[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 68 (Wednesday, May 12, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H3079-H3084]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            THE 2000 CENSUS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 1999, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gonzalez) is recognized 
for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. GONZALEZ. Mr. Speaker, it is a great privilege tonight to address 
a very important matter that seems to have been forgotten with the 
current crisis in Kosovo and some of the pressing matters before the 
Congress. That is the Census. Today is May 12, 1999. We are just 10 
months and 19 days away from the official beginning of the 2000 Census.
  Article 1, Section 2 of the United States Constitution requires the 
Census to be conducted every 10 years for the purpose of reapportioning 
seats in Congress among the States. Since the Supreme Court's decision 
in 1962, one man-one vote, the ruling in Baker versus Carr, censure 
data has also been used for redrawing legislative boundaries to seek 
equal population and fair representation in each legislative district.
  This country has come a long way since the first Census was conducted 
in 1790. Back then there were no address lists, no maps, not even a 
mailout questionnaire. Instead, the U.S. Marshals traveled on horseback 
as they individually counted the population of the original 13 States.
  The 2000 Census will be the 22nd national census, and it will be the 
largest peacetime mobilization in the United States since the Great 
Depression. The 2000 Census will consist of counting 275 million United 
States residents at 120 million households, more than half a million 
Census takers, 500 local Census offices, with 12 regional Census 
centers and four data processing centers, 500 local area networks with 
6,000 personal computers, 8 million maps, 79 million questionnaires, 
and 8 to 9 million blocks across the country.
  With the annual fate of $180 billion Federal dollars resting on the 
accuracy of the 2000 Census, the importance of this historic 
undertaking is all too clear. The 1990 Census 10 years ago resulted in 
26 million errors. Thirteen million people were counted in the wrong 
place, 4.4 million people were counted twice, and 8.4 million were 
missed. The majority of those that were missed were poor people, 
children, and minorities.
  The national net undercount was 1.6 percent of the total population. 
That is 4 million Americans, 4 million people, who simply did not 
count. Minorities were undercounted at levels considerably above the 
national average. Five percent of Hispanics were missed, 4.5 percent of 
American Indians, 4.4 percent of African Americans, and 2.3 percent of 
Asian and Pacific Islanders were not counted.
  Even more unfortunate is the fact that children were missed nearly 
twice as often as adults, and again, minority children had the highest 
undercounts, and later we will discuss the repercussions.
  We cannot and should not allow this to happen again. That is why I 
agree with President Clinton, that improving the Census should not be a 
partisan issue. It is not about politics, it is about people. It is 
about making sure that every American really, literally counts.
  We must support the Census Bureau and its plan to incorporate the use 
of modern scientific methods and an aggressive enumeration process to 
provide the most accurate count possible. Otherwise, the voiceless will 
continue to have no voice in this country, the unrepresented will 
continue to be unrepresented, and the American dream will remain just 
that, just a dream, never a reality, for those who are not counted.
  Joining me tonight in this effort is my neighbor and my colleague, 
and my good friend, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Ciro Rodriguez). I 
yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Rodriguez).
  Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much for 
yielding to me. It is a pleasure to be with him tonight. I want to 
congratulate him on his efforts as we move forward on this important 
issue.
  As the gentleman well indicated, we recognize that every 10 years 
this country has an obligation to make sure that everyone gets counted. 
I want to share with the Members in terms of where we find ourselves 
now.
  The gentleman from Illinois (Speaker Hastert) recently submitted a 
proposal that indicated that he wanted to move forward on the Census 
and to let the courts resolve the remaining issues.
  Why should we let the courts resolve the issues? I was real pleased 
to see Democratic leader, the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Gephardt) 
offer a counterproposal that includes three components of a compromise 
on the Census. I want to share these three components.
  The first one is to completely lift the current June 15 cutoff of 
funding for 1999, Commerce, Justice, State appropriations at the 
earliest possible opportunity. We need to allow this agency to move 
forward. For us to cut the funding on June 15 is going to have a 
detrimental effect on the Census and being able to do an accurate 
Census, thereby allowing full funding for the rest of the fiscal year. 
It is only the most appropriate thing we can do.
  Secondly, we should provide full funding for the year 2000 Census 
Bureau activities within the normal 2000 Commerce-Justice-State 
appropriations process without limiting or any other conditions. We 
should not wait on the court. We have an obligation to do the count as 
quickly as possible and as accurately as possible.

[[Page H3080]]

  Thirdly, to also incorporate into a single compromise authorization 
bill those elements of the act, which is the America Counts Today, and 
initiatives proposed by Republicans that are consistent with what the 
Census Bureau has determined is necessary to conduct an accurate and 
complete 2000 Census. So it becomes important that we do not play 
politics with the Census, and that we make sure that everyone gets 
counted in the process.
  Members heard earlier the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gonzalez) 
indicate the disparities that occurred in the 1990 Census and how 
individuals were left behind. As a direct result of this undercount, 
many individuals were effectively denied government representation and 
many communities were adversely affected on Federal and State resources 
by schools, crime prevention, health care, and transportation.
  One of the things that we need to recognize is that the count, the 
2000 count, just like the 1990 count, is utilized for the purposes of 
distribution of resources, as well as reapportionment and determination 
of the number of Congressmen, for example, that each of the States will 
entail.
  Based on projections now, Texas has indicated we might have up to two 
additional Congressmen. If we look at an appropriate count, and if we 
look at the number that we lost last time, there is a possibility that 
we might even get a third congressman. Texas was the one that had one 
of the highest figures of individuals that were undercounted, so it 
becomes really important for us to recognize the importance of this 
issue.
  I also want to take this opportunity to appeal to the churches, the 
organizations, the neighborhood groups, the PTAs, the schools, the 
advocacy groups, to participate, to make sure that everyone gets 
counted as we move forward to the year 2000.

  All of the groups and a lot of the experts that we have have 
indicated the importance of utilizing the most advanced methods to 
assure that this count can be the most accurate. If we do not utilize 
those methods, then we are bound to have even a worse situation before 
us than we had in the 1990s.
  I want to share a couple of quotes. One comes from the Report of the 
Panel on Census Requirements in the Year 2000 and Beyond, Committee on 
National Statistics. This is the National Academy of Sciences.
  They are quoted as saying: ``Physical enumeration or pure 'counting' 
has been pushed well beyond the point at which it adds to the overall 
accuracy of the census. . . Techniques of statistical estimation can be 
used, in combination with the mail questionnaire and reduced scale of 
follow-up of nonrespondents, to produce a better census at reduced 
costs.''
  Remember, this sampling only occurs in those areas where, after 
everyone has had an opportunity to receive the mail and be able to 
respond, these are the areas of the nonrespondents, where they have a 
process of calling them, of visiting them, and continuing to visit 
them, and then doing a sample.
  One of the things that I also want to mention, of the undercount, one 
of the biggest populations that is undercounted is children. So in 
those areas, especially urban areas and rural areas that are poor 
areas, usually they are the ones that are undercounted.
  In areas of people that are a little more wealthy, that have several 
households, usually we have an overcount there, so there is a need for 
estimates and statistical data to be used in order to get a more 
accurate count.
  Grassroot campaigns need to be undertaken to make sure we educate 
everyone in this process, but we as a Congress have an obligation to 
move now, before June 15, to make sure that we fund it appropriately. 
Not to move now is negligent on our part. To wait for the courts to 
make a decision, they did not elect us for that purpose. They elected 
us to make the decisions as we see fit, and to do the right thing. That 
is to move forward on the year 2000.

                              {time}  2030

  I want to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gonzalez) for allowing 
me to make a few comments today on this very key issue that has an 
impact on everyone, not only just for some individuals but the entire 
community and the entire United States.
  This particular issue of the 2000 Census once again has an impact on 
the number of resources that come into the community, the 
representation that we get, and also in terms of the redistricting that 
occurs.
  Mr. GONZALEZ. Mr. Speaker, I also wish to point out something that 
the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Rodriguez) touched on, and that is that 
numerous organizations support the Census Bureau's plan to utilize the 
modern scientific method. These are proven, reliable means.
  Some of these organizations are as follows: the Leadership Conference 
on Civil Rights, the National Association of Latino Elected Officials, 
the Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund, the Rainbow Push Coalition, 
the NAACP, the National Puerto Rican Coalition, the National Congress 
of American Indians, the America Federation of Teachers, the National 
Education Agency, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Asian Pacific 
American Labor Alliance, the National Council of Senior Citizens, and 
many more organizations recognize the importance of an accurate census. 
Of course, they are making their voices heard.
  Congress, by the same token, has a duty and obligation to listen to 
all of the people and these organizations.
  I am glad that, again, we have another voice that is sounding loud 
and clear, and that is the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Reyes).
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Reyes).
  Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding 
to me.
  Mr. Speaker, the census should not be a political game. The census 
should not be used as a political football to decide who is up and who 
is down. The stakes are too high in this issue.
  As we all know, the census is the basis for almost all demographic 
information about the United States. Our government uses census data to 
decide which local communities need Federal funding for WIC, Head 
Start, Safe and Drug Free school funding, Medicaid, and other important 
programs.
  Each of our communities will be hurt if there is an unfair and 
inaccurate census. Equally important, minorities across the Nation will 
be hurt by an inaccurate and unfair census.
  In my State of Texas, 486,028 people were not counted in the last 
census. This undercount cost the State of Texas more than $934 million 
in Federal funds alone. My district, El Paso County, had an undercount 
of more than 25,000 and perhaps as high as 40,000 people that were not 
counted. Nationwide, my congressional district ranks 17th out of all 
the congressional districts which were undercounted.
  As we have heard many times, the 1990 census, which used the 
conventional head count method, missed over 8 million people. Mr. 
Speaker, over 8 million people were missed in the last census; 4.4 
percent of African Americans, 5 percent of Hispanic, 4.5 percent of 
Native Americans, 2.3 percent of Asian Americans, and 3.2 percent of 
children were missed in the last census.
  Democrats want a fair, accurate, and complete census that counts 
everyone. To accomplish this, Democrats, the scientific community, and 
the Census Bureau favor using both the conventional head count method 
and the modern scientific method of statistical sampling in the 2000 
Census.
  It appears, however, that Republicans do not want an accurate census. 
They seem to be worried that it will endanger a fragile majority in 
Congress.
  As I have said earlier, the census is too important to be used as a 
political football. This should not be a Democrat versus Republican 
issue.
  Experts support the use of sampling. The National Academy of Sciences 
recently released the first report from the fourth panel to review the 
Census Bureau's plans for the 2000 Census. Once again, the experts 
convened by the Academy endorse the Census Bureau's plan to use 
scientific evaluation and to provide a correct census as a basis for 
their counts.
  Mr. Speaker, it is time that we stop playing games and start taking 
care of those who need an accurate count, those in Texas, New Mexico, 
Arizona, and California. It has become common knowledge that those 
communities that suffer most are those communities along our border. We 
owe all Americans this basic right to be counted in the next census.

[[Page H3081]]

  Mr. GONZALEZ. Mr. Speaker, we keep going back to the undercount, and 
it is quite serious for certain States more so than others, but this is 
an American problem because we are talking about Americans not being 
counted, and we are talking about individuals not being represented.
  It is not just Texas, though I am going to dwell on Texas a little 
longer since I am from San Antonio and it has impacted my community 
more so than many others. But it is Arizona. The 1990 census missed 
more than 89,000 people in Arizona. In Florida, they missed 258,900 
people. In New York, 271,500 people. California, 834,000 people were 
missed.
  In a minute, I will tell my colleagues why that is so important, 
which has already been touched on by my colleagues. But let me go ahead 
and expand a little bit on some of the specifics.
  The 1990 census resulted in an undercount of 482,000 Texans. Texas 
trailed only California as the State with the highest undercount. Of 
those 382,000 missed individuals, 228,300 children were missed in 
Texas. In my hometown of San Antonio, there were 38,100 people missed. 
Nearly half, 16,600 of those were children. That is enough, a number of 
children, to fill 29 schools with a total of 1,042 teachers. That is in 
San Antonio alone.
  If we estimate as $650 in Federal resources annually per child, San 
Antonio unjustly lost $10,790,000 that should have gone to educate our 
children. We keep talking about money; and people say, oh, is this just 
about money? Maybe it is, in large measure. What is so unfair about 
that?
  These are our tax dollars that flow from San Antonio, that flow from 
the State of Texas to the Federal Government. The Federal Government 
then devises a method of which they then allocate back to the States 
and to the cities. But if they are not counting us, we will never get 
what is justly ours. It is our contribution. This is what we should be 
getting back from the Federal Government as an investment in what we 
have put out.
  The 1990 undercount cost Texas $1 billion in Federal funds. If the 
2000 Census results in an equally unfair count, Texas stands to lose an 
additional $2.18 billion in population-based Federal funds. This is 
simply not fair to Texans. It is not fair to San Antonians. Beyond 
that, it is not fair to our children.
  I keep saying Texans and San Antonians, but it really is all 
Americans. This is not a country that should, for whatever reason, 
whether we attribute it to political gain or to extract some sort of 
political advantage, that we should elevate that to the cost and the 
expense of educating our children, also funds for hospitals, for 
medical care, for our farmers, for our ranchers. It goes on and on.

  I will be happy in a minute to highlight and explain to my colleagues 
how census figures translate to proportional amounts of money being 
deprived of those individuals who actually contribute to the Federal 
Government.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from San Antonio, Texas (Mr. 
Rodriguez) to engage in a dialogue. I know I have gone over some points 
especially when it comes to children. I know how dedicated the 
gentleman is to education and education issues. I am aware that the 
gentleman taught for over 10 years. He was an educator. I am also aware 
that his wife is also an educator.
  Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gonzalez) 
is right. I have been an educator. I taught at Our Lady of the Lake 
University at the university level. My wife teaches first grade.
  One of the key things to remember is that the census did not count 
the largest number of youngsters that were missed, that were the 
students and those youngsters. When we look at the amount of resources 
that come in based on what they call ADA, Average Daily Attendance, and 
other figures, they utilize the population figures to determine some 
resources for those areas. So if those youngsters are not counted, then 
we lose out on that, those resources that would go directly to those 
individuals in the form of access to health care, in the form of access 
to education, in the form of access to extracurricular types of 
programs that youngsters can participate in.
  Let me just share, what is at question is the whole concept of trying 
to do the most accurate, complete 2000 Census. That should be our 
objective. I know the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gonzalez) would agree 
with me that that is what we need to do, to make sure everyone gets 
counted.
  We also recognize, and all the people that have been involved in it, 
from the Academy of Science to all, they recognize that there is a need 
to use sampling and statistical method to determine that.
  The Carter administration, the Bush administration, the Clinton 
administration all concluded that the Constitution permits the use of 
sampling and other methods or statistical methods as part of the 
census. They utilized that in the past.
  In addition, one of the other things that is also important is that 
all courts that have considered the question have concluded that the 
Census Bureau may use sampling and other statistical methods to prove 
the accuracy and good faith and direct accounting of individuals.
  Again, what is at question is to make sure that everyone gets counted 
and as accurately as possible. What the fight seems to be all about is 
politics and trying to determine that maybe certain States should not 
get as many congressmen as they are getting, to determine whether 
certain areas, as we draw the lines for the year 2000, as we draw the 
lines for every congressional district and all the other elected 
officials' districts, that that population utilization, if it is the 
areas that are poor areas that do not get counted, then those areas are 
going to be over-represented in comparison to some of the other areas 
that have some of the more middle to upper income brackets, so that we 
will have congressional districts that will be way over the population 
figures than some of the others.
  So that will create a disparity, not only in terms of representation, 
but a disparity as it deals with the funding. So the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Gonzalez) has hit it right on the nail in terms of the fact 
that we need to make sure that we get the appropriate consensus.
  Now the other thing that really we need to bring to light is the fact 
that we should not drag our feet, and we should be funding the census 
now. We should not be waiting and try to just fund them the next 6 
months and the next 6 months, because that is creating some real 
serious problems; and that is definitely going to have an impact on 
whether we do a good job or not. I know the gentleman from Texas would 
agree with me.
  The Census Bureau has been moving to try to streamline. In fact, we 
have been told that, for the Year 2000, the standard census form will 
be the shortest in 150 years. So they are already trying to streamline 
it to make it simpler. It will only have six questions. So that becomes 
important. Each individual is going to be getting that.
  Where we have the difficulty is the nonrespondents. When we talk 
about the census, everything that we have done in the past, and that is 
the direct mail, the follow-up, the calls, the visits to those 
household that are nonrespondent, all that is going to be done.
  But when all that is said and done, one of the key things is that we 
still had a problem in the 1990 census, and we want to make sure that 
we try to correct that as much as possible. That is why the statistical 
sampling is one of the areas that we need to make sure that is utilized 
so that we can get a more accurate count. I know that the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Gonzalez) would agree with me.
  Mr. GONZALEZ. Mr. Speaker, that is the important thing about this 
whole debate. We debated in the past in this Chamber on the floor here, 
and I do not think we have ever had a legitimate debate questioning the 
methodology that is to be utilized by the Census Bureau. This is a 
methodology that has been endorsed, accepted, approved, certified by 
the National Academy of Science.
  It is not a question of legitimacy of the application of the methods. 
No one is really going to be attacking that. The reason they are not 
going to is because they surely will adopt it and want to use it in 
other areas. It is not a legitimate, well-founded and valid argument. 
So my colleagues are not going to hear that.

[[Page H3082]]

  What it really comes down to, and I know that the American people 
would like to think there are certain issues that rise above political 
considerations. Kosovo is one of them, and it is important to us. It is 
not a Democratic issue, and it is not a Republican issue. The census is 
one when we are talking about the lives, the well-being, the quality of 
life, a standard of living for all Americans. It is not Republican. It 
is not Democratic. It is a people issue.

                              {time}  2045

  It is a people issue, and we should not do harm and injustice to it 
by somehow politicizing it and extracting partisan advantage, or 
perceived partisan advantage, because I do not believe that there 
really is any partisan advantage to either kind of fight on some of 
these issues, and the census does not lend itself to it.
  Over and above the methodology that is going to be utilized by the 
Census Bureau, I also wish to touch on the community outreach, what the 
Census Bureau is doing to engage local communities, to gain the input 
of the local governments to assist them in making sure we have an 
accurate count early on. Because as the gentleman has indicated, if we 
drag our feet on this we cannot meet the certain deadlines. We will not 
have an accurate census count.
  So I do want to go over some of the partnerships. Many of these 
effective partnerships have already been established with the Census 
Bureau and the following organizations. The American Association of 
Retired Persons, the Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund, the National 
Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the National 
Congress of American Indians, the National League of Cities, and dozens 
more have joined forces with the Census Bureau and other cities' 
governments across the Nation to educate people about the census.
  This year the Census Bureau is looking to build upon the success of 
its previous partnership programs. Just last week the Census Bureau 
announced its partnership with Goodwill Industries, a national 
nonprofit organization who trained 320,000 people last year. Goodwill 
Industries has become known for training and placing former welfare 
recipients that will now assist the Census Bureau in its efforts to 
hire and train some of the nearly 850,000 census workers needed to 
conduct the 2000 Census.
  We all need to work to assist the Census Bureau in establishing these 
partnerships with governments, organizations and businesses in our own 
districts. There is more to this effort by the Census Bureau, and I 
commend the Census Bureau for going out there in their outreach effort. 
There is also what is referred to as Census in the Schools, and it is a 
project that will strive to educate students about the census, its 
importance to them, their education, their families and their 
communities, and it is a darned good place to start in terms of 
education.
  The goal is to increase participation by involving schools, teachers 
and students and engaging the parents. And there is no better way to 
get a parent's attention than to work it through the children and what 
is in their best interests.
  In addition, the Census in the Schools project will serve as another 
tool to recruit some of the nearly 850,000 workers that will be needed 
to conduct the 2000 Census. Many of the schools across the country have 
already received information about the project, and I know that we will 
be visiting San Antonio and going to the schools and promoting the 
partnership program. For those who have not received the information, 
the education materials are available on the Census Bureau's web page, 
and that is www.census.gov, for government.
  Mr. RODRIGUEZ. If the gentleman will yield, I wanted to indicate also 
the importance of the role that the community plays, and that is that 
every church, every minister, every organization out there has a role 
and a responsibility.
  And I am glad the gentleman mentioned in terms of the involvement of 
the schools. I think there is going to be a need for all of us to make 
sure we all have that obligation, to make sure we all get counted. And 
when that form comes in, the sooner we can send it in, the better.
  There is no doubt that if we do not send it in, we are going to get 
called, we are going to get mailed again, we are going to get visited, 
and we are going to get visited, and we are going to get visited. So I 
think it is important that when we get the particular mail out on the 
census that we fill it out as quickly as possible and send it in.
  Neighborhood groups can play a very significant role. Earlier the 
gentleman was mentioning about the importance of what the experts are 
saying, and I want to quote a couple of things. This particular quote 
is from the U.S. General Accounting Office and it says, ``Sampling 
households that fail to respond to questionnaires produces substantial 
cost savings and should improve final data quality.'' That is the U.S. 
General Accounting Office in support of the use of statistical methods.
  I also want to quote a little bit from the U.S. Department of 
Commerce, the Honorable Frank DeGeorge, Inspector General, that says, 
``The Census Bureau has adopted a number of innovations to address the 
problem of past censuses; declining accuracy and rising costs. One 
innovation, which we fully support, is the use of statistical sampling 
for non-response follow-up.'' Those individuals that do not respond to 
those questionnaires initially.
  Let me also quote from the American Statistical Association, where 
they say, ``Because sampling potentially can increase the accuracy of 
the count while reducing costs, the Census Bureau has responded to the 
Congressional mandate by investigating the increased use of sampling. 
We endorse the use of sampling for these purposes; and it is consistent 
with the best statistical practice.''
  There are some additional individuals that have continued to 
indicate, and I want to read from the panel that evaluates alternative 
census methodologies, the National Research Council, and they state, 
``Change is not the enemy of an accurate and useful census; rather, not 
changing methods as the United States changes would inevitably result 
in a seriously degraded census.'' So we run the risk of having one of 
the worst censuses ever in the Year 2000 if we do not allow both the 
appropriate funding to go as quickly as possible.
  We need to move forward, instead of just putting a stop to it in 
June. We need to try to move it quickly, and also to allow the census 
itself to work. Politicians should not be involved in trying to dictate 
to them as to what they should or should not do. They should know what 
some of the best approaches are and they are the ones that should be 
able to do the job that needs to be done, and that is to make sure that 
every American gets counted.
  Again, if we ask why it is so important, this is one of the 
constitutional obligations, as the gentleman well knows, that we have 
as a Congress, to make sure that every 10 years everyone gets counted. 
So it becomes real important.
  Mr. GONZALEZ. I could not agree with the gentleman more.
  We have gone over about the proven scientific method. I do not think 
there is any real legitimate attack on it. But I want to assure Members 
of the House, of course, that every effort will be made to go to the 
neighborhoods, to make sure the questionnaires are returned and they 
are answered. We will do everything that is humanly possible for an 
accurate head count.
  But beyond that, we already know that is not accurate, and it is not 
going to result in accurate numbers for us. Knowing that, we have a 
proven, reliable method of establishing accurate numbers. There are 
many things that are out there now, and people may question, they may 
be worried when they hear the word ``sampling'', ``scientific method'', 
but I have already gone over that the National Academy of Sciences has 
approved it. This is something that the Bush administration even 
approved and sanctioned.
  Even on the floor of this House, does anyone think that the writers 
of the Constitution, the framers of the Constitution, those 
individuals, those great geniuses, ever envisioned that we would be 
casting our votes electronically; that we would use this card that I 
hold in my hand; that we would put it in a slot and vote ``yes'', 
``no'' or ``present'', and it would be going up on some electronic 
board; that these numbers would be calculated? I am sure there would be 
individuals that would

[[Page H3083]]

question that alone, that advance in technology, which speeds things 
along in this House. No doubt. The reason we trust it is because it is 
proven. It is reliable. We have tested it. And that is all we can ask 
of any method or any manner that we utilize today; that it be based on 
the best scientific method that is available to us; that it is proved 
correct and accurate time and time again.
  Many individuals do not understand how important it is to have an 
accurate census and how it affects their individual lives. I am going 
to enumerate how these numbers are used year in and year out, and the 
most important thing to remember is that the census is decennial in 
nature. That means every 10 years. If we do not get it right that year, 
we have to live with those numbers for 10 years, just as Texas has 
lived with them for 10 years at a cost of a billion dollars to our 
children, our farmers, our ranchers and our citizens. We cannot repeat 
those mistakes.
  Census numbers are required to enforce provisions under the Civil 
Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based upon race, sex, 
religion and national origin. They are used by the Department of 
Veterans Affairs for State projections on the need for hospitals, 
nursing homes, cemeteries and other benefits for veterans. State and 
county agencies use the data to plan for eligibility under Medicare and 
Medicaid programs. Census data is used to determine the distribution of 
funds to develop programs for people with disabilities and the elderly 
under the rehabilitation act. Census data is used in evaluating the 
impact of immigration on the economy and the job market. The Small 
Business Administration uses census data to distribute funds for small 
business development centers. So important to our economy, since we 
know that over 85 percent of all businesses are truly small in nature.
  Census data is used to help determine the effects of bank mergers 
under the Community Reinvestment and Bank Holding Company Acts. Census 
data is used by local governments to project the need for services such 
as fire and police services.
  These are just a few of the number of ways census data is used.
  Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Let me share with the gentleman, and what the 
gentleman just indicated is correct, that for those individuals that 
were not counted, for each individual, the figures are different for 
each State, but it has been estimated that in Texas if an individual 
was not counted, we lost $1900 for that individual for that year. So 
when we look at the whole decade, we can see a tremendous amount of 
dollars for each individual that was not counted. So that it adds up.
  The gentleman was mentioning each of the programs. It is over a total 
of $180 billion of Federal funds that are at stake in terms of 
distribution and how that should go out. So that what is before us is 
not only in terms of resources and programs, but also, again, the whole 
issue of reapportionment.
  And reapportionment means we have 435 Congressmen, so many from each 
State based on population. And I know that for those States that are 
growing it is important, and for the other States it is also important 
to know how many people reside in those States. I know that that is one 
of the biggest problems that some of the people have with their areas, 
and it should not be political, it should be about making sure people 
get counted appropriately and accurately.
  So, again, in Texas we are scheduled to receive two additional 
Congressmen, if not three, and that would be based on the count. From 
the preliminary figures we have seen, we will gain at least two 
additional Congressmen because of the increase in population. I think 
that has a direct impact on representation in the State of Texas as 
well as throughout the country, California and the other States that 
are also impacted.
  One of the things I wanted to share was that when we talk to people, 
we are not saying that we should not go and not do the traditional 
things. The census is still going to go out there and make sure that 
everyone gets their mail out, makes sure that everyone is followed up 
with a call if they do not respond, and if they still do not respond, 
that everyone gets a knock on their door. It is an effort that is 
extremely costly, but we also recognize that statistical methods work 
in determining a better accuracy.
  In addition to that, there is going to be some additional advertising 
resources that are going to be utilized to make sure that people 
understand the importance of getting counted. And again, remember, if 
an individual does not get counted, we lose resources because of that. 
And for all practical purposes, that individual does not exist. And I 
think it is important that all individuals recognize that they have an 
obligation not only for themselves and for their families, but for 
their entire community, to make sure that everyone gets counted.
  That is why organizations come into play, the ministers, the 
churches, and everyone has a role to play in educating ourselves about 
the importance of getting counted.

                              {time}  2100

  I want to also share with my colleagues that the same methods that 
have been utilized in the past are going to be utilized but, in 
addition to that, to get that better accurate count is sampling 
statistical methods and to look at going to the courts to try to throw 
that out just means that the 2000 census will even be worse than the 
1990 census that lost a large number of individuals that were not 
counted. And my colleagues heard some of those figures.
  Now, we also recognize that the Hispanic population is one of the 
ones that was the most undercounted, with about 5 percent, the African-
American population with 4.4, the Asian population with 4.5. And again, 
low-income individuals, whether they are minority or not, are the ones 
that are least likely to get counted. And those that are above in the 
economic bracket usually get over counted because of the fact they have 
several households.
  So it becomes important that we look at that as seriously as possible 
and we ask that the Congress seriously look at this and move forward 
and assure that the funding comes directly to the Census Bureau and 
that the politicians stay away from dictating as to what should be 
happening and the Census Bureau and the individuals that have been 
doing that and have the education and have the expertise in that area 
should be the ones dictating what should happen.
  Mr. GONZALEZ. Mr. Speaker, I could not agree with the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Rodriguez) more on that observation.
  In summary, I just want to reemphasize some things. I do not believe 
there is any legal impediment to the utilization of the modern 
scientific method for the purposes of redistricting and, of course, the 
distribution of Federal funds. That goes unquestioned. If people want 
to take it to the courts, that is a right, as we enjoy so many in our 
democracy.
  But again, if it is done for the wrong purposes, if it is just done 
to delay, to frustrate and thwart an accurate census so we have 
inaccurate numbers for 10 years, that is wrong. I do not believe it is 
American and I think it is abuse of the system. And if we ever had 
frivolous litigation, that is frivolous litigation.
  I am going to wrap this up by going over other uses of these numbers 
because they truly are numbers that translate and affect the lives of 
human beings, though. Community agencies use the census data to target 
areas that need special programs, such as Meals on Wheels. The data is 
also used to allocate funds for programs that promote educational 
equality for women and girls under the Women's Educational Equity Act. 
And it creates prevention of violence against women's programs dealing 
with, of course, prevention and post-trauma assistance.
  The Department of Health and Human Services uses data in its 
assistance program. Census data is used by State governments to support 
juvenile justice and create delinquency prevention programs. The 
Department of Education uses the information for preparing a report to 
Congress on the social and economic status of children served by 
different local school districts.
  If they have faulty underlying data, they are not getting accurate 
information on which Congress can act. And local governments use the 
data to implement programs such as Head Start.
  As we can see, virtually no one in this country goes untouched by the 
effects of an accurate or an inaccurate

[[Page H3084]]

census, for that matter. We have all been elected to represent our 
constituencies and to represent their best interests. An accurate 
census is in our constituents' best interest.
  It reminds me, of course, as everyone thinks of an accurate census, 
``how will that affect me?'' It reminds me of Hemingway's ``For Whom 
the Bell Tolls.'' And I will tell my colleagues now, if we do not 
realize an accurate census, that bell tolls for them, for me, our 
children, our constituents, and their children.

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