[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 82 (Monday, June 22, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H4952-H4953]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     EXPRESSING CONCERN REGARDING STATEMENT OF DR. THOMAS HOFELLER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Blunt). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my 
concern for statements attributed to Dr. Thomas Hofeller, the staff 
director of the Subcommittee on the Census. Dr. Hofeller's comments 
appeared in David Broder's column in the Washington Post yesterday 
entitled ``Playing Hard Ball on the Census.''
  In the article, Mr. Hofeller is supposed to have suggested that 
``Someone should remind Secretary Bill Daley that if he counts people 
the way he wants to by using sampling, his brother, Chicago's Mayor 
Richard M. Daley, could find himself trying to run a majority-minority 
city.''
  I am not exactly sure what that means, but if these remarks are 
correctly attributed to the head of the staff of the Subcommittee on 
the Census, then I am concerned, because I find them to be 
reprehensible, deplorable, irresponsible, offensive, and yes, even 
race-laden.
  These comments give Americans a real glimpse at some of the rationale 
behind not using sampling techniques. The comments by Dr. Hofeller 
suggests that if we do the Census the way the National Academy of 
Sciences and other professional organizations have suggested that we do 
it, then someone in some places will not like the results, because 
minorities in some instances will become the majority.
  These vile comments seem designed to put fear in the hearts and minds 
of non-minority Americans. The comments divide, rather than unite, at a 
time when we should be coming together as one America.
  In addition, what is more troubling is the fact that the comments 
expressed do not concern themselves with a fair and accurate Census, 
which should be the goal of every American.
  Mr. Hofeller's remarks, if true, suggest that we should continue the 
pattern of undercounting African Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanics, 
the poor, and other minorities. His comments indicate that a fair and 
accurate census could shift the composition of people in Chicago and 
other places throughout the country.
  What we are dealing with is the fact that there has been a serious 
undercount of minorities in this country since the first census was 
taken in 1790. In Chicago during the last census, over 68,000 people 
were missed. As a result of being missed, millions of dollars in 
Federal funds were lost. Residents in Chicago were short-changed. 
Communities throughout the country who were undercounted were short-
changed on resources and funds for social services, transit, and 
education alike.
  The reality is that the census should in fact be about a fair and 
accurate count; nothing more, nothing less. Let us get down with the 
rhetoric of politics and talk about the real deal, which is counting 
the American people.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee of Texas) is recognized for 5 
minutes.

[[Page H4953]]

  (Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, addressed the House. Her 
remarks will appear hereafter in the Extension of Remarks.)

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