[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 33 (Wednesday, March 22, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H1247]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            IMPORTANCE OF FILLING OUT CENSUS FORMS PROPERLY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with an important message about 
the census to members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender 
community.
  While the census will not account for how many people are in the gay 
and lesbian community, the 2000 Census will count same-sex couples who 
live together. The census counts unmarried partners, regardless of 
gender, as well as their children.
  Mr. Speaker, the census is the most important source of information 
about who we are, where we live, what we earn, how we vary by race and 
ethnicity, and how many children we have. The census numbers matter. 
They lead to changes in laws and policies that affect all of our lives.
  I believe everyone in this Chamber is in agreement that it is 
important for every American to fill out their census forms and be 
counted. I do not believe I would be going out on a limb to say we all 
want people to fill out the forms openly and honestly. So if anyone out 
there is living with someone else as a couple, you should check 
``unmarried partner'' to describe your relationship.
  The category ``unmarried partner'' appeared for the first time on 
census forms 10 years ago in 1990. That year, 150,000 households were 
counted as consisting of same-sex unmarried partners, clearly a severe 
undercount. Since then, we have seen an unparalleled increase in 
visibility for members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender 
community, including those in unmarried partnerships. Yet, they are not 
accounted for.
  I applaud the efforts of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force 
Policy Institute and the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic 
Studies. These advocacy organizations are conducting an important 
national campaign known as ``Make Your Family Count,'' which urges 
same-sex couples to check the ``unmarried partner'' box on the census 
form when describing the relationship of two people from the same sex 
that are living together.
  The campaign is supported by other advocacy groups such as Human 
Rights Campaign and is receiving a good deal of attention in lesbian 
and gay news outlets throughout the country. They have also launched a 
Web site, http://www.wecount.org, with information about the census and 
guidance to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender couples on 
answering the census forms.
  Correcting this lack of accounting is an important step so that we 
can get an accurate picture of the American population and the current 
American family. The information is vital to determining congressional 
representation and funding for various community-oriented programs as 
well.
  I encourage everyone to accurately report to the Census Bureau 
critical demographic information that can lead to changes in Federal 
law and policy. Federal law guarantees that your answers will be kept 
confidential and the Census Bureau has a great record for preserving 
privacy, so there is no excuse for not being truthful in your response.
  You should make your family, you should make your relationships 
count. You should fill out your census forms. And if you are living 
with someone to whom you are not married, you should check the box for 
``unmarried partners.'' Fill it out today. You will not be sorry.




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