Census Awareness Month

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1096) encouraging individuals across the United States to participate in the 2010 Census to ensure an accurate and complete count beginning April 1, 2010, and expressing support for designation of March 2010 as Census Awareness Month, as amended.

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Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I am proud to present House Resolution 1096 for consideration. The resolution encourages individuals across the United States to participate in the 2010 Census to ensure an accurate and complete count beginning April 1, 2010, and it expresses support for designation of March 2010 as Census Awareness Month.

House Resolution 1096 was introduced by my friend and colleague, Representative Silvestre Reyes of Texas, on February 23, 2010, and it enjoys the support of over 50 Members of Congress.

Mr. Speaker, article I, section 2 of the United States Constitution requires an actual enumeration of the population of the United States every 10 years. The Founding Fathers deliberately placed this requirement in the Constitution in order to ensure fair and accurate Federal, State, and local representation, and the Census serves the same purposes today by establishing the composition of voting districts at every level of government. Accurate Census data is vital to the well-being of every person in the United States.

Census data directly affects how more than $400 billion in Federal and State funding is allocated throughout our Nation. The information obtained in the Census assists planners in determining where schools, daycare centers, health centers, roads, public transportation, hospitals, housing, and other essential infrastructure should be located.

Businesses in the United States use Census data to support new investments, and Census data also helps determine how funds are distributed to communities for neighborhood improvements in public health, education, and transportation initiatives.

Census data also helps identify changes in community makeup and is essential for distribution of adequate services to our continually growing population. In fact, the Census currently estimates that the U.S. population has increased by over 27 million people since the 2000 Census.

The 2010 Census is extremely fast, safe, and easy to complete. It consists of just 10 questions and only requires about 10 minutes to fill out. 2010 Census data is strictly confidential, and Federal law prohibits the personal information from being shared with any entity. Individual data obtained from the Census is protected under United States privacy laws and cannot be disclosed for 72 years or used against any person by any government agency or court.

Given the ease and safety of the 2010 Census, every person in the United States, including individuals in Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the

Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, and all other U.S. territories should also take time to fill out the form and be counted. It is especially important that residents of predominantly low income, minority, and-or rural neighborhoods participate in the Census because these groups are at the center of greater risk of being undercounted in the Census. This is extremely troubling considering the fact that the Census officials estimate that every individual who is not accounted for in the Census loses about $1,500 per year in Federal aid for their community. By taking just 10 minutes to complete the 2010 Census form, it can help ensure that everyone in America is properly represented and eliminate Census overcounts and undercounts.

Additionally, House Resolution 1096 expresses support for the designation of March as Census Awareness Month, which will raise public awareness about the importance of completing the Census.

Mr. Speaker, as Census Bureau Director Robert M. Groves has noted, ``Taxpayers save $85 million for every 1 percentage point increase in the national mail-back participation rate for the 2010 Census.'' With this in mind, let me take this opportunity to express my strong support for House Resolution 1096, which encourages individuals across the United States to participate in the 2010 Census and expresses support for designation of March 2010 as Census Awareness Month.

I urge passage of Mr. Reyes' resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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I thank the gentleman from North Carolina for his courtesy and for his support.

Mr. Speaker, I do have a copy of the census form here. You can't see it, obviously, because of the size of the type, but it's mostly check-the-box answers. I commend the Census Bureau for simplifying this. As the gentleman from North Carolina has stated, it is probably the simplest version of the form that we have had in our history.

I also want to express the concern that we get about 80 to 90 percent of the forms back in the mail, and this is the most efficient way and the cheapest way to conduct the census. The costly part of the census count is in actually going out and knocking on doors and in trying to get people to respond who have not responded through the mail. That's the costly part. So, to the degree that people can cooperate, can help us out and can mail these back, it's a good use of taxpayer money. It's much cheaper. So there is a dual purpose.

Also, as the gentleman from North Carolina mentioned, the allocation of resources and the representation aspect of this is very important as well.

We have no further speakers. Just in closing, I would ask Members on both sides to support Mr. Reyes in his resolution in supporting the census and in designating March as the official Month of the Census.

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