Richard Gephardt: “I reluctantly rise today to oppose the Commerce, Justice, State and the Judiciary Appropriations bill for FY 1998 which…”

“I reluctantly rise today to oppose the Commerce, Justice, State and the Judiciary Appropriations bill for FY 1998 which I believe poses a serious danger to the use of statistical sampling in the 2000 Census. By insisting on the language included in this legislation, Republicans continue in their opposition to sampling which has been universally accepted by the scientific community as the best way to ensure a fair and accurate census in 2000. The census language in this legislation is problematic in several important ways. First, the bill states that the use of statistical sampling "poses the risk of an inaccurate, invalid and unconstitutional census." This partisan language wrongly presumes the unconstitutionality of sampling when every federal court that has addressed the issue has held that the Constitution and federal statutes support the use of sampling. Second, the bill sets the stage for a legal assault on sampling by allowing opponents to file suit in federal courts across the country and seek injunctive relief that would halt the use of sampling in preparation for the 2000 Census. Third, this language gives unprecedented power to the Speaker of the House to sue on behalf of the House to block sampling and to use the resources of the House Counsel or outside counsel to pursue such litigation.”