Census 2000: Sampling as an Appropriations Issue in the 105th Congress


 

Publication Date: September 1998

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Population and demographics

Type:

Abstract:

The 105th Congress has debated the decennial census sampling issue mainly in the appropriations process, beginning with FY1997 supplemental appropriations legislation for disaster relief. In FY1998 appropriations for Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies (CJS), the Senate (S. 1022)instructed the Bureau of the Census not to make “irreversible” Census 2000 sampling plans, while the House (H.R. 2267) sought a moratorium on these plans, pending expedited judicial review of their constitutionality and legality. As enacted (P.L. 105-119; 111 Stat. 2440), H.R. 2267 still provided for expedited judicial review, but allowed a limited test of sampling in the 1998 dress rehearsal for the census; the law also established a Census Monitoring Board. Sampling remains an issue in FY1999 CJS appropriations. The Senate passed S. 2260, approving the Clinton Administration’s $848.5 million request for Census 2000 while expressing “grave concerns” about census plans. The House, approving H.R. 4276, recommended $952 million but would withhold $476 million of the total until Congress (by March 31, 1999, after a formal request by the President) passed legislation releasing the $476 million. This report will be updated to reflect further developments. For related products, see CRS Report 97-137 GOV, Census 2000: The Sampling Debate; and CRS Report 94-89 GOV, Decennial Census Coverage: The Adjustment Issue.