Political Quotes

“today, as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security, I introduce the Census Oversight Efficiency and Management Reform Act of 2010. With exactly one week left until Census Day, I think we can all take pride in the excellent work that the Census Bureau has done over the past few months to get the 2010 Census back on track. The Census Bureau's significance and the importance of its work cannot be overstated. In fact, the requirement to enumerate the population is enshrined in the American Constitution. And the founding fathers asked us to do this each 10 years, as a cornerstone of their aspiration for effective representative democracy. They even went so far as to levy a $20 fine for noncompliance in 1790. They knew the fairness of our government required everyone to participate in the census. Over the time, the Census process and procedure has changed remarkably from when the very first Census was conducted on horseback to today where Census workers utilize cutting edge technology to collect and transmit data. Even as the technology surrounding the Census has evolved the importance of its work has remained constant throughout American history. Yet despite its critical importance, the past three censuses have been deemed "at risk" and have been the subject of great controversy under Democratic and Republican administrations alike.”