[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 13 (Monday, April 5, 1999)]
[Pages 568-569]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on the 2000 Census

April 1, 1999

    Exactly one year from today, America will commence the first census 
of the 21st century. The responsibility to conduct the census is nearly 
as old as our Nation. Beginning in 1790, and every 10 years since, 
America has counted its people, charted its growth, and by doing so, 
prepared for its future.
    The census is a vital statistical snapshot that tells us who we are 
and where we are going as a nation. And though it is taken only once a 
decade, it is important to our everyday lives. The census helps 
communities determine where to build everything from schools to 
supermarkets and from homes to hospitals. It helps the Government decide 
how to distribute funds and assistance to States and localities. It is 
used to draw the lines of legislative districts and reapportion the 
seats each State holds in Congress.
    The Census Bureau estimates it will count about 275 million people 
next year across our Nation. But America must be accurate--and more so 
than we have been in the past. The previous census, in 1990, missed 8.4 
million people and counted more than 4 million twice. Children, 
minorities, and low-income Americans have been often overlooked. We must 
do better. Every person in America counts--so every American must be 
counted.
    I am committed to ensuring that Census 2000 is as accurate, 
complete, and fair as possible. That will be an enormous undertaking--
demanding the largest peacetime mobilization in our Nation's history, 
involving hundreds of thousands of local census takers

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and community volunteers. I have, therefore, asked every executive 
department and agency of the Federal Government to develop an action 
plan that helps recruit census workers and promotes full participation 
in Census 2000. The Census Bureau has put forth a comprehensive and 
complete plan that includes a full enumeration and modern scientific 
methods. The Bureau will also build unprecedented partnerships with 
business, community groups, schools, and State, local, and tribal 
governments and use, for the first time, radio, television, and 
billboard advertisements to encourage everyone to participate in Census 
2000.
    Working together, we can ensure that Census 2000 truly reflects who 
we are as a people and that each American can make the best of the 
opportunities of the 21st century.