Census Bureau Participation in Los Angeles Symposium, August 2000
(Correspondence, 10/24/2000, GAO/GAO-01-124R).

The Bureau of the Census' participation in a Los Angeles symposium on
the challenges facing the African American community has drawn some
criticism. Concerns have been raised about whether the event was being
held for political purposes and whether federal funding was
inappropriately used. GAO concluded that the Bureau's participation in
the symposium complied with federal regulations prohibiting agencies
from using appropriated funds for the purposes of publicity and
propaganda. According to the Bureau, its presence at the symposium was
strictly for informational purposes and did not involve the promotion of
the agency. There was also no evidence to suggest that the event had any
political connections; the Democratic National Convention, which was
held two days later, was not connected to the symposium. The Bureau's
decision to partner with the organizers of the event was consistent with
its policy to work with any organization that can reach traditionally
hard-to-count populations, such as African Americans. The Bureau saw the
symposium as an opportunity to further the goals of its outreach
program. According to Bureau officials, the cost of participating in the
symposium was nominal. Posters, costing about $117, promotional items
from its Los Angeles office's inventory, and compensatory time for two
employees were the extent of the Bureau's expenditures.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  GAO-01-124R
     TITLE:  Census Bureau Participation in Los Angeles Symposium,
	     August 2000
      DATE:  10/24/2000
   SUBJECT:  Blacks
	     Population statistics
	     Federal/state relations
	     Community development
	     Data collection
	     Census
IDENTIFIER:  Los Angeles (CA)

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GAO-01-124R

Page 1 GAO- 01- 124R Census Bureau Participation in Los Angeles Symposium,
August 2000

United States General Accounting Office Washington, DC 20548

October 24, 2000 The Honorable Dan Miller Chairman, Subcommittee on the
Census Committee on Government Reform House of Representatives

Subject: Census Bureau Participation in Los Angeles Symposium, August 2000
Dear Mr. Chairman: This letter responds to your request that we review the
Bureau of the Census' participation in a symposium entitled “Advocacy
in the Next Millennium: New Paradigms for Progress.” The event, which
focused on challenges facing the African American community, including
census undercounts, took place in Los Angeles, CA, on August 12, 2000. The
Bureau attended the symposium as part of its partnership program, a
nationwide effort reflecting the Bureau's belief that broad- based
participation in the census must be built at the community level. Because
promotional material used the Census 2000 logo, identified the Bureau as a
sponsor of the symposium, and made it appear that the event was connected to
the Democratic National Convention (which began in Los Angeles on August 14
th ), you had several questions concerning the Bureau's attendance.

Specifically, as agreed with your office, we reviewed (1) the extent to
which the Bureau's participation in the symposium was consistent with
applicable appropriations act provisions, (2) the review process the Bureau
used to determine whom it partners with, (3) how the review process was
applied to its decision to participate in this event, and (4) the Bureau's
specific expenditures on the symposium and how the Bureau believes they
furthered the purposes of the partnership program. Assessing the
appropriateness of the Bureau's participation at the event was beyond the
scope of this review. As part of our ongoing examination of the 2000 Census,
we are conducting a larger study of the Bureau's partnership program that
focuses on how it was implemented and some of the key ingredients that
appear to be common to a successful partnership effort. We anticipate
issuing that report in the future.

We obtained our information by reviewing applicable appropriations act
provisions; interviewing officials responsible for approving partnering
requests at Bureau headquarters in Suitland, MD, and at the Los Angeles
Regional Census Center; interviewing Bureau staff who participated in the
symposium; and examining relevant documents, such as budget memoranda.

Page 2 GAO- 01- 124R Census Bureau Participation in Los Angeles Symposium,
August 2000 On October 13, 2000, we requested comments on a draft of this
letter from the

Secretary of Commerce by October 20, 2000. None were provided in this time
frame. We did our audit work in Washington, D. C.; Bureau headquarters in
Suitland, MD; and the Bureau's Los Angeles Regional Census Center in
September and October 2000. Our work was done in accordance with generally
accepted government auditing standards.

Results in Brief

The Bureau's participation in the Los Angeles symposium complied with annual
appropriations act provisions that prohibit federal agencies from using
appropriated funds for purposes of publicity or propaganda, unless
authorized by Congress. According to Bureau officials, the Bureau's
participation consisted of answering questions about the census and
distributing promotional items such as posters. Because the Bureau's role
appears to have been informational in nature and did not emphasize the
importance of the Bureau such that it amounted to publicity or propaganda,
the Bureau's participation in the symposium did not violate appropriations
act restrictions.

According to Bureau officials, decisions on which organizations to partner
with and what events to attend are governed by unwritten guidelines and
criteria. In place of written guidance, officials said that decisions are
driven by the Bureau's desire to partner with virtually any organization
that will support the census, particularly those organizations that serve
hard- to- count populations; and the unique demographic, cultural, and other
characteristics of each census region. In practice, partnership officials at
both Bureau headquarters and the Los Angeles regional office said that the
Bureau relies on the judgement of its temporary employee partnership
specialists and other Bureau employees to decide which organizations to
partner with, what events to attend, and how to make the best use of their
time.

According to Bureau officials, the request to participate in the symposium
was approved at the headquarters level by the Special Assistant to the
Director and Associate Director for Field Operations. The request was
subsequently approved at the local level by a Los Angeles Assistant Regional
Census Manager. These officials said they approved the request because the
event was expected to attract 1,500 to 2,000 African Americans, a hard- to-
count population that the Bureau has targeted as part of its outreach
program. Therefore, they said they considered the request routine. Further,
they said they were unaware of how the Bureau's role was being characterized
until they saw it in the press several days after the event.

With respect to the symposium's use of the Census 2000 logo, Bureau
officials told us that the Bureau made it available on its Internet site and
encouraged organizations to use it to help promote the census. We accessed
the Bureau's Internet site and found that guidelines for using the logo
contained strict stylistic standards but did not include any information on
what constitutes appropriate use.

Bureau officials said that that the cost to participate in the symposium was
minimal. Two of the three partnership specialists who attended the event
each claimed 8 hours of compensatory time for the amount of time they spent
at the symposium. One

Page 3 GAO- 01- 124R Census Bureau Participation in Los Angeles Symposium,
August 2000 specialist also requested $8.13 for mileage costs. The
specialists said they distributed

about 300 posters; 3,000 pens; and an unknown number of magnets, balloons,
and other promotional items. Bureau officials said the 300 posters cost
about $117, but they were unable to provide cost information on the other
items. According to Bureau regional officials, the promotional items were
already part of the Los Angeles Regional Census Center's inventory- no items
were purchased specifically for the symposium.

Although the Bureau had generally completed its 2000 Census data collection
operations at the time of the symposium, Bureau officials said the event was
consistent with the goals of the partnership program because, as noted
above, they believed that it was an opportunity to reach out to a large
audience of African Americans, answer their questions about the census, and
promote a series of workshops the Bureau was conducting on accessing and
using census data. These workshops were designed to show partners and other
interested parties how to obtain census data on the Internet and how the
data can be useful to their organizations and communities. The Los Angeles
region has conducted about 100 such workshops since August, according to
Bureau officials. The Bureau partnership specialists who attended the event
estimated that between 500 and 1,000 people stopped by the Bureau's table.

Background

To help it conduct a more complete and accurate census, the Bureau reports
that it partnered with 140,000 government, private sector, social service,
community, and other organizations. The Bureau created its partnership
program in recognition of the fact that such organizations supply the unique
local knowledge, experience, and expertise necessary for a successful
headcount. To date, partners have helped the Bureau with such critical tasks
as reviewing the accuracy of the Bureau's address list, recruiting temporary
census workers, and reaching out to traditionally hard- to- count
populations to motivate them to participate in the census. The Bureau hired
over 600 temporary employees called partnership specialists to help local
organizations initiate and sustain their 2000 Census activities. The
Bureau's enacted budget for fiscal year 2000 included about $70.5 million
for its national and regional partnership program.

On August 12, 2000, three partnership specialists from the Bureau's Los
Angeles Regional Census Center set up an information table at a symposium
entitled “Advocacy in the Next Millenium: New Paradigms for
Progress.” The Bureau's participation in the event came at the request
of a Bureau partner and producer of the symposium, Tavis Smiley. Mr. Smiley
is a Black Entertainment Television talk show host and radio commentator
and, according to Bureau officials, had actively promoted the 2000 Census.
The symposium was free to the public and focused on various challenges
facing the African American community, census undercounts among them.
Symposium speakers included a number of African American political leaders,
journalists, and scholars, as well as sports and entertainment figures. It
was held at the University of Southern California's Bovard Auditorium in Los
Angeles and was scheduled to run from 8: 30 a. m. to 4: 30 p. m.

Page 4 GAO- 01- 124R Census Bureau Participation in Los Angeles Symposium,
August 2000 A press release promoting the symposium stated that the purpose
of the symposium

was to “proclaim to the Democratic party the issues that it must
address on behalf of one of its most loyal constituencies,” and it was
“ideally timed to the eve of the Democratic National
Convention.” The press release also noted how the event was
“made possible by the generous donations” of AT& T, Microsoft,
and Census 2000, among others. In addition, other promotional material noted
the Bureau's sponsorship and used the Census 2000 logo.

The Bureau's Participation in the Symposium Was Consistent With Applicable
Appropriations Act Provisions

Annual appropriations act provisions prohibit federal agencies from using
appropriated funds for publicity or propaganda purposes, unless authorized
by Congress. 1 We have interpreted these provisions on a number of occasions
and have held that they were intended to prohibit “publicity of a
nature tending to emphasize the importance of the agency or activity in
question.” 2 The restriction is typically directed toward activities
whose obvious purpose is “self- aggrandizement” and
“puffery.” 3 On the other hand, we have concluded that these
provisions do not prohibit an agency's legitimate informational activities.
For example, public officials may report on the activities and programs of
their agencies, may justify those policies to the public, and may rebut
attacks on those policies. 4 The executive branch has a duty to inform the
public regarding government policies, and policymaking officials have
traditionally used government resources to explain and defend their
policies. 5

As discussed in greater detail below, the partnership specialists we
interviewed said they answered questions about the census and gave away a
variety of promotional items, including posters, pens, balloons, and
magnets. Because the Bureau's role appears to have been informational in
nature and did not emphasize the importance of the Bureau or Bureau programs
such that it constituted puffery or selfaggrandizement, we conclude that the
Bureau did not violate the appropriations act limitations on publicity and
propaganda.

Partnering Decisions are Governed by Unwritten Guidelines and Criteria

According to regional and headquarters officials we met with, partnering
decisions are not subject to written guidelines and criteria. Rather,
decisions are driven by (1) the Bureau's objective to partner with virtually
any organization that wants to support the census, especially those with a
constituency that includes hard- to- count populations; and (2) the unique
demographic, social, and other characteristics of each census region. A
headquarters partnership official said that the Bureau decided against
developing a set of formal guidelines because it would be difficult for the
guidelines to capture these regional differences. As an example, the
official said that in some rural locations, the Bureau might want to have
census events at the local firehouse because it often serves as a rural
community's social center. In other areas

1 Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2000, P. L. 106- 58,
sec. 632, Sept. 29, 1999. 2 31 Comp. Gen. 311, 313 (1952). 3 Comptroller
General Decision, B- 212069, Oct. 6, 1983. 4 Comptroller General Decision,
B- 114823, Dec. 23, 1974. 5 Comptroller General Decision, B- 194776, June 4,
1979.

Page 5 GAO- 01- 124R Census Bureau Participation in Los Angeles Symposium,
August 2000 of the country, firehouses do not have this function, and a
different site would better

suit the Bureau's needs. Moreover, the official said that the Bureau's
regional directors- some with operational know- how spanning several
censuses- believed they already knew the types of organizations with which
to partner. In place of specific written guidelines, the Bureau encouraged
partnership staff to work with organizations to promote the census, a
message that was conveyed in the training given to partnership personnel and
in oral guidance given to regional directors during the Bureau's regular
directors' conferences.

In practice, partnership officials at both Bureau headquarters and the Los
Angeles regional office said that the Bureau relies on the judgement of its
partnership specialists to decide which organizations to partner with, what
events to attend, and how to make the best use of their time. For example,
the Los Angeles partnership specialists told us that they first identified
which population groups would be less likely to participate in the census.
Then, partly on the basis of the contacts they developed from their prior
work experience in community service positions, they partnered with
churches, health clinics, schools, and similar organizations that served
those population groups.

Although the specialists operated independently, according to Bureau
officials, their work was subject to supervisory review. Supervisory
partnership specialists called team leaders were to examine the weekly
itineraries developed by the partnership specialists and discuss any
activity that could raise perceptual or other problems. At the Los Angeles
regional office, officials said the process worked as follows: by Wednesday
of each week, partnership specialists faxed or hand- delivered their
itineraries for the upcoming week (beginning the following Monday) to both
their team leader and partnership coordinator. An administrative employee
checked in the itineraries to make sure they were received from each
specialist. The partnership coordinator and team leader reviewed the
itineraries weekly to (1) see where the specialists were planning to be; (2)
ensure they had enough activities planned with certain types of groups, such
as religious organizations; and (3) ensure they were treating different
population groups equally. On the basis of their reviews, a team leader or
partnership coordinator might occasionally question why the specialist was
planning to go to a particular event, such as a job fair.

Headquarters and regional officials told us that the Bureau has an unwritten
policy not to partner with law enforcement and certain other federal
agencies, such as the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), because
it could give the public the wrong impression that the Bureau was sharing
information with those organizations. For example, the Los Angeles office
decided against attending a citizenship ceremony sponsored by INS. Although
the event offered a unique opportunity to educate a potentially hard- to-
count group about the importance of participating in the census, the Bureau
chose not to attend because the Bureau did not want anyone to misconstrue
its relationship with INS. Nevertheless, Los Angeles partnership staff said
they tried to work with as many organizations as possible; and, in fact, the
citizenship ceremony was the only event that they could recall in which they
did not participate because of the nature of the sponsoring organization.

Page 6 GAO- 01- 124R Census Bureau Participation in Los Angeles Symposium,
August 2000 To guard against any inappropriate engagements with political
organizations, Bureau

officials told us that about 2 years ago, all staff were sent a memorandum
concerning their responsibilities under the Hatch Act. 6 New employees were
also to receive this information as part of a package of material the Bureau
gave them when they first came on board. An official of the Los Angeles
office said that a memorandum describing Hatch Act restrictions was included
in the training provided to partnership staff. This memo, which we reviewed,
provides guidelines on allowable and prohibited political activities;
however, it is generic in nature and does not provide any guidelines
specific to partnering activities.

The Bureau's Decision to Participate in the Symposium

According to Bureau officials, two employees approved the request to
participate in the symposium. At the Bureau's headquarters in Suitland, MD,
the request was approved by the Special Assistant to the Director and
Associate Director for Field Operations. The request was also approved in
the Los Angeles office by an Assistant Regional Census Manager and therefore
was not part of the review process described above. These officials told us
that they based their decisions on the fact that it would give the Bureau an
opportunity to reach an audience of 1,500 to 2,000 African Americans, a
hard- to- count population targeted by the Bureau, and was thus a routine
request.

According to these officials, a representative of Mr. Smiley's organization
telephoned the headquarters Field Operations official in March or April 1999
to discuss the Bureau's attendance at the Los Angeles symposium. At that
time, the date of the event was unknown. According to the Bureau's
headquarters official, in a subsequent telephone conversation just before
the symposium, Mr. Smiley's representative mentioned that the event was to
take place on the weekend before the Democratic Convention but was in no way
connected to it. The Field Operations official referred the representative
to the Los Angeles Assistant Regional Census Manager. On Tuesday, August 8
th , Mr. Smiley's representative telephoned the Los Angeles Assistant
Regional Census Manager. The manager said that during the conversation,
there was no mention of the Democratic Convention or any indication that the
event was political. Further, the manager and the three partnership
specialists who attended the event all said that they were unaware of how
promotional material was characterizing the Bureau's role in the symposium
until it was reported in the press several days later. In fact, the
partnership specialists said they had few details about the event other than
some basic logistical information, such as its time and location.

With respect to the symposium's use of the Census 2000 logo, Bureau
officials told us that although the Bureau made it available on its Internet
site and encouraged organizations to use it to help promote the census, it
would be impossible to monitor whether it was used appropriately by a census
partner. In our review of the guidelines for using the logo posted on the
Bureau's Internet site, we found that the Bureau discusses the importance of
presenting the logo consistently and lays out very

6 Under 5 U. S. C. sections 7321- 7326 (commonly known as the “Hatch
Act”), federal employees are prohibited from engaging in partisan
political activities.

Page 7 GAO- 01- 124R Census Bureau Participation in Los Angeles Symposium,
August 2000 strict rules on colors, fonts, and other stylistic standards;
but aside from these

presentation guidelines, it provides no guidance on what constitutes
appropriate use.

Officials Said Bureau Expenditures on the Symposium Were Minimal and
Furthered the Purpose of the Partnership Program

The incremental cost of participating in the symposium was minimal,
according to Bureau officials. Two of the partnership specialists attending
the event each requested 8 hours of compensatory time off for the time they
spent at the Saturday symposium because they had already worked their
scheduled 40- hour work week. They said that they arrived at around 7: 30 a.
m. to set up the table and left around 3: 30 p. m. when they ran out of
promotional items. The third specialist did not request any compensatory
time or other type of reimbursement. None of the specialists received
overtime pay. In addition to compensatory time off, one specialist claimed
$8.13 for mileage costs. The specialists estimated they distributed 300
posters; about 3,000 pens; and an indeterminate number of other promotional
items, such as balloons and magnets. Bureau officials said the posters cost
about $117, but they were unable to provide cost information on the other
items. The officials also said that the items were already part of the Los
Angeles Regional Census Center's partnership program inventory. No items
were purchased specifically for this event.

Bureau officials in both headquarters and in the Los Angeles region said
that attending the symposium was consistent with the partnership program's
goal of reaching out to traditionally hard- to- count populations, including
African Americans. They stated that throughout the census, the Bureau
partnered with African American organizations, attending events targeting
this population and encouraging their participation in the census. Symposium
organizers told the Bureau that the event would attract key leaders in the
African American community and that they expected a large turnout of between
1,500 and 2,000 people. Of these, the partnership specialists estimate that
between 500 and 1,000 people stopped by the table, which was set up on a
patio outside the entrance to the auditorium.

Although the Bureau had completed most of its 2000 Census data collection
operations at the time of the symposium, regional census officials said they
viewed the symposium as an opportunity to (1) answer questions about the
census, (2) support the Bureau's nationwide efforts to thank partners for
their hard work during the census, and (3) promote a series of workshops the
Bureau was conducting on the use and availability of census data. The
workshops were designed to update partners and other interested parties on
the status of the 2000 Census and describe census data products, including
how to access them on the Internet and how the data could be useful to their
communities and organizations. Bureau officials said this is important
because the Bureau, in promoting the census, emphasized how census
participation would benefit a community. Since August 2000, partnership
staff in the Los Angeles region said they have held about 100 such
workshops.

According to Bureau headquarters and regional partnership officials, the
Bureau intends to institutionalize its partnership program so that it can
maintain the organizational relationships the Bureau developed for the 2000
Census and not have to start over when preparing for the next decennial
count. They said this contrasts with the Bureau's experience during the 1980
and 1990 Censuses, when the Bureau

Page 8 GAO- 01- 124R Census Bureau Participation in Los Angeles Symposium,
August 2000 did not follow up with its partners and sustain the
relationships already established.

As part of our larger review of the Bureau's partnership program noted
above, we are examining the Bureau's efforts to institutionalize its
partnership program and some of the factors that appear to be common to
successful partnership engagements.

- - - - As agreed with your office, unless you publicly announce its
contents earlier, we plan no further distribution of this report until 30
days from its issue date. At that time, we will send copies to
Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, Ranking Minority Member of this
Subcommittee; the Honorable Norman Y. Mineta, Secretary of Commerce; the
Honorable Kenneth Prewitt, Director of the Bureau of the Census; the
Honorable Johnnie E. Frazier, Inspector General, Department of Commerce; and
the Honorable Elaine Kaplan, Special Counsel, Office of Special Counsel.
Copies will be made available to others on request. If you have any
questions concerning this letter, please contact me on (202) 512- 8676.

Sincerely yours, J. Christopher Mihm Director Strategic Issues

Page 9 GAO- 01- 124R Census Bureau Participation in Los Angeles Symposium,
August 2000
*** End of document. ***