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“CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 4328, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1999” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E2317 on Nov. 12, 1998.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 4328, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND
RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1999
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HON. LOUIS STOKES
of ohio
in the house of representatives
Thursday, November 12, 1998
Mr. STOKES. Mr. Speaker, while I support the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 1999, I am very concerned about a provision in the bill that only provides funding for the Departments of Commerce, Justice and State through July 15th; thereby delaying Congress' decision on statistical sampling in the 2000 census until the Supreme Court rules on the legality and constitutionality of this method. I am not comfortable with this. It is yet another Republican-led effort to ensure that all Americans are not counted in the 2000 census.
For quite some time, we have been engaged in what has become a bitter fight over the use of statistician sampling. How we choose to handle the year 2000 census is one of the most important issues facing State and local communities across the Nation. In fact, it is an issue of fundamental fairness and basic economics. With the year 2000 census upon us, we cannot afford to further delay the implementation of the most effective means of counting the U.S. population.
The census count is a constitutional requirement for reapportioning the House of Representatives. It is also used to: determine the allocation of billions of taxpayer dollars to States and localities; determine within-State legislative redistricting; make decisions regarding the administration of various Federal programs; and compile many kinds of economical and statistical research.
Statisticians across the Nation have already indicated widespread support of sampling as the most scientifically accurate and cost-
effective census enumeration method. In fact, in 1991, a congressionally mandated National Academy of Sciences panel of nationally recognized experts supported this conclusion by stating that a ``Differential undercount cannot be reduced to acceptable levels at acceptable costs without the use of integrated coverage measurement and the statistical methods associated with it.''
A second panel of experts confirmed these findings, in 1992 and 1996, when it further determined that sampling is critical to the success of the 2000 census. There is no other way to avoid the mistakes of the past.
Speaking of the past, it is a well known fact that the 1990 census, which cost a recorded $2.6 billion, repeated a disturbing trend of disproportionately missing higher numbers of minorities than non-
minorities in the census enumeration. For the first time in history, this most recent census was less accurate than the preceding one. In fact, the 1990 census undercount is estimated to have been 33 percent greater than that of the 1980 census. Four times as many blacks, 5 times as many Hispanics, 2 times as many Asians and Pacific Islanders, and 5 times as many American Indians as non-Hispanic whites were missed in the count. This resulted in greater expenditures for non-response follow-up.
Mr. Speaker, we cannot afford the consequences of another inaccurate census. We have scientific proof that sampling is the only method of ensuring that the 2000 census is fair and accurate and that it is inclusive of all Americans. If we do not utilize sampling techniques, we can expect an undercount of at least five million people, the majority of whom will be children, minorities and the urban and rural poor. We can also expect to waste valuable taxpayer dollars. For according to the U.S. Census Bureau, a year 2000 census that incorporates sampling surveys would save from nearly $675 million to
$800 million.
It is for these reasons that I urge my colleagues not to hesitate to do what is right. We must not forgo the cost effectiveness and accuracy of statistical sampling.
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