[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 32 (Monday, August 10, 1998)]
[Pages 1569-1570]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on House Action on the Census Amendment

August 5, 1998

    I am very disappointed that the House failed to adopt an amendment 
to the FY 99 Commerce-Justice-State appropriations bill that would have 
removed onerous restrictions on the Census Bureau's plan for the 
decennial census. By failing to adopt this amendment, the House is 
undermining the Census Bureau's ability to plan and conduct an accurate 
decennial census.

[[Page 1570]]

    To ensure a fair and accurate count, my administration has supported 
the 2000 census plan developed by the experts at the Census Bureau that 
was based upon recommendations by the National Academy of Sciences. It 
is a plan that will correct the inaccuracies of the 1990 census, which 
missed millions of Americans and disproportionately undercounted 
children, minorities, and residents in urban and rural communities. This 
is the first census of the 21st century, and we must ensure that the 
census, the single most important source of information about the 
American people, is accurate.
    Congress must remove these restrictions. It is critically important 
that the Census Bureau have the funding it needs to implement its 2000 
census plan--a plan that will produce the most accurate census in 
history using the best, most up-to-date scientific methods.