[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 50 (Wednesday, April 29, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3792-S3793]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 92--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS WITH 
   RESPECT TO THE COLLECTION OF DATA AS A PART OF THE 2000 DECENNIAL 
                                 CENSUS

  Mr. TORRICELLI (for himself and Mr. D'Amato) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Governmental Affairs:

                            S. Con. Res. 92

         
       Whereas the decennial census of population is the only 
     source of accurate, reliable, and comparable information on 
     the demographic, social, and economic characteristics of the 
     people of the United States and the communities in which they 
     live, for all geographic levels, including rural areas and 
     census tracts;
       Whereas the Bureau of the Census, in response to a mandate 
     from Congress to reduce the reporting burden on the residents 
     of the United States, has proposed to include on the long-
     form census questionnaire only those subjects that have 
     specific Federal legislative justification;
       Whereas the demographic and socioeconomic data collected in 
     the decennial census helps policymakers assess population 
     changes, housing conditions, ancestry, and other patterns of 
     mobility and achievement for different regions and 
     governmental jurisdictions, as well as for different 
     population subgroups;
       Whereas independent analysis by a panel convened by the 
     National Academy of Sciences determined that there are 
     essential public needs for information gathered by the long 
     form and that the extra cost of the census long form, once 
     the census has been designed to collect limited data for 
     every resident, is relatively low;
       Whereas the National Academy of Sciences has concluded that 
     the long form does not significantly affect the overall mail 
     response rate to the census;
       Whereas independent analyses of the decennial census have 
     found that the long form does not increase the undercount in 
     the census or the differential undercount of racial,

[[Page S3793]]

     ethnic, and low-income populations to any significant extent;
       Whereas administering a traditional long form at a later 
     point in time, instead of as part of the 2000 decennial 
     census of population, would substantially increase the cost 
     of collecting the data, place the quality of the data at 
     risk, and jeopardize the availability of reliable and timely 
     data for rural and small geographic areas;
       Whereas the General Accounting Office has found that over 
     $170,000,000,000 in Federal program funds are distributed 
     each year to State and local governments on the basis of data 
     collected in the census, including data available only from 
     the long form; and
       Whereas the collection of demographic, socioeconomic, 
     housing, and transportation data on the long form in the 2000 
     decennial census of population is supported by Federal, 
     State, and local government officials and agencies, service 
     providers, researchers, and other social scientists who help 
     chart the direction of the United States, private sector 
     decisionmakers, and many other census stakeholders, as well 
     as by a panel convened by the National Academy of Sciences at 
     the direction of Congress: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring),

     SECTION 1. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Commerce 
     should ensure that--
       (1) the 2000 decennial census of population include the 
     administration of a long-form census questionnaire;
       (2) the content of the long-form census questionnaire 
     include, at a minimum, the subjects sent to Congress by the 
     Bureau of the Census on March 31, 1997, in accordance with 
     section 141(f)(1) of title 13, United States Code; and
       (3) a sufficient number of households received the long-
     form census questionnaire to ensure the availability of 
     reliable data for small geographic areas, including rural 
     communities.

     SEC. 2. TRANSMISSION TO THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.

       The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit a copy of this 
     concurrent resolution to the Secretary of Commerce.

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