Census Data

On May 21, 2001, 16 members of the House Government Reform Committee, led by Reps. Waxman, Wm. Lacy Clay, and Carolyn Maloney, filed suit in federal court in Los Angeles against the Secretary of Commerce. The purpose of the lawsuit was to compel the Bush Administration to release adjusted data from the 2000 census. The lawsuit was brought under the "seven member rule" (5 U.S.C. § 2954), a statute that provides "an Executive agency, on request of the Committee on Government Operations of the House of Representatives, or of any seven members thereof . . . shall submit any information requested of it relating to any matter within the jurisdiction of the committee." The court ruling is the first judicial decision interpreting the seven member rule.

The raw census data released by the Commerce Department missed over six million Americans. For that reason, the Census Bureau prepared a second set of "adjusted" data that was corrected for errors using statistical techniques. Unfortunately, the Commerce Department has refused to release the adjusted data for political reasons. When the Commerce Department used similar techniques as part of the 1990 census, federal courts ordered the data released and rejected claims that information was in any way confidential.

Release of the adjusted data could affect the allocation of more than $185 billion in federal grants. According to the General Accounting Office, the failure to adjust the 1990 census cost California and other states $4.5 billion in federal grant funds. Moreover, the adjusted data could be used by states to increase the accuracy of state and congressional redistricting.

On Jan. 18, 2002, a federal district judge ruled in favor of the 16 minority members of the Government Reform Committee who had filed suit under the seven member rule for disclosure of adjusted data from the 2000 census. On March 25, a federal district judge again ruled in favor of the 16 minority members of the Committee, denying a request for reconsideration by Commerce Secretary Evans.

On Dec. 5, the Commerce Department finally released the adjusted census data to Reps. Waxman, Wm. Lacy Clay, Carolyn B. Maloney, and thirteen other Committee members. Rep. Waxman said, "The Commerce Department should have released the data over a year ago. The new census data is essential to understanding how errors in the census affect federal funding for cities and counties."

Latest News

Committee Holds Hearing on 2010 Census

The Full Committee and the Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census and National Archives held a joint hearing on “2010 Census: Assessing the Census Bureau’s Progress,” at 10:00 a.m. on June 11, in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building.

Chairman Waxman and Rep. Clay Request Testimony at Hearing on Census Bureau

Chairman Waxman and Subcommittee Chairman Clay invited Secretary of Commerce Gutierrez and Census Bureau Director Steven Murdock to testify at a June hearing regarding the Census Bureau’s preparation for the 2010 census and the mismanaged Field Data Collection Automation (FDCA) contract.

2010 Census, Progress on the Development of the Field Data Collection Automation (FDCA) Program and the Decennial Response Integration System (DRIS)

On April 9, at 2:00 p.m., the Committee held a joint hearing with the Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives to examine the Field Data Collection Automation Program and the Decennial Response Integration System.

Oversight Committee Requests Documents on Troubled Census Program

In response to notification that Secretary of Commerce Gutierrez will be unable to testify at the April 9 Committee hearing on the Field Data Collection Automation program, Chairman Waxman and Subcommittee Chairman Clay requested documents related to the program.

Chairman Waxman Responds to Ranking Member Davis's Request for Census Hearing

Chairman Waxman wrote to Ranking Member Davis to confirm that a hearing on the Census Bureau’s Field Data Collection Automation program has been tentatively scheduled for April 9, 2008.

Data on Migrant Farmworkers Still Needed

Rep. Waxman and 18 other member of Congress urge the Department of Labor to continue the National Agricultural Workers Survey, which provides essential information on employment, immigration, health, public benefits, education, wages, and income.

Background Documents

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