suppress Latino participation in the decennial Census 
&lt;http://www.naleo.org/pr/pr10-16-09.html

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Senior Representatives urge House negotiators to accept higher census 
funding level: Senior members of the congressional minority caucuses, 
House Democratic leadership, and census oversight committee urged House 
appropriators to accept the higher level of funding for the Census 
Bureau included in the appropriations bill pending before the Senate, in 
anticipation of negotiations on a final bill. In a letter to Rep. Alan 
Mollohan (D-WV) and Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), chairman and ranking member, 
respectively, of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, 
Justice, and Science, eight lawmakers said the Senate-committee approved 
$7.324 billion would "best prepare the Census Bureau for the 2010 
Census.” The House of Representatives approved $7.169 billion for the 
Census Bureau, $206 million less than the agency requested, which the 
letter noted would force the agency to "reduce its Contingency Fund, 
leaving the Bureau ill-prepared to handle any unforeseen events like 
natural disasters or pandemic illnesses." The lower funding level, the 
legislators wrote, would "increase the risk of missing certain 
populations, or the risk of a major operational failure in conducting 
the 2010 Census.” Signing the letter were Reps. Mike Honda (D-CA), Steny 
Hoyer (D-MD), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), William Lacy Clay (D-MO), Ed Towns 
(D-NY), Jose Serrano (D-NY), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), and Charles Gonzalez 
(D-TX).

After the Senate passes the appropriations measure, a House-Senate 
conference committee must iron out differences between the two versions 
of the bill. The Census Bureau and most other federal departments and 
agencies are currently operating under a short-term Continuing Funding 
Resolution, which expires on October 31.

GAO FINDS "REMARKABLE PROGRESS" IN READINESS FOR 2010, BUT "SMALL 
SETBACKS" COULD SPELL BIG PROBLEMS Congressional auditors said the 
Census Bureau has made "noteworthy progress in mitigating risks and 
keeping the decennial on track," pointing to improved IT systems 
management and testing and completion of last spring's address 
canvassing operation ahead of schedule. In testimony before the Senate 
Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, 
Federal Services, and International Security on October 7, GAO Director 
of Strategic Issues Robert Goldenkoff also observed that the "2010 
census remains a high risk area" because of tight timeframes for 
remaining work and "inherent uncertainties," including the public's 
willingness to cooperate. "[T]here are no timeouts, no do-overs, and no 
reset buttons" at this stage of the process, Mr. Goldenkoff emphasized.

Mr. Goldenkoff noted progress in end-to-end testing of data control and 
processing systems but said the short amount of time remaining will make 
it difficult for the Census Bureau to complete all recommended 
evaluation of key systems.

The agency's 2008 decision to revert to a paper-based follow-up 
operation for unresponsive households led to late deployment of a system 
to track the enumeration's progress. GAO also monitored the spring 2009 
address canvassing, which auditors said most local census offices 
finished ahead of schedule because of "prompt resolution" of problems 
with GPS-equipped handheld computers and lower-than-expected attrition 
rates and more available work hours on the part of address listers.

Preliminary evalulations show that the address verification work added 
17 million addresses, marked 21 million for deletion (for example, a 
nonexistent address), and identified 4.5 million duplicate addresses on 
the original Master Address File of 141.8 million housing units, 
according to GAO. The early figures do not represent final actions taken 
with regard to the address list, as Census Bureau staff must review all 
possible changes to the list, and some local governments will have a 
final opportunity to appeal proposed modifications before the census 
starts. Mr. Goldenkoff noted, however, that the Census Bureau exceeded 
its estimated cost for address canvassing by 25 percent, or $88 million, 
bringing the total price tag to $444 million.

Fingerprinting of temporary employees for address canvassing was 
"problematic," GAO reported in its testimony, primarily due to 
unclassifiable prints that the FBI could not process. About 35,700 
workers -- 22 percent of the 162,000 address list employees -- had 
unclassifiable prints, which GAO said was likely due to inadequate 
training and work environments for census staff tasked with obtaining 
fingerprints. The nearly 36,000 workers whose prints could not be 
processed were hired based on a name background check only, "consistent 
with FBI guidance." GAO said readable fingerprint checks identified 
about 1,800 applicants (1.1 percent of total hires) with criminal 
records that were not revealed by the name background check.

Census Director Robert Groves and Commerce Department Inspector General 
Todd Zinser also testified at the hearing to review the status of 2010 
census preparations. A full set of testimony and statements is available 
on the subcommittee's web site at 
http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=2b916175-78ba-4673-ae82-0b1e5b6dd4ac 
<http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=2b916175-78ba-4673-ae82-0b1e5b6dd4ac>

[http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102769170506&s=12&e=001tuCfc2IwyVOqTK6xgHF_TEj80DKFFyVgclKEGbHeqPQW6PraR6dqiyaFKf8zraoVbsxkOr3mOZC1mdEFjUR-3JhKu5T_s2f5fQwhrY8L3KokWHd-s3Bd7FiCC93jCpNbbnFf8wvxMUIXZOwsb2-YTr6_MguQ8TZKPhTVH3ZBxVpg2sOHoy5UL7H4Zz0tJyj4CPbNrAJ2eiKogxNKODkt7WuGolNPe7mSXEaGCNt03_S7vxiisbn8iA== 
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(We will report in more detail on the Inspector General's ongoing 
monitoring and evaluation of 2010 census operations in a future Census 
News Brief

NEW REPORT FINDS MAJOR CITIES LACK RESOURCES FOR CENSUS PREPARATIONS 
PHILADELPHIA LAGS BEHIND OTHER LARGE MUNICIPALITIES Compared to 2000, 
many major U.S. cities have fewer resources to promote the 2010 census, 
and Philadelphia is less prepared than most to mount an effective 2010 
census campaign, according to a new report from The Pew Charitable Trusts'

Philadelphia Research Initiative. "Preparing for the 2010 Census: How 
Philadelphia and Other Cities Are Struggling and Why It Matters," 
examined preparations for the upcoming decennial count in eleven major 
cities, including the nation's six largest and five others with 
similarities to Philadelphia.

Almost all of the cities studied are devoting less money and fewer staff 
resources to promote the 2010 census than they did for Census 2000, the 
study found, leaving the municipalities to rely more on unpaid 
volunteers and community-based organizing. For example, Philadelphia, 
which committed $200,000 and raised an additional $165,000 from private 
donations to promote the 2000 count, has not appropriated public funds 
specifically for 2010 census activities; it will rely instead on 
existing resources and staff. Some local philanthropies, including the 
William Penn Foundation, are supporting the effort, as well.

Author Thomas Ginsburg, the Philadelphia Research Initiative's project 
manager, said in a statement that census preparations at the local level 
are important, "with very real ramifications that will be felt for the 
next 10 years." On the positive side, the researchers found, all of the 
cities studied are participating in key technical programs to lay the 
groundwork for the enumeration, most notably to help the Census Bureau 
ensure a comprehensive address list for mailing questionnaires and 
visiting unresponsive households. The Pew report is available on-line at 
http://www.pewtrusts.org/our_work_report_detail.aspx?id=55390

[http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102769170506&s=12&e=001tuCfc2IwyVMMciRtrdrKT1b4A2wFZQu_mXxT7itd4M7BNgrkOrnuMFvAUgKRElA3o3JtUurC1H3ZD4nWUTc-C2fuC0jvcBazRaCkIQ1Lt1guWSAThrH0zJAaWsyfCPpi5inlpPKTNM6Jn-O9Xe-2jc8LBwzm0wLziNj2jqHdllY= 
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STAKEHOLDERS "ROCK THE COUNT!"

American Indian leaders, Census Bureau launch full count campaign:

Census Director Robert Groves joined leaders of the National Congress of 
American Indians (NCAI) in launching "Indian Country Counts," a campaign 
to promote the importance of census participation among American Indians 
and Alaska Natives. NCAI President Joe Garcia said census population 
numbers "will affect policy and human service programs for Native 
communities for generations to come" and that an accurate count of 
Indians is an important step "on the path to regaining our economic, 
social, and governmental strength as Native people."

At the October 12 event announcing the campaign, Dr. Groves signed a 
reaffirmation of the Census Bureau's first American Indian and Alaska 
Native Policy statement, saying the agency has a "very strong campaign 
to reach and inspire American Indians and Alaska Natives to participate 
in the census." NCAI, a member of the Census Bureau's 2010 Census 
Advisory Committee, is the nation's "oldest and largest organization 
representing tribal governments." Other Native organizations supporting 
the "Indian Country Counts" campaign include the National American 
Indian Housing Council, National Indian Health Board, National Indian 
Child Welfare Association, and National Council on Urban Indian Health. 
Leaders of these groups noted the importance of accurate census data to 
address issues such as overcrowded housing, substance abuse and 
diabetes, and family and youth support programs.

Go to http://www.indiancountrycounts.org/splash.cfm

[http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102769170506&s=12&e=001tuCfc2IwyVOuab7T2meGam8R192U-Lql2yGyF9eGFKn_Tv35Nc2eH3TBwVZyNoLHEihHUN1G5IdWW0FUByYMOYnQWJf3NM8sjbrk2DWIyP_R6bwY1wJE6KDHHMSeU5Bn0Lcs9w5sKUw= 
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for more information on the "Indian Country Counts" campaign.

New toolkit available for nonprofits supporting the census: The 
Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network's NONPROFITS COUNT campaign has 
prepared a free toolkit to help organizations educate their 
constituencies about the importance of the 2010 census and promote 
participation. The toolkit features fact sheets in English and Spanish; 
sample questionnaires in seven languages; information about uses of 
census data; and multimedia resources. Nonprofits may order the toolkit 
on-line at www.nonprofitscount.org 
[http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102769170506&s=12&e=001tuCfc2IwyVNljk7-LfPDP6aoQkDl68AaeFjzj4oYNE0pJfzeRSga04CR16FdtaGOvdzhl9pF4keNoBdFUEIzEr1Vz4Z-26DhWAJM935Bk-kb4H1YIFTyFA== 
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Civil rights coalition running census ads in buses: The Leadership 
Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) Education Fund launched a series of 
public service announcements on buses in six cities to educate residents 
about the upcoming 2010 census. LCCR President Wade Henderson noted that 
census information determines the allocation of more than $400 billion 
annually for health care, education, transportation, and other community 
services. The ads, running from October 5 - December 27 in Atlanta, 
Detroit, Milwaukee, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Seattle, highlight 
how an accurate census helps ensure equal representation and equal 
access to government resources for all communities. Some PSAs are 
translated into Spanish and Chinese.

New York State Senate launches 2010 census web site: The State Senate 
launched a web site to "help ensure all New Yorkers will be counted," 
according to a press release announcing the "Count Me In" campaign for 
the 2010 census. Senate Democratic leaders highlighted the use of census 
data in decision-making affecting jobs, schools, hospitals, health care, 
and affordable housing. Visit www.nysenate.gov/Census 
[http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102769170506&s=12&e=001tuCfc2IwyVOJLk3D3vUU_fZEAkw6tgYpeURlQ5zdyL8PNOc5CVt1b_7bx5bDJaPNKUnTKnI4ovs3hjGQd-_eF-nrW9aI0KCQu7El-fcXjUk_BiKfKrGuGg== 
<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102769170506&s=12&e=001tuCfc2IwyVOJLk3D3vUU_fZEAkw6tgYpeURlQ5zdyL8PNOc5CVt1b_7bx5bDJaPNKUnTKnI4ovs3hjGQd-_eF-nrW9aI0KCQu7El-fcXjUk_BiKfKrGuGg==>]

for information on the campaign.

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=1102769170506&s=12&e=001tuCfc2IwyVOwQstXtuu9aoP9E8qv7UK7b9xAeN67KeKvzeqS7uRwXPU20CRx3CO2zpqBqBHdgVzldBePySXs8LdvXimWo4TpEZEoYM-f_pQdy6eQxvKtFw== 
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