[House Report 106-89]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress Report
1st Session HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 106-89
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2000 CENSUS COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION ENHANCEMENT ACT
_______
April 13, 1999.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Burton of Indiana, from the Committee on Government Reform,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
together with
MINORITY VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 1009]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Government Reform, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 1009) to authorize the awarding of grants to
cities, counties, tribal organizations, and certain other
entities for the purpose of improving public participation in
the 2000 decennial census, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill
as amended do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Summary of Legislation....................................... 2
II. Background and Need for the Legislation...................... 2
III. Legislative Hearings and Committee Actions................... 2
IV. Committee Hearings and Written Testimony..................... 3
V. Explanation of the Bill...................................... 3
VI. Compliance with Rule XIII.................................... 3
VII. Budget Analysis and Projections.............................. 3
VIII. Cost Estimate of the Congressional Budget Office............. 4
IX. Specific Constitutional Authority for This Legislation....... 4
X. Committee Recommendation..................................... 5
XI. Congressional Accountability Act; Public Law 104-1........... 5
XII. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act; Public Law 104-4, Section 423.. 5
XIII. Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) Section 5(b).. 5
The amendment (stated in terms of the page and line number
of the introduced bill) is as follows:
Page 4, line 6, strike ``subsection'' and insert
``section''.
i. summary of legislation
H.R. 1009 authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to
administer grants to units of local government, tribal
organizations, and nonprofit organizations to promote the
census within their communities. The bill requires the
Secretary of Commerce to prescribe regulations to carry out the
Act within 60 days. Applicants are required to submit their
applications to the Census Bureau regional centers and the
Secretary has 60 days to notify the applicant whether the
application has been approved or disapproved. The grant program
will match $2 in Federal funds for every $1 of non-Federal
contribution. Non-Federal contributions may be made in-kind.
The total Federal funds available is $26,000,000.
ii. background and need for legislation
More local and outreach and promotion programs by the
stakeholders in the affected communities will be an effective
tool to reach the undercounted. The Commerce Secretary's 2000
Census Advisory Committee final report dated January 22, 1999,
recommends increased funding for partnerships as a necessary
way to increase participation among hard to reach populations.
Community groups participating during the 1998 Dress Rehearsal
stated that they have only limited resources to conduct
outreach and that funding is necessary to be able to assist in
outreach activities.
iii. legislative hearings and committee actions
H.R. 1009 was introduced on March 4, 1999 by the Honorable
Dan Miller (R-FL), Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Census,
Government Reform Committee. The bill was referred to the
Committee on Government Reform on March 4, 1999 and then to the
Subcommittee on the Census on March 11, 1999. The subcommittee
held a legislative hearing on March 2, 1999. A markup was held
by the subcommittee on March 11, 1999. Mrs. Maloney (D-NY)
offered an amendment to the bill to restrict grants to
communities with a population undercount of 2 percent or
greater. This amendment makes available sums as may be
necessary and requires the Secretary of Commerce to select a
nonprofit organization(s) to administer the grants program.
Mrs. Maloney's amendment failed on voice vote. The measure was
ordered favorably reported to the full Committee by a voice
vote.
On March 17, 1999, the full Committee met to consider the
bill. Mrs. Maloney (D-NY) offered an amendment to the bill to
restrict grants to communities with a population undercount of
2 percent or greater. This amendment makes available sums as
may be necessary and requires the Secretary of Commerce to
select a nonprofit organization(s) to administer the grants
program. Mrs. Maloney's amendment failed on voice vote. Mr.
Miller (R-FL) offered a technical amendment which passed by
voice vote. The committee approved bill, as amended, by voice
vote. The committee then favorably reported the bill, as
amended, to the House by voice vote.
iv. committee hearings and written testimony
The committee held no hearings and received no written
testimony on H.R. 1009.
v. explanation of the bill
Sec. 1.--The short title is the ``2000 Census Community
Participation Enhancement Act.''
Sec. 2.--This section authorizes the Secretary of Commerce
to administer grants to units of general local government,
tribal organizations, and public or private nonprofit
organizations.
Sec. 3.--Subsection (a) requires each entity that wishes to
receive a grant to submit an application, which must include
program objectives and activities and other information
required by the Secretary.
Subsection (b) requires the Secretary to notify applicants
in writing within 60 days of receipt of the application whether
the application has been approved or disapproved.
Sec. 4.--This section requires each entity receiving a
grant to provide at least 50 percent of the Federal funds
provided. Non-Federal contributions may be in-kind
contributions.
Sec. 5.--This section requires the Secretary to allocate
funds equally among the Census Bureau's regional centers.
Sec. 6.--This section lists the uses of grant funds. These
include training volunteers to assist individuals to complete
and return census questionnaires, educating the public about
the importance of participating in the 2000 census, educating
the public about the confidentiality that will be accorded to
information collected in the 2000 census, recruiting candidates
to apply for census and field enumerator positions, sponsoring
community events to promote the 2000 census, producing
community-tailored promotional materials, or renting space to
provide training.
Sec. 7.--This section requires the Secretary to prescribe
regulations to carry out this Act within 60 days after
enactment. The regulations must include a provision requiring
that applications must be made to the Census Bureau regional
centers or area offices and that the heads of such offices will
approve or disapprove applications in acceptance with
guidelines set forth in the regulations.
Sec. 8.--This section authorizes $26,000,000 to be
appropriated for fiscal year 2000.
Sec. 9.--This section defines terms used for purposes of
this Act.
vi. compliance with rule xiii
Pursuant to rule XIII, clause 3(c)(1) of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, under the authority of rule X, clause
2(b)(1) and clause 3(e), the results and findings from this
committee oversight activities are incorporated in the bill and
this report.
vii. budget analysis and projections
The budget analysis and projections required by section
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 are contained in
the estimate of the Congressional Budget Office. H.R. 1009
provides for $26,000,000 in new authorization.
viii. cost estimate of the congressional budget office
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, March 22, 1999.
Hon. Dan Burton,
Chairman, Committee on Government Reform,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1009, the 2000
Census Community Participation Enhancement Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Mark Hadley
(for federal costs) and Susan Sieg (for the state and local
impact).
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 1009--2000 Census Community Participation Enhancement Act
Assuming appropriation of the authorized amount, CBO
estimates that implementing H.R. 1009 would cost $26 million in
2000. The bill would not affect direct spending or receipts;
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply.
For the 2000 decennial census, the Bureau of the Census has
entered into partnership agreements with more than 10,000 local
governments and other organizations to promote the census among
groups that are difficult to enumerate. Under these agreements,
the bureau prints locally designed promotional materials for
the census. H.R. 1009 would authorize the appropriation of $26
million in fiscal year 2000 for grants to local governments,
tribal organizations, and public or private nonprofit
organizations for the purpose of improving public participation
in the 2000 census.
H.R. 1009 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. Any
costs incurred by state, local, or tribal governments as a
result of participation in this program would be voluntary.
Local or tribal governments accepting the grants made available
by H.R. 1009 would be required to provide matching funds at
least equal to 50 percent of the federal funds they receive.
The CBO staff contacts are Mark Hadley (for federal costs)
and Susan Sieg (for the state and local impact). This estimate
was approved by Paul N. Van de Water, Assistant Director for
Budget Analysis.
IX. SPECIFIC CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY FOR THIS LEGISLATION
Clause 3 of Article 1, section 2 and clauses 1 and 18 of
Article 1, section 8 of the Constitution grant Congress the
power to enact this law.
X. COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
On March 17, 1999, a quorum being present, the Committee on
Government Reform ordered the bill favorably reported to the
House for consideration by voice vote.
XI. CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY ACT; PUBLIC LAW 104-1
The original Act does not apply to the House of
Representatives or to the Senate, thus H.R. 1010 does not apply
to Congress.
XII. UNFUNDED MANDATES REFORM ACT; PUBLIC LAW 104-4, SECTION 423
The Committee finds that the legislation does not impose
any Federal mandates within the meaning of section 423 of the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (PL 104-4).
XIII. FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT (5 U.S.C. APP.) SECTION 5(B)
The Committee finds that section 5(b) of Title 5 App.,
United States Code, is not applicable because this legislation
does not authorize the establishment of any advisory committee.
MINORITY VIEWS
H.R. 1009 establishes a $26 million matching grant program
to local governments, tribal organizations, and public or
private nonprofit organizations. Grant recipients would be
required to contribute $1 for every $2 from the federal
government. Recipients can include ``in-kind'' contributions as
part of their share, as prescribed by the Secretary of Commerce
through regulations. Grant applications are required to include
a statement of the objectives for which the grant is sought,
and a description of the types of programs and activities to be
conducted under the grant.
Although we support providing local government grants, we
are concerned that the $26 million allocated for this program
is insufficient. If the 39,000 eligible local governmental
entities participated in this program, each would get only
$667. This does not even begin to take into consideration the
thousands of private and public nonprofit entities which might
be eligible. That small amount might provide some meaningful
help in small, geographically compact communities, but it would
do almost nothing to address the undercount problems in major
urban areas or remote rural areas. As Dr. Prewitt points out in
a memorandum to the Secretary of Commerce dated March 16, 1999,
providing such little funding would cause local organizations
to question the sincerity of the Census Bureau's commitment to
the program:
* * * there could be tens of thousands of
applications. Either the amount of funds available per
awardee would be so low as to raise questions about the
sincerity of this effort, or there would be many more
losers than winners. Either outcome places the Bureau
in an untenable position. We will need strong
partnerships even with those governments and local
organizations that were not successful in the
competition, but disappointment on their part could
easily undermine what has become a very healthy
partnership.\1\
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\1\ Kenneth Prewitt, Director of the Census Bureau, Memorandum for
the Secretary, 3 (March 16, 1999).
In addition, as Dr. Prewitt points out, administering a
grants program is a specialized and complicated undertaking
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with which the Census Bureau has no experience:
* * * the Census Bureau is not equipped to manage a
competitive grant program at this late stage in the
decennial cycle. All of our human and financial
resources are properly focused on the sequence of
activities set forth in our Operational Plan, as
submitted to the Census Subcommittee in January 1999
and updated on February 23, 1999. * * * It takes
expertise to design, manage, monitor, and assess such
programs, and it would be imprudent for the Congress to
presume that the Census Bureau has or could quickly
acquire that expertise.\2\
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\2\ Id.
Finally, this bill provides for no targeting of grants to
reach the difficult to enumerate. Indeed, the bill pushes in
the opposite direction, requiring that funds be distributed
equally across the 12 census regions. People missed in the
census are typically minorities and the poor. A targeted grants
program to reduce the undercount would focus on the South and
Southwest, the urban and rural poor, and minority groups. Even
the limited funding provided by this bill, if targeted in this
way, might produce some reduction in the undercount.
Rep. Maloney offered an amendment both at the Subcommittee
and full Committee which would have addressed these three
issues by (1) authorizing such sums as are necessary for the
program; (2) designating private foundations with ``experience
in administering grants programs for census community
outreach'' to administer the program; and (3) targeting the
grants to communities with a population undercount of 2% or
greater, as measured by the 1990 Post Enumeration Survey.
Unfortunately, this amendment was defeated on a party-line
vote.
Henry A. Waxman.
Tom Lantos.
Bob Wise.
Major R. Owens.
Edolphus Towns.
Paul E. Kanjorski.
Patsy T. Mink.
Bernard Sanders.
Carolyn B. Maloney.
Eleanor Holmes Norton.
Chaka Fattah.
Elijah E. Cummings.
Dennis J. Kucinich.
Rod R. Blagojevich.
Danny K. Davis.
John F. Tierney.
Jim Turner.
Tom Allen.
Harold E. Ford, Jr.
Jan Schakowsky.