[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 118 (Friday, August 3, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1443]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      STATEMENT OF INTRODUCTION, RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE CENSUS

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                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 2, 2012

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, today I am proud to be introducing a 
resolution supporting the importance of census surveys and the data 
they produce. Special thanks to Senator John Rockefeller for his 
leadership on the issue and for introducing the Senate companion, and 
to the House original cosponsors, Reps. Michael Honda, Judy Chu, Keith 
Ellison, John Olver, Betty McCollum, Jose Serrano, Laura Richardson, 
Earl Blumenauer, Fortney Stark, John Lewis, and Barney Frank, for their 
strong support of census surveys.
  Since our founding, Congress has recognized the value of census 
surveys to inform policymaking and measure our country's progress. By 
including this modern invention in our Constitution, the founders 
turned a survey into a tool of political empowerment. The decennial 
census is the basis for fair representation and fair distribution of 
hundreds of billions of dollars in federal aid. In recent times, the 
information is used by the public and private sectors for planning 
purposes and to better understand the needs of communities.
  The statistics gathered through the Census Bureau give politicians, 
researchers, urban planners, educators, and other interested Americans, 
a regular and measurable snapshot of the growth and the socio-economic 
status of our Nation. Census programs like the American Community 
Survey and the Economic Census provide vital data to federal, state, 
and local governments, to all sectors and industries, and to all 
geographic areas across the country--from rural to urban to suburban 
neighborhoods.
  These surveys are a fundamental building block for how our country 
measures itself; the value of these statistics cannot be 
underestimated. They let us know how we are doing as a nation, 
identifying areas where we could grow, where we could be more 
economically efficient, and how best to compete globally. I urge my 
colleagues to support this resolution.

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