Decennial Census Improvement Act of 1996

Summary: Decennial Census Improvement Act of 1996 - Requires the Bureau of the Census, in conducting the 2000 decennial census, to:  (1) attempt to contact every household directly, whether by mail or in person (and allows the use of sampling as a substitute for direct contact in a particular census tract only after direct contact has been made with at least 90 percent of the households in such tract); and (2) seek to make more effective use of State and local government offices and appropriate local groups to reduce the undercount and include in a specified report a description of the measures it intends to carry out such requirement. 
Modifies Federal law regarding exemptions for reemployed annuitants and former uniformed service members to make such law:  (1) applicable to service in any temporary position within the Bureau established for purposes relating to the 2000 decennial census; and (2) inapplicable to any service performed after December 31, 2000. 
Prohibits taking into account compensation for services performed by an individual appointed to a temporary position in or under the Bureau for purposes relating to the 2000 decennial census (if the position is so designated by the Bureau, in writing, at the time of such individual's appointment) for purposes of:  (1) State programs for aid and services to needy families with children and for child- welfare services, and for certain medical assistance, under the Social Security Act; (2) the Food Stamp program; (3) certain programs for housing assistance; (4) specified assistance under the school breakfast and lunch programs, the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children, and the Job Training Partnership Act; (5) any Head Start program; and (6) assistance pursuant to the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Decennial Census Improvement Act of 
1996''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) the Constitution requires that the number of persons in 
        the Nation be enumerated every 10 years in order to permit the 
        apportionment of Representatives among the several States;
            (2) information collected through a decennial census is 
        also used to determine--
                    (A) the boundaries of congressional districts 
                within States;
                    (B) the boundaries of the districts for the 
                legislature of each State and the boundaries of other 
                political subdivisions within the States; and
                    (C) the allocation of billions of dollars of 
                Federal and State funds;
            (3) the Constitution requires that those enumerations be 
        made in such manner as the Congress ``shall by law direct'';
            (4) in the 1990 decennial census, the Bureau of the Census 
        used a combination of mail questionnaires and personal 
        interviews, involving more than 350,000 enumerators, to collect 
        the census data;
            (5) while the census cannot count everyone, the extent of 
        the undercount varies by race and geography; for example, the 
        Bureau estimates that the 1990 decennial census failed to count 
        5.7 percent of blacks and 1.3 percent of all others;
            (6) a number of lawsuits were filed challenging the 
        accuracy of the 1990 decennial census, and in March 1996 the 
        Supreme Court unanimously upheld the Secretary of Commerce's 
        decision in July 1991 not to adjust the initial enumeration in 
        the 1990 decennial census by using a postenumeration 
        statistical survey;
            (7) on February 28, 1996, the Bureau announced that, for 
        the 2000 decennial census, it plans to use a combination of 
        mail questionnaires and personal interviews in each county 
        until it has collected data from 90 percent of the households 
        in the county, whereupon it would conduct interviews with 
        respect to one-tenth of the remaining households in the county 
        and use the information obtained from those interviews to make 
        estimates with respect to the remaining nonresponding 
        households;
            (8) certain witnesses testified, at a hearing held by the 
        Committee on Government Reform and Oversight of the House of 
        Representatives on February 29, 1996, that the Bureau's 
        proposed sampling technique may increase the disparity in the 
        undercount among either geographic areas (such as between rural 
        and urban areas) or racial or ethnic groups (such as with 
        respect to African Americans and Hispanic Americans, as 
        compared to other groups);
            (9) the planning, conduct, and analysis of a decennial 
        census often requires close to a period of 10 years;
            (10) the Bureau estimates that the proposed sampling 
        technique will cost about $500 million less, over that period 
        of time, than the $4.4 billion that it estimates would be spent 
        over that same period if the method used in the 1990 decennial 
        census were to be used (instead of such sampling technique) in 
        the 2000 decennial census; and
            (11) the Chairman of the Panel on Census Requirements in 
        the Year 2000 and Beyond of the National Academy of Sciences 
        testified at the February 29th hearing that there is a trade-
        off between cost savings associated with using a sampling 
        technique on the one hand, and adverse effects with respect to 
        sampling variability, public perception, and political 
        consequences, on the other.
    (b) Purposes.--It is the purpose of this Act to promote the 
accuracy of the 2000 decennial census, and public confidence with 
respect to the data obtained therefrom.

SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS.

    The 2000 decennial census shall be conducted in accordance with the 
following:
            (1) Direct contact must be attempted.--The Bureau shall 
        attempt to contact every household directly (whether by mail or 
        in person), and may use sampling as a substitute for direct 
        contact in a particular census tract only after direct contact 
        has been made with at least 90 percent of the households in 
        such tract.
            (2) Greater use of non-federal resources.--The Bureau--
                    (A) shall seek to make more effective use of State 
                and local government offices, as well as appropriate 
                local groups, in order to reduce the undercount; and
                    (B) shall include, as part of its report under 
                section 141(f) of title 13, United States Code, next 
                due after the date of the enactment of this Act, a 
                description of the measures it intends to pursue to 
                carry out subparagraph (A).

SEC. 4. MEASURES TO FACILITATE THE RECRUITMENT OF TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES.

    (a) Exemption From Provisions Relating to Reemployed Annuitants and 
Former Members of the Uniformed Services.--Public Law 101-86 (13 U.S.C. 
23 note) is amended--
            (1) in section 1(b) and the long title by striking ``the 
        1990 decennial census'' and inserting ``the 2000 decennial 
        census''; and
            (2) in section 4 by striking ``December 31, 1990.'' and 
        inserting ``December 31, 2000.''.
    (b) Purposes for Which Compensation Shall Not Be Taken Into 
Account.--Compensation for services performed by an individual 
appointed to a temporary position in or under the Bureau for purposes 
relating to the 2000 decennial census (if the position is so designated 
by the Bureau, in writing, at the time of such individual's 
appointment) shall not be taken into account for purposes of any of the 
following:
            (1) Any State program funded under part A of title IV of 
        the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).
            (2) Medical assistance provided pursuant to title XIX of 
        the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.).
            (3) The Food stamp program, within the meaning of section 
        3(h) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (42 U.S.C. 2012(h)).
            (4) Any program for housing assistance administered by the 
        Secretary of Housing and Urban Development or the Secretary of 
        Agriculture.
            (5) Assistance under--
                    (A) the school breakfast program under section 4 of 
                the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773); or
                    (B) the school lunch program under the National 
                School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.).
            (6) Assistance under the special supplemental nutrition 
        program for women, infants, and children under section 17 of 
        the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786).
            (7) Assistance under title II of the Job Training 
        Partnership Act (29 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.).
            (8) Any Head Start program under the Head Start Act (42 
        U.S.C. 9831 et seq.).
            (9) Assistance provided pursuant to the Low-Income Home 
        Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621 et seq.).

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act--
            (1) the term ``census'' means a census of population within 
        the meaning of section 141(g) of title 13, United States Code;
            (2) the term ``Bureau'' means the Bureau of the Census; and
            (3) the term ``census tract'' means a statistical 
        subdivision as defined by the Bureau for purposes of the 1990 
        decennial census.