Washington, DC--Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Fred Thompson (R-TN) following hearings today said that it would be "catastrophic" if statutory or Constitutional problems resulted in the 2000 Census results being struck down by the courts. He also said that "the confidence of the people in the conduct of the Census is critical to its successful completion."
"Both the Administration and the Congress," Thompson said, "have an obligation to take steps to resolve the ambiguity in the law as it relates to sampling, and they both have a responsibility to make sure the public understands and has confidence in the manner in which the Census will be carried out."
Thompson's comments came in conjunction with today's committee hearing on the question of sampling in Census 2000. Witnesses at the hearing included: James E. Doyle, Attorney General, State of Wisconsin; Stuart Gerson, former Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Dr. Lawrence D. Brown, Professor of Statistics, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania; and Dr. Charles L. Schultze, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution.
An earlier hearing on the preparation and management of the Census was held on March ll. Witnesses at this hearing included: Secretary William M. Daley, Department of Commerce; Everett Ehrlich, Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, Department of Commerce; Martha Riche, Director of the Census Bureau.
Source: U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
