[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 155 (Saturday, September 27, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H10215]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES THAT THE SECRETARY 
  OF COMMERCE SHOULD USE ALL REASONABLE MEASURES TO ENSURE THAT EVERY 
             PERSON IS COUNTED IN THE 2010 DECENNIAL CENSUS

  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on 
Oversight and Government Reform be discharged from further 
consideration of House Resolution 1262 and ask for its immediate 
consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Missouri?
  There was no objection.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 1262

       Whereas the decennial census is described in article I, 
     section 2 of the Constitution, which calls for an actual 
     enumeration of the people every 10 years;
       Whereas the decennial census is used to apportion seats in 
     the House of Representatives among the States;
       Whereas the decennial census is crucial to Federal 
     policymakers who distribute billions of taxpayer dollars 
     among many Federal programs based on the results of those 
     enumerations;
       Whereas the first official census was conducted in 1790 
     under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson, who was then the 
     Secretary of State;
       Whereas the 2010 decennial census will be the 23rd 
     decennial census;
       Whereas an accurate census is one that counts, as of the 
     decennial census date, all persons living in the United 
     States, any territory or possession of the United States, or 
     the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and all Federal civilian and 
     military personnel serving abroad; and
       Whereas an accurate 2010 decennial census is crucial for 
     our democracy and the equitable distribution of Federal 
     funds: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) the House of Representatives demands that the 2010 
     decennial census count every person living in the United 
     States, any territory or possession of the United States, or 
     the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and all Federal civilian and 
     military personnel serving abroad; and
       (2) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that, 
     in conducting the 2010 decennial census, the Secretary of 
     Commerce should use all reasonable means to count every 
     person living in the United States, any territory or 
     possession of the United States, or the Commonwealth of 
     Puerto Rico, and all Federal civilian and military personnel 
     serving abroad.

  The resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________