Thread: Census flap pits House vs. Senate on Capitol Hill

Census flap pits House vs. Senate on Capitol Hill

October 26, 2009 - 12:33pm
WFED's Max Cacas

With just months to go before the first census forms begin arriving in mailboxes across the country, there is controversy in Congress about a last-minute change proposed by two lawmakers. But, as Federal News Radio's Max Cacas reports from Capitol Hill, other House & Senate members are saying "no, absolutely not".

By Max Cacas
Reporter
FederalNewsRadio

A proposal by a Louisiana Senator for a last-minute addition to 2010 Census forms is meeting with opposition by other lawmakers in both houses of Congress, just months before the first census forms begin arriving in mailboxes all across the country.

The disagreement pits one of the most conservative members of the United States Senate against some of the most liberal members of the Congress.

At issue: the Vitter-Bennett amendment, number 2644, to the Commerce-Justice and Science Appropriations Bill, now pending in the Senate. In a speech delivered on the Senate floor on October 16th, here's how Vitter, a Republican, described his amendment in a video posted on his Senate website:

It simply says that no funds in that appropriations bill can be spent on the next census unless we ask about citizenship. I believe that's a basic requirement for the next census to give us adequate tools to deal with a whole host of issues.

Vitter's office has not responded to Federal News Radio's requests for an interview with the senator on the matter. The amendment is co-sponsored by Senator Bob Bennett (R.-Utah).

During a Capitol Hill press conference last Thursday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, (D.-Md.), says the Vitter-Bennet Amendment is something that neither the Census Bureau, or the country, can afford right now.

Adding a new question to the census, especially at this late date, would be damaging and irresponsible. And, in fact, it would make it impossible for us to proceed effectively with getting the census done. And it would be extraordinarily expensive to add this question.

That cost was underscored by Missouri Representative William Lacy Clay, the chairman of the House Census Subcommittee, during the same a news conference. Clay pointed to a picture of a secure warehouse where 425 million already-printed census questionnaires are being stored, awaiting next Spring's mailing to millions of American homes.

"You have a warehouse stacked with forms seven stories high," he told reporters, "with forms that Mr. Vitter and Mr. Bennett apparently wants destroyed, and reprinted. It's a waste, it's inefficient, it's certainly not something we should consider doing. "

Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D.-NY), who represents parts of Brooklyn that is home to many immigrants, says Vitter is wrong when it comes to what the law and the constitution require for the census.

The Constitution requires that every person residing in the country must be included in the census count.

In a news conference at the National Press Club last month, Census Director Dr. Robert Groves says from an entirely practical standpoint, the Vitter-Bennett Amendment is too little -- and too late, saying that for the 2010 census, "that train has left the station", with all of the questions for this census approved by Congress almost two years ago, and, as Rep. Clay has pointed out, all the questionnaires printed.

Dr. Groves spoke with Tom Temin and Jane Norris on Monday morning's Federal Drive program.

The Vitter-Bennett Amendment is stalled in the Senate, where Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is blocking floor debate and a vote on the measure. Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, a Republican who sits on the House Census subcommittee, has introduced companion legislation in the House in support of the Vitter-Bennett amendment.

For his part, California Congressman Joe Baca, a Democrat, is countering with his own legislation, HR 3855, the "Every Person Counts Act", designed to offset the Vitter amendment should it be approved by the Senate, and becomes part of the House-Senate conference committee discussion over the appropriation bill.

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On the Web:
David Vitter - Vitter Urges Senators to Support his Census Amendment (press release)

(Copyright 2009 by FederalNewsRadio.com. All Rights Reserved.)

http://www.federalnewsradio.com/index.p ... id=1794504

Just for comparative fun... The UK Census and immigration issue.



More detailed questions in new UK census
AP

By SYLVIA HUI, Associated Press Writer Sylvia Hui, Associated Press Writer – Mon Oct 26, 1:01 pm ET

LONDON – How many bedrooms in your home? What kind of heater do you use? Who's staying over at your apartment tonight?

The British government wants to know all that and more, according to proposed questions for the 2011 national census. For the first time, the questionnaire will include personal questions such as the name, age and sex of visitors staying at Britons' homes on census night. It will also collect more detailed data about Britain's immigrants and ethnic minorities, including what passports they hold and whether they're proficient in English.

The draft questions have been criticized as the latest intrusion into Britons' private lives. Nick Hurd, a lawmaker for the opposition Conservatives, said Monday that the proposed questions will erode public support for the census. The government is acting like a "bedroom snooper" and its questionnaire shows no respect for the privacy of citizens, he said.

"Just because the government has the legal powers to ask these questions does not give the state the license to ask anything they want," Hurd said.

The 32-page questionnaire is the longest yet. New questions targeted at immigrants include when they arrived in the country and how long they plan to stay. The ethnicity group question has also been expanded, so that people can tick "Arab" for the first time, according to the Office for National Statistics Web site.

A National Statistics document says questions about the type of central heating used and the number of bedrooms will be used to gauge basic housing standards.

Peter Benton, deputy director of the 2011 census, said the information would not be abused.

"The personal information that people fill in on a census questionnaire is completely confidential and is protected by law," he said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

Information about visitors is used to ascertain the population estimates within a local area and is not aimed at collecting information about individuals, he said.

The proposed questions are subject to approval by Parliament.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091026/ap_ ... ain_census

I think it would be funny if this all back fired on the Democarts....like our population is growing fast in Idaho because of people wanting out of the diverse state of Calif., they are tired of feeling like they live in Mexico and want to live around their own culture...I would like to see some of these states pick up seats and screw the Democrats at their own game!