Barack Obama - Census control
Last Updated: Sep 09, 2010
Origin of the Census
Article 1 Section 2 of the US Constitution mandates that every 10 years a census be performed to determine the population.
The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct.
The results of the census are used to allocate Congressional seats (congressional apportionment), electoral votes, and government program funding. The census is conducted by the Census Bureau, which falls under the Department of Commerce.
Movement of the Census to White House Authority
On February 5, 2009, CQ Politics reported the following:
The director of the Census Bureau will report directly to the White House and not the secretary of Commerce, according to a senior White House official.
Congressional and Media Response
Immediately, speculation was made that this was done to alleviate concerns voiced by the Congressional Black Caucus, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, and other groups who expressed displeasure with Obama's nominee for Commerce secretary, Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire.
Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Barbara Lee, D-Calif., said in a statement,
Sen. Gregg's record of previously voting to abolish the Commerce Department and his attempts to block President Bill Clinton's efforts to secure adequate funding for the 2000 census raise troubling concerns.
A National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials spokesman told Politico,
Secretary of Commerce-designate Judd Gregg's record raises serious questions about his willingness to ensure that the 2010 census produces the most accurate possible count of the nation's population.
House Minority Leader John Boehner said the following:
The United States Census should remain independent of politics; it should not be directed by political operatives working out of the White House.
A Senate aide said the following :
With all of its political implications, hijacking the Census from the Commerce Dept. and letting it be run out of Rahm's office is like putting PETA in charge of issuing hunting permits
Further questions at Press Conferences
At a press conference on February 6, 2009, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs had the following exchange with reporters:
Q One last one. Has the White House moved the control of the Census Bureau into the White House for the purposes of the 2010 census, and if so why?
MR. GIBBS: No, the -- I think the historical precedent of this is there's a director of the census that works for the Secretary of Commerce, the President, and also works closely with the White House, to ensure a timely and accurate count. And that's what we have in this instance.
...
Q How is the White House responding or how do you respond to the concerns of African American and Latino officials about Judd Gregg being in charge of the census given in the past he's not always supported additional funding for the census and they believe that isn't -- doesn't have sufficient concerns over making sure everybody is counted?
MR. GIBBS: I think everybody can be assured that any person that is picked by the President to work for this President implement the views of this President. And President Obama obviously is -- believes that we have to, for a lot of reasons, have a fair and accurate count during the next census. And that's, as President of the United States, exactly what he intends to do.
Q Will the White House involvement with the census office be -- is that partly to ensure that that indeed happens?
MR. GIBBS: No, I think -- I think any -- any cooperation with that is historical in nature.
On February 13, 2009, Press Secretary Giibbs had the following exchange with reporters:
Q On a related outreach issue, is the White House doing anything to address the concerns of House Republicans who fear the White House is trying to control the Census Bureau and the 2010 census?
MR. GIBBS: Well, as you know, and I think as they know, the census is a department -- or an entity within the Department of Commerce that will administer the census. The Commerce Secretary will oversee that, and obviously in consultation with Congress and the White House. The President understands the benefit of an accurate and independent census count, and I think the American people can be assured that's what they'll get.
Q Why in consultation with the White House?
MR. GIBBS: Well, I think that the -- historically the White House, as well as Congress, has been involved in these issues. But, again, the census count will be done out of the Census Bureau within the Department of Commerce.
...
Q Robert, your office said last week on the census bill that -- the census, there's historic precedent for the director to work closely with White House senior management, who plan to return to that model. The President said he wants to reevaluate the process. Can you offer more detail for both of those statements?
MR. GIBBS: No, I -- I mean, I think I would go back to the answer that I gave Mark, that the census is run and directed by the Census Bureau within the Department of Commerce; obviously because that will be overseen by whomever the Secretary is, and that the American people will be able to depend on an independent and accurate census count for 2010.
Q Both of those statements, however, suggest changes. And the Republicans have made a big deal of that. Are they -- are they making a political fight? Is there nothing to their arguments? Is this just something -- an issue that they have found --
MR. GIBBS: I can't really speak to what drives their decisions on that. They can probably better speak for themselves than I can.
When asked if these concerns were the motivation for the change, a White House Spokesman stated the following.
From the first days of the transition the census has been a priority for the president, and a process he wanted to reevaluate. There is historic precedent for the director of the census, who works for the Commerce Secretary and the president, to work closely with White House senior management – given the number of decisions that will have to be put before the president. We plan to return to that model in this administration.
Prior Census Bureau Official Response
Bruce Chapman, director of the U.S. Census Bureau under President Reagan, explains the Republican objection and why the census is so important in his Discovery blog:
Everyone knows that it is possible to organize a decennial census in a way that benefits one party or another politically. One way to effectuate this otherwise unpalatable departure from the Census Bureau's 200-year history of non-partisanship is to put the Bureau administratively under direction of the politicos in the White House. In reality, that would be a sure invitation to cook the books on the highly consequential count of Americans.
The only reason the White House would want to be involved is in figuring out how to add more voting power to certain states and groups within states.
In response to the White House statement concerning the precedent that the director of the census works closely with the White House, Director Chapman added:
Simply put, there is no excuse for this idea. It is not true that the Census Bureau has ever been under the direct management of the White House, and for good reason. Even if angels were in charge of the executive mansion, if the nation's premier statistical agency were placed under White House direction, the danger to public trust would be enormous. The Decennial count is one of the few federal functions specifically described in the Constitution itself and must be operated above suspicion of politics.
Power flows from an accurate census count. Everyone involved for years has seen the count therefore as a sacred trust. It must not be polluted with even a semblance of presidential meddling.
References
[1] Website: GovernmentExecutive.com Article: Obama shifts Census oversight, triggering angry protest by Republicans Author: Carrie Dann Accessed on: 04/06/2010
[2] Website: World Net Daily Article: White House grabs 2010 census power Author: Drew Zahn Accessed on: 04/06/2010
[3] Website: White House Press Release Article: PRESS BRIEFING BY PRESS SECRETARY ROBERT GIBBS Author: NA Accessed on: 04/06/2010
[4] Website: White House Press Release Article: PRESS BRIEFING BY PRESS SECRETARY ROBERT GIBBS Author: NA Accessed on: 04/06/2010
[5] Website: Washington Post Article: The Sleuth - Get Ready For the U.S. Census Fight, Chicago-style Author: Mary Ann Akers Accessed on: 04/06/2010
[6] Website: CQ Politics Article: Administration Plans to Bypass Commerce — and Gregg — on 2010 Census Author: Jonathan Allen Accessed on: 04/06/2010
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