Hearing of the Subcommittee on Federalism and the Census of the House Committee on Government Reform: Halfway to the 2010 Census
HEADLINE: HEARING OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON FEDERALISM AND THE CENSUS OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM SUBJECT: HALFWAY TO THE 2010 CENSUS: THE COUNTDOWN AND COMPONENTS TO A SUCCESSFUL DECENNIAL CENSUS
CHAIRED BY: REPRESENTATIVE MICHAEL TURNER (R-OH)
WITNESSES: KATHLEEN COOPER, UNDERSECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE; CHARLES LOUIS KINCANNON, DIRECTOR, U.S. CENSUS BUREAU; JOAN NAYMARK, TARGET CORPORATION, TESTIFYING ON BEHALF OF THE U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE; ANDREW REAMER, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION; JACQUELINE BYERS, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to the new Subcommittee's first oversight hearing on census entitled "Halfway to the 2010 Census: The Countdown and Components to a Successful Decennial Census."
Census Day is April 1, 2010 and we have just passed the midway point. The enumeration of all American residents will require the greatest peacetime mobilization of temporary workers for a federal agency since the 2000 Census. Having jurisdiction over all Census matters, the Subcommittee called today's hearing to review the Census Bureau's preparations for the decennial census. Today, we will examine the three main components that are key to the upcoming census: the American Community Survey (ACS), the Master Address File (MAF) and Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER)® Enhancement Program, and the short-form only census. It is important for Congress and the American public to understand the role and value of each of these components for the implementation of a successful census.
The first component is the modern short-form census, which asks only seven questions. It will be mailed to every known residence and will provide the national headcount. The short-form will be complimented by the second component of the census - the American Community Survey, the replacement of the decennial long-form, which was fully implemented at the beginning of this year. A quarter million American Community Surveys are mailed out monthly, providing more timely characteristic data necessary for policy decisions regarding government programs such as community block grants, school lunch programs, and highway planning. The MAF/TIGER® Enhancement program is the third component critical to the success of the 2010 Census. The MAF is designed to be a complete and current list of all addresses. The TIGER portion is a digital database that serves to update and improve street location information, bringing that information into alignment with Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates.
In addition to examining these three census components, the Subcommittee will also seek lessons learned from prior censuses. The census has been administered every 10 years since the Revolutionary War. The constitutionally mandated enumeration of residents is important in that it directly affects the reapportionment of Representatives in Congress, the redistribution of tax dollars for programs and services, redrawing state legislative districts, and public policy and business decisions. Considering that, we must ensure that every effort is being made to achieve the most accurate enumeration. The 1990 Census fell short of expectations primarily because of cost overruns, which led to questionable counts. In contrast, the 2000 Census is considered a success. This traditional census was done on time and within budget primarily because of better management, less employee turnover, and an emphasis on counting actual people.
Although the 2000 Census was an improvement over the 1990 Census, it was still expensive, used too much paper, and was in some cases inefficient. For the sake of the 2010 Census, I hope that the Census Bureau has learned valuable lessons from the both those censuses. Along those lines, I am eager to hear from our first panel what the Census Bureau has already accomplished, what efforts are currently underway, and what more is planned for the next five years to make certain that we get the most accurate census that is on time and within budget. On our first panel, we welcome remarks from the Honorable Kathleen Cooper, Undersecretary of Economic Affairs at the Department of Commerce and the Honorable Charles Louis Kincannon, Director of the Census Bureau.
Our second panel of witnesses consists of representatives of the stakeholder community who will share their views on the significance of an accurate census as it pertains to data collection and related subjects. First, we will hear from Ms. Joan Gentili Naymark, Director of Research and Planning for Target Corporation, on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Second, we will hear from Dr. Andrew Reamer, the Deputy Director of the Urban Markets Initiative at the Brookings Institution. Finally, we will hear from Ms. Jacqueline Byers, Director of Research at the National Association of Counties.
I look forward to the expert testimony our distinguished panel of leaders will provide today. Thank you all for your time today and welcome.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
http://reform.house.gov/FC/Hearings/EventSingle.aspx?EventID=25665