[House Report 106-89]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]





106th Congress                                                   Report
1st Session             HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                 106-89

=======================================================================



 
          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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \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 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \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.

                                

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