Eliot Engel: “I think all Americans want the most accurate census possible. I do not think Americans want politics to be played. The…”

“I think all Americans want the most accurate census possible. I do not think Americans want politics to be played. The whole purpose of the census every 10 years is to get an accurate description of what America is all about, an accurate count. If we look at the chart over here, it shows the estimated number of people who will be missed using the 2000 census plan as proposed by using statistical sampling. And how many people will be missed if we use the old 1990 method? Five million people missed, 5 million Americans not counted in the census if we use the 1990 method. And if we use the 2000 method that we are proposing, statistical sampling, very few people will be missed. That should be the bottom line for anybody. Politics should not be played. The 1990 census was a disaster. Everybody knows that at least 4 million people were not counted. So unless the census is allowed the option of employing statistical sampling to improve its accuracy of the count, the next census will miss even more people.”