Political Quotes

“Not at all. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I think what is important to note here is we are allowing local governments to come in who feel they have been undercounted, to come in with a post-Census sampling and start adding their input into that process. So if they are being undercounted in their cities, if they are going to be punished if it comes to Federal aid or punished in redistricting, they will have an opportunity at that point to have their say before the final count goes forward. That is fair to these localities, many of them that are traditionally undercounted. That is why we put more money for the advertising budget increases, that is why this legislation puts more enumerators in hard-to-count areas, that is why we have extended the census in the schools, and we have moved it up from 20 percent, which is what the administration offered, to 100 percent of the classrooms in America. Many times you reach the parents with the best count going through the classrooms and the kids in the schools. That is why this legislation asks that AmeriCorps volunteers be empowered to help in hard-to-count areas, so we can get to a solid count. That is why the governments and the NGOs are going to be given additional grants to assist in hard-to-count populations, and that is why this legislation allows Federal retirees, welfare recipients, not to be punished if we empower them and help them to get the most accurate count in history. All of these are very, very important.…”