08 Sep 1998 President Threatens Government Shutdown in Push for Illegal Census Practice

Despite a federal court ruling on August 24, 1998 prohibiting the use of “sampling” in the 2000 census, the Clinton Administration is still proceeding with plans to use this counting method in the next national population survey. Furthermore, President Bill Clinton is threatening to shut down the FBI, DEA and other Justice Department-related law enforcement organizations as well as the State and Commerce Departments unless Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives present him with legislation providing full funding to implement this illegal process.

Data from the census, the once-a-decade survey of the American population, determines the number of U.S. representatives for each state, how voting districts are drawn and how federal money is allocated. The Clinton Administration is seeking to replace the traditional person-by-person counting method of enumeration with a statistical estimation process called sampling. While the Administration contends sampling is the only fair way to count all Americans, critics say it could produce erroneous population numbers and be manipulated for political gain.

The National Center for Public Policy Research’s new National Policy Analysis paper, “The Census: Sampling or a Straight Count?” provides readers with:

* The historical underpinnings of the census process.

* A description of how the sampling process works.

* Questions and answers regarding the legality and constitutionality of sampling.

* Criticisms of the use of sampling as a means of achieving an accurate population count.

* Suggestions for making the current enumeration process more effective.

“Many believe the Clinton Administration might try to use sampling to create population estimates that favor Democratic candidates,” said author David W. Almasi, director of publications and media relations for The National Center for Public Policy Research. “Clinton’s record of politicizing government agencies like the IRS and FBI – added to the fact that tests of sampling have raised serious concerns about its accuracy – make Republican congressmen and others leery of giving the President control over mapping Congress for the next ten years.”

The National Center for Public Policy Research is a non-partisan, non-profit education foundation.