White House to Bypass Commerce on Census

Congressional Quarterly ^ | February 5 | Jonathon Allen

[PghBaldy]

The director of the Census Bureau will report directly to the White House and not the secretary of Commerce, according to a senior White House official.

The decision came after black and Hispanic leaders raised questions about Commerce Secretary nominee Judd Gregg ’s commitment to funding the census.

Gregg, New Hampshire’s senior senator, voted in committee and on the floor for a 1995 Republican budget that envisioned the elimination of the Commerce Department. Of even more concern to black and Hispanic leaders, Gregg battled President Clinton over a request for “emergency” funding for the 2000 census.

“Secretary of Commerce-designate Judd Gregg ’s record raises serious questions about his willingness to ensure that the 2010 census produces the most accurate possible count of the nation’’s population,”” the National Association of Latino Elected Officials said in a release on Tuesday, the day Gregg was named to the post. “”Policymakers and planners at all levels of government rely on these data to make important decisions about their services, such as the number of teachers that will be needed in their classrooms, the best places to build new roads, or the best way to provide job training.”

The selection of the Republican Gregg for Commerce — a plum often given out to a big fundraiser or personal friend in the president’s own party — left many Democrats scratching their heads and others fearful that Gregg might not defend favored agencies and programs with the department.

“Sen. Gregg’s record of previously voting to abolish the Commerce Department and his attempts to block President Bill Clinton’s efforts to secure adequate funding for the 2000 census raise troubling concerns regarding his commitment to the department’s core missions,” Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Barbara Lee said on Tuesday.

[unkus]

I mailed it in five times and you still haven’t gotten it?

[dr_who]

Yup. No more constitutional obligations and stuff. This is about gerrymandering.

[I got the rope]

Dr. Murdoch is a good man. He’s a scholar and a patriot. He loves his country.

The US Census is in good hands with him.

[I got the rope]

http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/murdock_bio.html

[livius]

Black pressure groups have complained about the census for years because it shows a declining black population. IIRC, the last time the census was done, the government actually did something to artificially adjust the number of blacks upward after the usual black “leaders” complained.

There’s lots of money tied to census figures, since the allotment of government funds and programs is based on it. This is simply a way of ensuring that certain groups get the results they want.

[KittenClaws]

Apparently, when Pres. Bush was asked about a long census form they tried to send to everyone in 2000 he said he wouldn’t fill it out if it was him. LOL.

LOL!

I remember tha now.

[KittenClaws]

I mailed it in five times and you still haven’t gotten it?

Government knows this is not an unlikely occurrence! They must have gotten it, and misplaced it - No efficiency at all. Heck, many of them can't even remember to pay their taxes..

[Pistolshot]

I can’t understand - why would a sitting Senator with a lot of power (Gregg, Clinton) want to work in the Cabinet,

Because "Mr. Secretary" gets a lot more attention than "Senator so and so"

[dforest]

Obama really gives off some bad vibes.

Bad people are running things. Scary

[unkus]

Sure. Incompetent bureaucrats will believe about anything that makes no sense.

[TheRightGuy]

The director of the Census Bureau will report directly to the White House and not the secretary of Commerce, outsource most of the actual census taking work to ACORN.

There, fixed it.

[unkus]

>>Obama really gives off some bad vibes.<<

Very bad vibes.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Dr. Murdoch is a good man. He’s a scholar and a patriot. He loves his country.

Zero will give him the 1937 Soviet Census treatment if the numbers aren't to his liking.

[Impy]

Don’t fret DU, Gregg at Commerce won’t effect important pre-gerrymandering plans.

[happinesswithoutpeace]

/mark

[BillyBoy]

I wonder if it will be like the last census where their desire to count every “Hispanic” they missed in 1990 resulted in the census bureau labeling anyone “Hispanic” who had a remotely spanish-sounding last name, even if they were 7/8th Irish but happened to have a great grandfather from Portugal.

[Sir Gawain]

This combined with the new socialism on the way, we’re in for some rough times. There’s a great feeling of uneasiness everywhere.

[sweetiepiezer]

Here is the ACS site, they want a whole lot of info.

http://www.census.gov/acs/www/index.html

[sweetiepiezer]

Acorn and SEIU, Dems owe them big time.

http://sweetness-light.com/archive/obama-acornproject-vote-and-the-seiu

[calex59]

The fact is you don’t have to answer all the questions, only the ones pertaining to how many of you live at the particular dwelling. Questions, such as they had last census, about income etc. you don’t have to answer and the fact is the forms are supposed to be anonymous, so how can they fine you for not answering? (Answer: Because they are not really anonymous and the government wants to intrude on all parts of your life)