[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 27 (Tuesday, March 12, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H813-H816]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         CELEBRATING 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF BUREAU OF THE CENSUS

  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 339) expressing the sense of 
the Congress regarding the Bureau of the Census on the 100th 
anniversary of its establishment.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 339

       Whereas this Nation's Founding Fathers mandated that a 
     census be conducted once every 10 years, and the decennial 
     census remains the only constitutionally mandated data 
     collection activity today;
       Whereas the Congress established a permanent ``Census 
     Office'' in the Department of the Interior on March 6, 1902, 
     and, in 1903, transferred that office to what was then the 
     newly established Department of Commerce and Labor (within 
     which, with more than 700 employees, it comprised the largest 
     of that department's new bureaus);
       Whereas Federal, State, and local governments use data 
     collected by the Bureau of the Census in the distribution of 
     funds and in the formulation of public policy in such areas 
     as education, health and veterans' services, nutrition, crime 
     prevention, and economic development, among others;
       Whereas the Bureau of the Census supplies statistical data 
     to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Bureau of Economic 
     Analysis, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
     System, and other Government agencies charged with measuring 
     and reporting on the health of the Nation's economy;
       Whereas the Bureau of the Census is the Nation's largest 
     data collection agency, collecting data used by other 
     Government agencies, tribal governments, institutions, 
     universities, and nonprofit organizations, and supplying 
     information on poverty, unemployment, crime, education, 
     marriage and family, and transportation;
       Whereas, throughout its first 100 years, the Bureau of the 
     Census has earned a reputation for scrupulously safeguarding 
     the confidentiality of respondents' answers, a responsibility 
     vital to maintaining the public's trust;
       Whereas the Bureau of the Census, with the cooperation of 
     other Government agencies, the Congress, State and local 
     governments, and community organizations, and with 
     significant technological innovation and public outreach, has 
     just conducted this Nation's 22d decennial census in a timely 
     and professional fashion, employing over 500,000 dedicated 
     Americans in the process; and
       Whereas March 6, 2002, marks the 100th anniversary of the 
     establishment of the Bureau of the Census: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That the Congress hereby--
       (1) recognizes the 100th anniversary of the establishment 
     of the Bureau of the Census; and
       (2) acknowledges the achievements and contributions of the 
     Bureau of the Census, and of its current and former 
     employees, to the United States.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette).


                             General Leave

  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
on H. Con. Res. 339.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the United States Census 
Bureau. Last week the Census Bureau celebrated its centennial birthday, 
100 years of invaluable service to America. Our Constitution requires 
us to conduct our census, an actual enumeration, every 10 years.
  I quote: ``The actual enumeration shall be made within 3 years after 
the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within 
every subsequent term of 10 years, in such a manner as they shall by 
law direct.''
  The conduct of the census for the apportionment of Congress is almost 
as old as the birth of our Nation. In 1790, Thomas Jefferson, the 
Secretary of State under George Washington, directed the efforts of the 
U.S. marshals who would serve as enumerators until the 1880 census.
  Mr. Speaker, the census was never easy to conduct. Suspicious 
residents were not the only difficulty encountered by our Nation during 
a census. Census forms from Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey and 
Tennessee were destroyed by the British when they burned the Capitol 
during the War of 1812.
  Throughout our history, censuses have been used to mark significant 
achievements and milestones in our Nation's history. The 1860 census 
would show New York as surpassing the 1 million mark in that great 
city's population. In 1864, General Sherman would use published 
information on population and agriculture in his war-planning efforts. 
President Lincoln remarked on the importance of the population 
information saying: ``If we could first know where we are and wither we 
are tending, we could better judge what to do and how to do it.'' And 
one of my favorite Presidents, President Garfield, said: ``The census 
is indispensable to modern statesmanship.''
  Mr. Speaker, 1878 would mark the first publication of the Statistical 
Abstract of the United States. Today, with more than 1,500 tables, the 
Abstract is the Census Bureau's oldest and most popular reference 
product. The 1890 census marked the first use of the punch card and 
mechanical tabulating equipment. The 1890 census would also mark the 
end of the frontier in the United States. Census analysts wrote: ``Up 
to and including the 1880 census, the country had a frontier. At 
present the unsettled area has been so broken into isolated bodies of 
settlement that there can hardly be said to be a frontier line.''
  Mr. Speaker, in 1902 a permanent census office was established in the 
Department of the Interior and in 1903 the census office became the 
Census Bureau in the new Department of Commerce and Labor. The 1910 
census included for the first time a census of manufacturers. The 1910 
census would also have President Taft issuing the first-ever census 
proclamation.
  In 1915, the U.S. population would reach 100 million and the Census 
Bureau would conduct its first special enumeration for a local 
government in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 1942, the Census Bureau moved to its 
current location in Suitland, Maryland, which is named after Colonel 
Samuel Taylor Suit, a

[[Page H814]]

Maryland legislator, businessman and agriculturist who first owned the 
land. Even the reason for the Census Bureau relocating to Suitland is 
representative of the bureau's devotion to our Nation. During World War 
II, one of the many new Federal agencies created to aid in the war 
effort was the Office of Price Administration, or the OPA. Because of 
its war-related mission, the OPA director believed his office needed to 
be near the Capitol. As a cooperative and patriotic gesture, the Census 
Bureau's director, J.C. Capt, volunteered to move the Census Bureau to 
Suitland, Maryland, so that OPA could be closer to Congress during the 
war.
  Mr. Speaker, the Census Bureau does not simply conduct our decennial 
census every 10 years. In fact, the Census Bureau conducts more than 
350 surveys every year and issues more than 1,000 data reports. One of 
the most important surveys is the economic census, which traces its 
beginning back to 1810. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says of 
the economic census: ``The economic census is indispensable to 
understanding the American economy. It assures the accuracy of the 
statistics we rely on for sound economic policy and for successful 
business planning.''
  The Census Bureau has a longstanding commitment of service to our 
Nation. Representative of this commitment to excellence, one of the 
Census Bureau's employees, through a labor of love, managed to capture 
the history and spirit of our Nation's census history in a census 
quilt. From a distance, this work of art appears to be just a quilt, 
but it is not. It is the story of the U.S. Census Bureau and the role 
that it has played ``from inkwell to Internet'' to chronicle our 
Nation's past and illuminate the future.
  At the center of the story is the Census Bureau seal surrounded by 
100 compass points, one for each year of its existence as an 
organization. At each major directional compass point is a 10-pointed 
star, created from two five-pointed stars. These represent the 
population censuses that the Census Bureau conducts every 10 years and 
the economic censuses conducted every 5 years.
  The story begins at the lower left corner and moves clockwise. The 
years before 1902 are depicted by the constitutional mandate and the 
original 13 colonies, and the Nation's expanding industry, trade and 
transportation. The story continues with a snapshot of the rich history 
of the 20th century as the country and cities grow, technology is 
integrated into our work and society, and the diversity of our people 
enriches our Nation.
  Carol Pendleton Briggs, a Census Bureau employee for 12 years, 
created this work of art to commemorate the centennial. She has created 
a skillful and moving representation of the Census Bureau's place in 
American history and its important work as an organization to chronicle 
the past and illuminate the future. She deserves much praise for such a 
wonderful work of art. The quilt is on display at the Census Bureau and 
hopefully will be displayed here sometime soon.
  Mr. Speaker, H. Con. Res. 339 is an important recognition of the 
vital contribution of the U.S. Census Bureau. I urge my colleagues to 
support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I 
rise to join my colleagues in honoring the U.S. Census Bureau.
  Mr. Speaker, much has changed since 1902, and the Census Bureau has 
been important in documenting and helping us to understand those 
changes. Despite the importance of the census to Congress and the 
country throughout the 19th century, it was not until the end of that 
century that discussions began in earnest about creating a permanent 
census office. Throughout the 19th century, Congress created a special 
census office every 10 years to carry out the function of taking the 
census. That office was disbanded after the census data were published, 
only to rise again a few years later.
  In February 1891, the Senate requested the Secretary of the Interior 
to draft a bill creating a permanent census office which was introduced 
in December 1891 and died in committee. Hearings were held in the House 
of Representatives on the need for a permanent census office in 1892, 
and legislation was again introduced in 1896. However, there was not 
yet sufficient legislative support for a permanent census office, and 
the 1900 census was conducted under temporary authority.
  Among the issues debated by Congress were whether the office should 
be independent or housed within a department, whether the employees 
should be covered by civil service rules or be patronage positions as 
in the past, and, of course, what the office would do in the years 
between censuses.
  During the conduct of the 1900 census, the census office sponsored 
several studies to address pressing public policy issues in the hope 
that these studies would illustrate what a permanent census office 
could do. Among those contributing to this effort was W.E.B. DuBois. 
Finally, in 1902, Congress passed a relatively simple bill that said, 
quote: ``The census office temporarily established in the Department of 
the Interior is hereby made permanent.''
  Over the last 100 years, the census and the Census Bureau have never 
been far from the center of controversy. It was the census of 1920 
which informed us that the country was passing through a transition 
from a rural agrarian society to an urban industrialized society.

                              {time}  1545

  That same census documented the importance of immigration in the 
growth of the Nation.
  The 1930 census marked a change from a debate in Congress every 10 
years about how seats would be apportioned to the States to a process 
set in law. The 1930 census also saw Congress direct in the Census Act 
that data be collected on unemployment over the objection of the Census 
Bureau and the Census Advisory Committee from the American Economic 
Association and the American Statistical Association.
  The 1940 census began the measurement of census undercount when 13 
percent more black men registered for the draft than the Census Bureau 
thought existed. The measurement of the undercount and what to do about 
it remains a controversy today.
  So it goes down through history. From voting rights to revenue 
sharing to equal representation for all, the Census Bureau has been at 
the center of nearly every controversy. Why? Because without good 
numbers, we do not know who we are or whether society has progressed or 
regressed; and the Census Bureau has been the source for many of those 
good numbers.
  I do not pretend to know what the next century will hold for our 
Nation or for the Census Bureau, but I can predict one thing: Whatever 
happens, we will look to the Census Bureau for help in understanding 
the past, present and future.
  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to add my support for this resolution 
recognizing the 100th anniversary of the Census Bureau.
  The census data paint a picture of America, including information on 
economic status based on age characteristics. It is because of the 
census that we know how successful the Social Security program has been 
in raising senior citizens out of poverty.
  The census numbers show that in 1999, 9.7 percent of people age 65 
and older lived in poverty, the lowest percentage ever. The census 
numbers tell us that Social Security provides over half the total 
income for the average elderly household. For one-third of women over 
age 65, Social Security represents 90 percent of their total income. 
Without this program, half of older women would be living in poverty.
  The resolution states the Census Bureau gives us the data that is 
essential ``in the distribution of funds and in the formulation of 
public policy.'' The Census Bureau numbers will play a critical role in 
the public policy debate on Social Security.
  I believe that the census numbers will demonstrate the folly of 
privatizing Social Security. According to the Census Bureau, the number 
of persons 65 and older will grow from 35 million in 2001 to 82 million 
in 2050. In 2050, the number of women over age 85, those most dependent 
on Social Security, will be four times the number

[[Page H815]]

today. They are depending on us to continue the promise of Social 
Security.
  I believe the census data prove that we can make modest changes in 
Social Security, like raising the earnings cap, and maintain the 
guarantee. The census data on income, poverty and wealth show that 
Social Security has been instrumental in improving the financial 
security of seniors and families across this country. Privatization 
will reverse that trend and threaten the financial security of many 
retirees, particularly older women.
  It is important to recognize the value of the Census Bureau today, 
but it is even more important to debate and reject Social Security 
privatization, to protect current and future beneficiaries. I urge the 
Republican leadership to schedule that debate soon.
  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. George Miller).
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman 
for yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, I support the work of this Committee on the Census and 
H. Con. Resolution 339, and I am happy to honor the Census Bureau for 
its work.
  The Census Bureau tells us not only how many people live in the 
United States, but the condition of these individuals living in our 
country. It also tells us about the unmet needs of the people, and as 
we read the unmet needs of the people as outlined in the census, we are 
struck by the fact that, week after week, the Republican leadership in 
the House continues to spend an inordinate amount of time, valuable 
time that belongs to the people of this country, to continue to pass 
these kinds of symbolic resolutions, while ignoring the urgent needs 
that deserve the debate and action of this House, the urgent needs as 
outlined in the census.
  It took the House Republican leadership 6 months after September 11 
to finally address the economic plight of over 7 million unemployed 
people, including the 1.5 million men and women who had exhausted their 
unemployment benefits because of a recession that began months before 
the terrorist attack.
  A reading of the real-time census would have told the Republican 
leadership that 80,000 people a week were losing their unemployment 
benefits, losing any type of economic support, threatening the loss of 
their homes, of their apartments, of their children's schooling, of 
their health care, and yet nothing was done for 5 months.
  Perhaps a reading of the census could have spurred us on to quicker 
action on behalf of these Americans. Perhaps it would have spurred us 
on to pass a bill to help those unemployed Americans, without holding 
them hostage to hundreds of billions of dollars in tax benefits for the 
wealthiest individuals and corporations in this country.
  We still have not been allowed to consider extending unemployment 
benefits to millions of hard-working Americans who pay for benefits, 
but are denied them under current law; temporary workers, low-income 
workers, part-time workers, contingent workers, who, if you read the 
census, are more likely than not to be women, to be young people, to be 
immigrants.
  Why is there not a bill on this floor, instead of this resolution, 
assuring unemployment protection to all Americans who work hard to 
provide for the well-being of their families and for this country? A 
census would show that in fact huge numbers of Americans are uncovered 
by the unemployment insurance system in this country.
  A reading of that census would also point out the fact that 40 
million fellow Americans, nearly one in seven, live in fear of sickness 
or injury in the family because they cannot afford basic health 
insurance. They do not have access to it because they cannot afford it 
or because it is denied to them.
  The census would also tell us that over half of those individuals are 
full-time year-round workers with families, and yet, as we see from the 
census, they are denied health care; and if they are Hispanic families, 
their chances of lacking health insurance are more than twice as high, 
according to the census.
  We have time to honor the census and the Census Bureau, and it is 
properly so; but when we come here week after week after week after 
week and we ignore the basic needs of the American people, the basic 
needs of the American family, the basic needs of the American working 
individual, it is time for us to get on with their business and not the 
symbol, these symbolic resolutions.
  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, again, I join my colleagues in congratulating the Census 
Bureau on its 100th anniversary, and I also want to thank Dr. Margo 
Anderson, author of The American Census, from which some of my remarks 
were drawn.
  I would also like to congratulate William Barron, who is retiring, 
the former Director of the Census Bureau, and congratulate him on 
conducting the most accurate census in the history of our Nation, the 
2000 census.
  I want to also congratulate the chairman of our subcommittee, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Dan Miller), for his leadership of that 
subcommittee.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, the 2000 census has just recently concluded, a census 
where a highly successful advertising campaign, coupled with a 
partnership effort of more than 140,000 government and private 
organizations at the State and local levels led to the most accurate 
census in our Nation's history, as my good friend from Missouri just 
indicated.
  The employees at the Census Bureau are to be commended for a job well 
done. Their tireless effort under difficult conditions will not soon be 
forgotten, and the importance of the census and the Census Bureau as we 
help celebrate through this meaningful resolution today their 
achievements, I think, has been pretty well punctuated, as our friend, 
the gentlewoman from Illinois, and the gentleman from California seem 
to find many, many nexuses on many, many issues of concern to them that 
directly bring us back to the census. So the Census Bureau should 
indeed be pleased that they provided so much information and so much 
fodder to so many to say so many things.
  I want to thank the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) for his 
support on this important resolution. I am proud to bring H. Con. Res. 
339 before the House in honor of the dedicated and hard-working men and 
women throughout the history of the Census Bureau and the historic 
contribution made to our Nation.
  Mr. REYES. I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 339, and to recognize 
the Census Bureau's current and past dedicated employees.
  Of the eleven major statistical agencies in the federal government, 
the Census Bureau takes on the greatest task of all--the decennial 
census that is required by our Constitution.
  The decennial census is the largest single activity undertaken by a 
statistical agency. The census if the managerial challenge that few 
agencies, statistical or otherwise, could accomplish. In the year of 
the census, the Census Bureau opens and closes over 500 offices, and 
temporarily hires almost half a million employees. Then comes the 
enormous task of tabulating hundreds of millions of pieces of 
information within 1 year.
  In addition to this massive undertaking, employees at the Census 
Bureau work hard to collect and provide data from other agencies within 
the federal government. They provide the information necessary to 
govern our country and manage our economy. Businesses use federal data 
to locate plants and retail outlets. Local governments use federal data 
to comply with regulations and to plan for the future. Those who make 
all this data available deserve to be recognized, and this resolution 
does just that.
  And as effective as the Census Bureau has been, as Chair of the 
Congressional Hispanic Caucus, I believe that there is still room for 
improvement to accurately count the Latino community. Last year we 
received the first results of Census 2000, which showed that the size 
of the Hispanic population in the United States had reached a record 
level of 35.3 million. Unfortunately, it has been estimated that the 
undercount among Hispanics may have been as high as 1.2 million. When 
your community is not accurately counted, we are precluded from 
receiving out fair share of federal financial resources, which 
exacerbates strains on local health, education and transportation 
infrastructures.
  In addition to the undercount, Census 2000 did not accurately record 
subgroups within the Hispanic community. The number of Dominicans and 
Colombians in New York, for

[[Page H816]]

example, was distorted because of the way the Census forms asked 
respondents to specify their Hispanic origin. On the Census 2000 form, 
while Hispanics who are not of Mexican, Puerto Rican or Cuban origin 
were given the option of listing their origin as ``other'' and naming 
the group, they were not provided with examples of what to list, as 
they had been on the Census 1990 form. This seemingly minor change in 
the form led many respondents to not fill in a country of origin at 
all. As the next census is designed, I hope that this problem will not 
occur again. Having accurate information about the diversity of the 
Hispanic population will enable us to better target resources that are 
culturally sensitive to these communities.
  As the Census Bureau begin its next 100 years of service to the 
United States, I hope that it will work seriously and earnestly to 
address the undercount of minorities. I urge the Census Bureau to re-
examine its methods and procedures so that the accuracy of the 
decennial count can be improved. It should be everyone's goal that the 
Census reveal the entire picture of America.
  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. 
Res. 339, and to honor the Census Bureau and the thousand's of 
dedicated employees.
  The employees of our federal statistical system labor day in and out 
to provide the information necessary to govern our country and manage 
our economy. Businesses use federal data to locate plants and retail 
outlets. Local governments used federal data to comply with regulations 
and to plan for the future. Few people stop to wonder how all of those 
numbers are out our finger tips at a moments notice.
  There are eleven major statistical agencies in the federal 
government: the Bureau of Labor Statistics; the Bureau of Economic 
Statistics; the Bureau of Transportation Statistics; the U.S. Census 
Bureau; the National Center for Education Statistics; the Statistics of 
Income at the IRS; the Energy Information Agency; the Bureau of Justice 
Statistics; the National Agricultural Statistical Service and the 
Economic Research Service with the Department of Agriculture; and the 
National Center for Health Statistics. The Bureau of Labor Statistics 
and the U.S. Census Bureau are the two largest agencies when you 
exclude the decennial census.
  The decennial census is the largest single activity undertaken by a 
statistical agency. The census is a management challenge that few 
agencies, statistical or otherwise, could accomplish. In the year of 
the census, the Census Bureau opens and closes over 500 offices. The 
agency goes from a staff of 7 to 10 thousand, to 500,000 and back again 
in a period of about three months. That means 500,000 people must be 
hired. Thousand more must be recruited and interviewed. In addition to 
hiring and training staff, the census requires the management of 
multiple contracts each of which is measured in the hundreds of 
millions of dollars. Then, of course, the data must be tabulated and 
prepared for the President--all within a year.
  That would be a major accomplishment for any agency. However, that is 
only one of many census performed by the Census Bureau. Furthermore, 
censuses are not their only line of business. The Census Bureau 
collects data for a number of other agencies within the federal 
government.
  To list all of the accomplishments of the employees at the Census 
Bureau would take more time that both sides have today. Suffice it to 
say, as a country we are fortunate to have a statistical agency staffed 
with professionals who produce daily, the information necessary to 
guide public policy. We salute those employees today as we celebrate 
the 100th anniversary of the Census Bureau.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simpson). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 
339.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution was 
agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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