[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 152 (Thursday, November 12, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2317]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 4328, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND 
               RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1999

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. LOUIS STOKES

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 12, 1998

  Mr. STOKES. Mr. Speaker, while I support the Omnibus Appropriations 
Act of 1999, I am very concerned about a provision in the bill that 
only provides funding for the Departments of Commerce, Justice and 
State through July 15th; thereby delaying Congress' decision on 
statistical sampling in the 2000 census until the Supreme Court rules 
on the legality and constitutionality of this method. I am not 
comfortable with this. It is yet another Republican-led effort to 
ensure that all Americans are not counted in the 2000 census.
  For quite some time, we have been engaged in what has become a bitter 
fight over the use of statistician sampling. How we choose to handle 
the year 2000 census is one of the most important issues facing State 
and local communities across the Nation. In fact, it is an issue of 
fundamental fairness and basic economics. With the year 2000 census 
upon us, we cannot afford to further delay the implementation of the 
most effective means of counting the U.S. population.
  The census count is a constitutional requirement for reapportioning 
the House of Representatives. It is also used to: determine the 
allocation of billions of taxpayer dollars to States and localities; 
determine within-State legislative redistricting; make decisions 
regarding the administration of various Federal programs; and compile 
many kinds of economical and statistical research.
  Statisticians across the Nation have already indicated widespread 
support of sampling as the most scientifically accurate and cost-
effective census enumeration method. In fact, in 1991, a 
congressionally mandated National Academy of Sciences panel of 
nationally recognized experts supported this conclusion by stating that 
a ``Differential undercount cannot be reduced to acceptable levels at 
acceptable costs without the use of integrated coverage measurement and 
the statistical methods associated with it.''
  A second panel of experts confirmed these findings, in 1992 and 1996, 
when it further determined that sampling is critical to the success of 
the 2000 census. There is no other way to avoid the mistakes of the 
past.
  Speaking of the past, it is a well known fact that the 1990 census, 
which cost a recorded $2.6 billion, repeated a disturbing trend of 
disproportionately missing higher numbers of minorities than non-
minorities in the census enumeration. For the first time in history, 
this most recent census was less accurate than the preceding one. In 
fact, the 1990 census undercount is estimated to have been 33 percent 
greater than that of the 1980 census. Four times as many blacks, 5 
times as many Hispanics, 2 times as many Asians and Pacific Islanders, 
and 5 times as many American Indians as non-Hispanic whites were missed 
in the count. This resulted in greater expenditures for non-response 
follow-up.
  Mr. Speaker, we cannot afford the consequences of another inaccurate 
census. We have scientific proof that sampling is the only method of 
ensuring that the 2000 census is fair and accurate and that it is 
inclusive of all Americans. If we do not utilize sampling techniques, 
we can expect an undercount of at least five million people, the 
majority of whom will be children, minorities and the urban and rural 
poor. We can also expect to waste valuable taxpayer dollars. For 
according to the U.S. Census Bureau, a year 2000 census that 
incorporates sampling surveys would save from nearly $675 million to 
$800 million.
  It is for these reasons that I urge my colleagues not to hesitate to 
do what is right. We must not forgo the cost effectiveness and accuracy 
of statistical sampling.

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