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Legislation on the Census
APPROPRIATIONS
On June 7, 2000, the House passed H.R. 4690, a bill making appropriations for the Departments
of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September
30, 2001(CJS). The bill contains $671 million for the Census Bureau, $48 million below the
administration's request. Of that $48 million, $34 million comes from the salaries and expenses account
and $14 million from the periodic programs account. Decennial operations were fully funded at the
administration's requested level. The Senate has not yet acted on the CJS appropriations bill.
- On June 1, 1999, the administration sent to Congress a budget amendment requesting an additional
$1.7 billion for the 2000 Census, bringing the total request for the 2000 Census to $4.5 billion in
FY 2000 alone. Most of the additional money is needed to hire a bigger temporary field staff.
Unfortunately, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a CJS bill which funded the Census
at only the original $2.9 billion. The House bill fully-funded the Census at $4.5 billion, and
designated the entire amount as "emergency" spending.
- The differences between the House and Senate bills were resolved in H.R. 3194, an omnibus
appropriation bill which included CJS. It included all requested funding for the Census, less 11
million dollars, as well as an across the board cut of .38% applied to the Census, and maintained
the emergency designation. Funding was also appropriated by "program," and the Bureau will
have to notify Congress at least 3 days before shifting amounts greater than $1 million between
programs.
- In May, 1999, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for FY99 repealed a provision of law
which threatened to shut down the government and halt funding for the 2000 Census on June 15,
1999. (H.R. 4328, the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations bill for fiscal year 1999. Under that
bill, funding for the entire Commerce, Justice, State Appropriation ceased to be available after
June 15, 1999.) It also provided close to $45 million in additional resources needed to continue
preparations for the decennial census.
AUTHORIZING
- Rep. Maloney has introduced legislation HR 5358 which would fix the term of the Census Bureau
Director to 5 years. The Director currently serves at the pleasure of the President.
- In the wake of the controversy over the long form which flared up in late March, 2000, seven
Republican Members of Congress introduced legislation which would limit the amount of
information which could be collected during the Decennial Census to short form questions. (H.R.
4085, H.R. 4154, H.R. 4158, H.R. 4188, H.R. 4198, H.R. 4291, H.R. 4458)
- Rep. Miller has introduced six bills which would have changed the procedures used to conduct the
decennial census. (H.R. 472, H.R. 928, H.R. 929, H.R. 1009, H.R. 1010, and H.R. 1058) On
April 14, 1999, the House of Representatives approved H.R. 472, the "Local Census Quality
Check Act," on a mostly partly-line vote of 223- 206. No action in the Senate.
- The Subcommittee on the Census also held hearings on three other bills which affect the residency
requirements for the census, which the Administration opposed. (H.R. 1632, 2027 H. Con. Res.
129)
- Rep. Maloney and Sen. Rockefeller have introduced bills which would provide for an interim
census of Americans living abroad in 2003, and require that such people be included in the 2010
decennial census. (H.R. 3649 and S. 1715)
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