Y 4. P84/10: 100-72 1990 CENSUS PROCEDURES AND DEMOGRAPHIC CIS RECORD ONLY: HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON POST OFFICE AND CIVIL SERVICE ONE HUNDREDTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION JUNE 24, 1988 Serial No. 100-72 Printed for the use of the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service APR 1989 COVT DOCUMENT 89-822 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1988 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, DC 20402 COMMITTEE ON POST OFFICE AND CIVIL SERVICE WILLIAM D. FORD, Michigan, Chairman WILLIAM (BILL) CLAY, Missouri GENE TAYLOR, Missouri BENJAMIN A. GILMAN, New York JOHN T. MYERS, Indiana CONSTANCE A. MORELLA, Maryland TOM DEYULIA, Staff Director ROBERT E. LOCKHART, General Counsel PATRICIA F. RISSLER, Deputy Staff Director and Chief Clerk JOSEPH A. FISHER, Minority Staff Director CONTENTS Dr. John G. Keane, Director, Bureau of the Census. David C. Huckabee and Thomas M. Durbin, Congressional Research Serv- ice of the Library of Congress.. Robert A. Sedler, Professor of Law, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI... T. Alexander Aleinikoff, Professor, University of Michigan Law School...... Allen L. Schirm, Ph.D., Mellon Assistant Research Scholar, Population Studies Center, University of Michigan...... Laurence S. Rosen, Ph.D., State Demographer, Office of Revenue and Tax Analysis, Michigan Department of Management and Budge............... Vincent P. Barabba, Former Director, Bureau of the Census.... Paper entitled, "Overview of Current Census Issues," by Daniel H. Pollitt, Kenan Professor of Law, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Congressional Research Service Reports: The 1990 Decennial Census and the counting of illegal aliens........... Proposed exclusion of illegal aliens from the population used to ap- portion the House of Representatives: A methodological and policy Article from the Government Executive, May 1988, entitled, “Overriding U.S. Department of Justice letter dated June 29, 1988, containing views on H.R. 3814, "Relating to decennial censuses of population". 1990 CENSUS PROCEDURES AND DEMOGRAPHIC IMPACT ON THE STATE OF MICHIGAN FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 1988 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON POST OFFICE AND CIVIL SERVICE, Washington, DC. The committee met at 9 a.m., in Guild Hall of Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI, Hon. William D. Ford, chairman, presiding. OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN FORD Mr. FORD. In less than 21 months, the Bureau of the Census will conduct the bicentennial census of population and housing. The results will have a great impact on our Nation and society. They will be used to apportion seats in the House of Representatives, and to redraw the district boundaries. They will also be used to determine state legislative seats, local city and county council seats and a host of other positions. They will be the bases for distributing billions of dollars' worth of Federal and state aid. For example, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act which Congress just reauthorized provides for Federal aid to school districts based on the number of children living in families whose income is below the poverty level. The data for this determination come right out of the decennial census. Because this exercise is very important, public participation is a key factor in its success. Even though the form may seem complicated, it is really quite straightforward and will only take a few moments to complete. In any large scale operation such as the census there are of course going to be disputes. Today we are here to review two of these disputes. Some have argued that undocumented aliens should not be included in the count the way they have been during the past several censuses. Others say that the census suffers from differential undercounts which are unfair to minorities and those living in large cities. Mr. Dymally and a number of other Members of Congress have introduced H.R. 3511 which would require the Secretary of Commerce to adjust the population data to correct for any undercount or overcount. Mr. Petri and a number of other Members of Congress have introduced H.R. 3639 which would require the Secretary of Commerce to make adjustment in the final census count to ensure that illegal aliens not be counted. |