IV 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 136 
Expressing the sense of Congress that the census surveys and the information 
derived from those surveys are crucial to the national welfare. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 2, 2012 
Mrs. MALONEY (for herself, Mr. HONDA, Ms. CHU, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. OLVER, 
Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. RICHARDSON, Mr. BLUMENAUER, 
Mr. STARK, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, and 
Mr. GRIJALVA) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress that the census surveys 
and the information derived from those surveys are cru-
cial to the national welfare. 
Whereas the American Community Survey (referred to in this 
preamble as the ‘‘ACS’’) was launched in 2005 during 
the Administration of President George W. Bush and has 
since been funded by Congress as an innovation that the 
Bureau of the Census has been able to use in place of 
the decennial census long form; 
Whereas the ACS provides the United States, States, coun-
ties, cities, towns, neighborhoods, and other areas with 
annual data that was formerly available only once every 
10 years; 
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•HCON 136 IH 
Whereas the Federal Government relies on the ACS— 
(1) to produce annual population estimates for the 
United States, States, metropolitan areas, counties, cit-
ies, and other areas; 
(2) to produce annual measures of total personal in-
come and per capita income for the United States, 
States, metropolitan areas, and counties; 
(3) to define metropolitan areas; 
(4) to determine compliance with the Voting Rights 
Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973 et seq.); and 
(5) to fairly distribute more than $450,000,000,000 
in Federal domestic assistance to States and other areas, 
including through the setting of the formulas for Federal 
reimbursement to States for Medicaid expenditures; 
Whereas the ACS is the only source of rural and small-area 
economic and demographic data of sufficient reliability to 
allow entrepreneurs, business owners, and local govern-
ment planners, among others, to make informed decisions 
on where to invest, build, create jobs, and maintain or 
improve infrastructure; 
Whereas Congress requires the information collected through 
the ACS in order to provide adequate oversight of a sub-
stantial number of executive departments, agencies, and 
programs; 
Whereas the citizens of the United States require the infor-
mation collected through the ACS for each State and 
congressional district in order to hold their Members of 
Congress accountable; 
Whereas, since the founding of the United States, Congress 
has recognized the value and mandated the use of the de-
cennial census as a means to gather information that in-
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•HCON 136 IH 
forms public policy and measures the progress of the 
United States; 
Whereas the congressional tradition of the decennial census 
was initiated by the efforts of United States Representa-
tive James Madison, the ‘‘Father of the Constitution’’, 
who argued on the floor of the House of Representatives 
that Congress, in considering the Act entitled ‘‘An Act 
providing for the enumeration of the Inhabitants of the 
United States’’ (commonly known as the ‘‘Census Act of 
1790’’; 1 Stat. 101, chapter 2), ‘‘had now an opportunity 
of obtaining the most useful information for those who 
should hereafter be called upon to legislate for their 
country if this bill was extended so as to embrace some 
other objects besides the bare enumeration of the inhab-
itants; it would enable them to adapt the public measures 
to the particular circumstances of the community. In 
order to know the various interests of the United States, 
it was necessary that the description of the several class-
es into which the community was divided, should be accu-
rately known; on this knowledge the legislature might 
proceed to make a proper provision for the agricultural, 
commercial and manufacturing interests . . . in due pro-
portion’’; 
Whereas Representative James Madison also said, ‘‘This kind 
of information all legislatures had wished for; but this 
kind of information had never been obtained in any coun-
try’’; that he wished, therefore, ‘‘to avail himself of the 
present opportunity of accomplishing so valuable a pur-
pose’’; and ‘‘[i]f the plan was pursued in taking every fu-
ture census, it would give [Congress] an opportunity of 
marking the progress of the society, and distinguishing 
the growth of every interest.’’; 
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•HCON 136 IH 
Whereas Vice President Thomas Jefferson, the ‘‘Father of 
the Declaration of Independence’’, wrote Congress as 
president of the American Philosophical Society that the 
consideration by Congress of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act 
providing for the second Census or enumeration of the 
Inhabitants of the United States’’ (commonly known as 
the ‘‘Census Act of 1800’’; 2 Stat. 11, chapter 12) of-
fered ‘‘an occasion of great value, and not otherwise to 
be obtained, of ascertaining sundry facts highly impor-
tant to society . . . [and] presenting a more detailed view 
of the inhabitants of the United States, under several dif-
ferent aspects,’’ including age (so as to be able to meas-
ure life expectancy), citizenship (so as to be able to deter-
mine the relative contributions of births and immigration 
to population growth), and the occupation of free males 
(so as to be able ‘‘to ascertain more completely the 
causes which influence life and health, and furnish a curi-
ous and useful document of the distribution of society in 
these States, and of the conditions and vocations of our 
fellow-citizens . . .’’); 
Whereas diverse presidents throughout the 19th and 20th 
centuries, such as John Quincy Adams, Martin Van 
Buren, William McKinley, Herbert Hoover, and Franklin 
Roosevelt, asked for and received from Congress permis-
sion to expand the scope of census questions unrelated to 
enumeration; 
Whereas the Economic Census is required by law to be con-
ducted every 5 years, provides the most authoritative and 
comprehensive data about United States businesses, and 
provides the foundation for key economic indicators, such 
as the gross domestic product; 
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•HCON 136 IH 
Whereas, in response to the recommendations of the Intensive 
Review Committee (also known as the ‘‘Watkins Commis-
sion’’), Congress enacted the recommendations into law 
in 1954, thereby providing for quinquennial censuses of 
manufacturing, mineral industries, and other businesses; 
Whereas the finding of the Watkins Commission that 
‘‘[w]ithout these census records, it would not be possible 
to construct or interpret this system of economic indica-
tors. Business executives, farmers, labor leaders, profes-
sional men, scholars, scientists, government officials, and 
administrators in all phases of our society are dependent 
on census records or on economic indicators based on 
census records.’’ is as true today as it was in 1954; 
Whereas the Economic Census— 
(1) provides the foundation for key annual, quar-
terly, and monthly Federal economic indicators, including 
the gross domestic product, industrial production, labor 
productivity, manufacturing and services industry activ-
ity, producer price indices, research and development ex-
penditures, commodity flows, and employer-sponsored 
health insurance coverage; 
(2) provides the basis for Federal macroeconomic 
and budget projections; and 
(3) informs Federal trade, competitiveness, and en-
trepreneurship policies; 
Whereas single firms rely on the Economic Census to com-
pare their operations to industry averages, identify mar-
kets, and inform decisions on business location, capital 
investment, product research and development, and mar-
keting strategies; 
Whereas the information collected through the Economic 
Census affords the private and public sectors the ability 
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•HCON 136 IH 
to make good decisions and use resources in a way such 
that the entire country is more efficient and better able 
to compete in the world economy, thereby allowing the 
United States to maintain a high standard of living; 
Whereas what is today called the Economic Census began as 
the ‘‘census of manufactures’’ in 1810; 
Whereas the census of manufactures (as well as the census 
of agriculture) became a regular feature of census taking 
in 1840 and has remained such ever since; 
Whereas household and business responses to census surveys 
allow national, State, and local officials to make informed 
decisions, just as James Madison envisioned, providing 
timely and accurate statistics even for small localities; 
Whereas, historically, Congress has followed the precedent set 
by all previous Congresses in supporting and directing 
the collection of a range of information in the ACS and 
the Economic Census to guide its own deliberations and 
consideration of policies; 
Whereas Federal courts have consistently upheld the con-
stitutionality of including questions unrelated to enu-
meration in the decennial census and requiring answers 
to such questions; and 
Whereas Congress has mandated and the Department of 
Commerce has successfully implemented strict protection 
of the confidentiality of responses: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That Congress— 
(1) encourages the people of the United States 
to fulfill their civic duty and follow the law by re-
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•HCON 136 IH 
sponding to all census surveys conducted by the Bu-
reau of the Census; and 
(2) strongly encourages the Bureau of the Cen-
sus— 
(A) to provide United States households 
and businesses with information regarding the 
community, economic, and fiscal benefits to be 
gained from participation in the American Com-
munity Survey and the Economic Census; 
(B) to use the most current methodologies 
and technologies to reduce any burden of re-
sponding to the American Community Survey 
and the Economic Census; and 
(C) to continue, as the Bureau of the Cen-
sus has done throughout its history, to innovate 
its methods, processes, and products, and thus 
maintain the world-class standards that have 
made the Bureau of the Census an inter-
national leader among statistical agencies. 
Æ 
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