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Let's Count Every American
Op-Ed by Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney
Census 2000 was the largest peace-time mobilization ever undertaken by our nation. 860,000 workers
were needed to reach an estimated 275 million people, in 120 million households across the U.S. In order
to complete this massive operation, the Census Bureau will have processed 1.5 billion pieces of paper. But
it won't be done until we get the most accurate count possible.
This massive operation has taken a lot of effort and money -- close to seven billion dollars for all
operations and now it is in the home stretch as the Census finishes its work.
All Americans would agree that the right to be counted is on the same level as the right to vote or
the right to free speech. That because it determines political representation, federal and state funding for
communities, and provides the basis for planning and research for the country for a decade. The decennial
Census should be as fair and accurate as humanly possible. No one should be left out.
Who could be against that? Against counting everyone possible in the Census.
Unfortunately, over the last few years the Census Bureau has been under attack for trying to do
just that, count everyone.
For narrow political gain the Republican Party and the Republican leadership in Congress have
been waging a war on the professionals and scientists of the Census Bureau. They want to stop them from
using modern statistical methods to fix the historic racial differential in the known undercount of the
Census. In 1990 missed over eight million Blacks, Hispanics, Asians and American Indians and counted
twice over four million affluent whites. The Republican Party has been trying prevent the Census Bureau
from trying to correct the 2000 Census and make it as accurate as possible.
You don't have to believe me read, Jim Nicholson memo to Republican Party Chairman from May
1997 that is on my web site at http://www.house.gov/maloney/issues/census/rncmemo.html and see for
yourself.
The Republicans of 1920 refused to reapportion the seats of the House of Representatives when
they saw a Census that year that showed a much more urban country than they liked. They feared the
growing power of America's immigrants in the cities. That is not an option today. Unlike eighty years
ago, we now have court decisions that require one person one vote and laws that require automatic
reapportionment every ten years using prespecified formulas. The Republicans can't stop reapportionment,
so they have attacked the Census itself. Today's Republican Party doesn't want to get an accurate count of
America if that means counting every Black, Hispanic Asian and American Indian correctly because that
would not help them politically. So rather than stopping reapportionment, it has embarked on a campaign
to change the census to its own liking.
The Republicans first attempts to prevent the use of modern methods in the census were when they
attached provisions to the 1997 Emergency Flood Relief bill that would have prevented the Census from
correcting the racial differential in the undercount. Then they tried to hold up two budgets to get President
Clinton to remove his support for a scientifically corrected census.
Since then the Republican Congress has led an inquisition, demanding data and explanations every
two and half days. An inquisition against the Census that has resulted in repeated, unfounded accusations
against the career staff, calling the Census "rushed," saying that the Census has "dangerous people,"
making decisions, and making so many demands that the Census director has said he spends over a third of
his time just dealing with the Congress, not running the Census.
Not only has the Republican party led an unprecedented assault against the Census here in
Washington, it has sought to wage a fight in the states as well. The opponents of a census conducted with
modern statistical methods have introduced legislation in a number of states which would prohibit the use
of the most accurate population data for redistricting. Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, Kansas, and Virginia
have already enacted laws requiring the use of the less accurate, uncorrected data. States attempting to
redistrict with uncorrected data may encounter Voting Rights Act and equal protection problems, and a
return to the courts will surely be needed to settle this issue.
But despite these efforts by opponents of a fair and accurate Census, the dedicated career
professionals at the Census Bureau have persevered and are on the verge of bring the country a census it
can be proud of.
In compliance with the January, 1999, ruling by the Supreme Court on the use of modern statistical
methods, the Census Bureau announced a new Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation (ACE) program for
Census 2000. The Census Bureau will use traditional counting methods to determine state population totals
for reapportionment and those totals will be released at the end of December 2000. Then it will use the
ACE as a quality check to correct for undercounts and overcounts in the raw census data. This corrected
data will be used for all non-apportionment purposes, including the distribution of federal funds and
redistricting.
It is the planned release of the corrected data that is now in jeopardy.
President-elect Bush has said he opposes sampling. Publically his campaign states that while he
opposes sampling, he has not decided yet whether he will interfere with the Census Bureau and reverse its
decision. But that is not what his staff says privately. As recently December 7th in Roll Call, Bush
campaign staffers say one of his first acts will be stopping the Census Bureau from releasing the most
accurate data.
Following election day in Florida, thousands of Black and Hispanics votes for president weren't
counted. We are now faced with the prospect that millions of Black, Hispanics, Asians and American
Indians won't be counted in the Census because the new administration doesn't find it politically
advantageous.
Republicans must let the Census Bureau do its job -- using methods endorsed by National
Academy of Sciences and a host of other scientific organizations -- a full, traditional head count
supplemented by modern science to achieve the most accurate results.
Republicans must accept the fact that all Americans, including America's Blacks, Hispanics,
Asians, American Indians, and the urban and rural poor deserve to be counted in full and represented fairly.
They should stop putting politics over public policy, stop trying to micro-manage the Census to their own
advantage, and let Census 2000 go ahead as planned.
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