Steve Rothman: “the 2000 Census, like all the ones preceding it, will have an impact on the lives of real people. Federal money is…”

“the 2000 Census, like all the ones preceding it, will have an impact on the lives of real people. Federal money is dispersed amongst the States on the basis of population. Population is determined in the census. Funding for so many important Federal programs that so many Americans and New Jersians care about will be in jeopardy. The Federal dollars for housing assistance for seniors, small business loans, Head Start programs, Pell Grants, school lunches, and so many more are determined by the census count. In the 1990 Census, 34,000 children in New Jersey were not counted. In the 1990 Census, 2 million children across the country were not counted. So how can my friends on the Republican side of the aisle want us to continue an ineffective, inaccurate census program? I do not know how they can do it, but what we can do in the Congress is to vote against the rule and vote against H.R. 472. Otherwise, Americans all over this country will be shortchanged for all of these programs and others if we do not use accurate methods. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject the rule on H.R. 472 and, if the rule is passed, to adopt the Maloney amendment which will maintain local government involvement without hampering the Census Bureau's ability to carry out an accurate census. Everyone counts in America. Let us make sure the census counts them. Let us approve the Democratic alternative.”