Gregg statement “However, it has become apparent during this process that this will not work for me as I have found that on issues such as the stimulus package and the Census there are irresolvable conflicts for me. Prior to accepting this post, we had discussed these and other potential differences, but unfortunately we did not adequately focus on these concerns. We are functioning from a different set of views on many critical items of policy.
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AP reported “. . . as chairman of the Senate panel overseeing the Census Bureau budget he frequently sought to cut funding that they believe led to an undercount of minorities.
To allay concerns over Gregg, the White House initially indicated that it might take greater control over the Census Bureau. But amid GOP criticism it has since clarified that the White House will “work closely with the census director,” and that the Census Bureau would not be removed from the Commerce Department.
“The president recognizes the importance of ensuring that the Census Bureau conducts a complete and accurate count through a process that is free from politicization, and he looks forward to working with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle and Secretary-designate Gregg to achieve that goal,” White House spokesman Ben LaBolt said.
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HuffPo‘s Paul Abrams,
the Census is rife with opportunities for political mischief, and Republicans have historically used it for just such purposes, jiggering themselves into Congressional majorities. . . to give a rightwing conservative Republican control over the 2010 Census when history has shown that Republicans consider the Census just another dataset that can be altered to suit their political needs?”
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Boehner’s letter: “
Paul Weyrich:
1998 article by Richard R. Buery, Jr, Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law GOP Census Politics
Quayle: “A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.”
FROM GAO Testimony Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S.
Senate, 2010 CENSUS: The Bureau’s Plans for Reducing the Undercount Show Promise, but Key Uncertainties Remain, 9-28-2008:
What makes these errors particularly problematic is their differential impact on various subgroups. Minorities, renters, and children, for example, are more likely to be undercounted by the census while more affluent groups, such as people with vacation homes, are more likely to be
enumerated more than once. As census data are used to apportion seats in Congress, redraw congressional districts, and allocate billions of dollars in federal assistance to state and local governments, improving coverage and reducing the differential undercount1 are critical.
Tom Davis:
