José E. Serrano: “Mr. Chairman, let us me first open my comments by saying that I do not have to repeat, the record will show I have been…”

“Mr. Chairman, let us me first open my comments by saying that I do not have to repeat, the record will show I have been totally supportive of full funding the Census Bureau for the last few years; that I have gotten as the ranking member up on this floor and supported not only full funding, but supported the professionals who work at the Census Bureau. So I am clear on that, that this amendment and this conversation and this debate should in no way be seen as an attack. There is no need to defend the professionals at the bureau, because we all respect the work that they do. However, the point here is that in trying to do the best job possible and in taking into consideration what they had to do, there were a couple of mistakes made this year. One of them is this issue that the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) so aptly bring up in this amendment that I support, and that is the whole issue that in areas throughout the country, but you take especially an area like New York City, of not giving an opportunity for a Hispanic subgroup to identify themselves, is in fact not gathering the proper information.”