Political Quotes

“today I rise in strong and stringent opposition to H.R. 472, the so called Local Census Quality Check Act. The bill is more properly titled the Local Census Quality Destruction Act. This bill which Republicans argue allows local governments to participate in the results of the Census is a deceptive trick by the Republican Majority intended to delay the Census results solely--let me repeat--solely for political gain. The enactment of this legislation could add up to 9 weeks to a complex process that must be completed in the short span of a year. H.R. 472, will extend the completion of the Census so that there will not be enough time to make statistical corrections. Local government participation is extremely important, however, the Bureau has already recognized this fact. The 2000 Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) already gives local governments an important and expanded role in enumerating their populations by assisting the Census Bureau to accurately verify local addresses prior to the mailing of census questionnaires. In fact, twice as many local governments have taken advantage of this aspect of the 2000 census as compared to the Post Local Census Review of the 1990 Census. Today you will hear the majority argue extensively that modern scientific methods are unconstitutional, or that modern statistical methods are inaccurate or wasteful. Do not be fooled. Most Republicans who oppose this bill could care less about the accuracy of the Census.”