Sean Patrick Maloney: “once again I rise to point out that the experts support the use of scientific methods to correct the census for…”

“once again I rise to point out that the experts support the use of scientific methods to correct the census for undercounts and overcounts. Yesterday the National Academy of Sciences released the first report from the fourth panel to review the Census Bureau's plans for the 2000 census. Yet again, the experts convened by the Academy endorsed the Census Bureau's plan to use science to evaluate and correct the census counts. At the end of 1998 the Census Bureau asked the National Academy of Sciences to convene a fourth panel to evaluate the Census Bureau's design for Census 2000. This independent panel, like the three that preceded it, has unequivocally stated that statistical methods work. The Academy panel stated yesterday that the design of the quality control survey represents, and I quote from the panel, ``good, current practice.'' In fact, the panel explained, and I quote: ``Because it is not possible to count everyone in a census, a post-enumeration survey'' using modern scientific methods ``is an important element of census planning.''”