FW: [DW] Fwd: [NNIPNews] Press Release: Nationwide Protest Against House Elimination of ACS

[michael gurstein]

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On
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Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2012 7:24 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: [DW] Fwd: [NNIPNews] Press Release: Nationwide Protest Against
House Elimination of ACS


From: Pettit, Kathryn <[hidden email]>
Date: Thu, May 17, 2012 at 7:10 AM
Subject: [NNIPNews] Press Release: Nationwide Protest Against House
Elimination of ACS
To: NNIPNEWS <[hidden email]>


With apologies for cross-posting... an update on the messages from last week
heres the press release and link to the final letter from the Census
Project.****

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[image: The Census Project] <http://www.thecensusproject.org>****

Census Reporters/Database Reporters****

For Immediate Release
Wednesday, May 16, 2012****

For More Information Contact:
Phil Sparks 202-326-8700, [hidden email] or
Terri Ann Lowenthal 202-258-2425, [hidden email]**** *Nationwide Protest
Against House Elimination of American Community Survey**
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WASHINGTON-- Hundreds of organizations released a letter(
www.thecensusproject.org) sent to the leadership of the U.S. Senate
protesting actions by the House of Representatives last week which would
eliminate FY 2013 funding for the American Community Survey (ACS) . The ACS
replaced the so-called census long form in the 2010 decennial census. The
letter to Senate leaders also noted that House actions cut the Census
Bureau's budget request by more than $100, reducing funds for planning the
Census 2020 and forcing possible cancellation of the 2012 Economic Census of
the nation. The Senate is expected to vote on the Census Bureau soon as part
of its consideration of the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations
Committee process.****

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The more than 500 organizations signing the letter represent nearly every
sector of the nations economic, civic, and social environment.  Many have
vastly different policy and political perspectives on most other issues, but
they all agree that a modern, democratic society cannot function prudently
without objective, reliable and comparable data for every community in the
country, no matter how sparsely populated, remote, or
diverse.****

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The diverse range of national organizations expressing alarm at the
potential loss of the American Community Survey include the National Urban
League, U.S. Conference of Mayors, Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, NAACP,
American Planning Association, National Association of Towns and Townships,
National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Education
Fund, Mortgage Bankers Association, American Association of University
Women, American Sociological Association, International Council of Shopping
Centers, Community Action Partnership, National Education Association,
National Congress of American Indians, National Association of Regional
Councils, Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals, AFSCME,
Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Asian American Justice
Center, and the National Council on Aging.****

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"The adverse consequences of these proposals are widespread and would affect
the nations ability to meet the needs of Americans through wise allocation
of resources, monitor the nations economic recovery, and meet our
constitutional obligation to conduct an accurate census in 2020," the letter
coordinated by the Census Project declared*.*****

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The House action to eliminate the ACS came last Wednesday on a vote of
190-232. The House action was virtually a straight party vote with 11
Republicans voting against the action and 4 Democrats voting to support the
cutback.****

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Signers include dozens of organizations that serve people with disabilities
and mental health conditions, and older Americans, at the community level.
Many critics of the ACS pointed to questions on limits [on] one or more
basic physical activities and dressing, bathing, or getting around inside
the home as evidence of unreasonable governmental intrusion.  But advocates
and caregivers for disabled Americans and seniors use the data these
questions produce to gauge the need for rehabilitative services and assisted
living facilities across the country.  The ACS is the only source of
neighborhood level data on the extent of physical, mental and emotional
challenges affecting the population.****

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"The ACS is the only source of objective, consistent, and comprehensive
information about the nations social, economic, and demographic
characteristics down to the neighborhood level.  The importance of
high-quality, objective, and universal ACS data for public and private
sector decision-makers cannot be overstated.  The federal government alone
allocates more than $450 billion annually in program funds to state and
local governments based in whole or in part on ACS data," the Census Project
letter continued.****

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Many organizations representing various commuting alternatives, such as
bicycling, also expressed their concern about the potential loss of reliable
ACS data.  ACS questions on the time people leave and return to work, and
their mode of transportation, produce irreplaceable data on commuting
patterns that allow local governments to meet the needs of commuters at peak
traffic times, creating bike-only lanes and changing traffic light and walk
sign timing, for example.****

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Dozens of housing industry associations and low-income housing advocates
also signed the letter.  The ACS is the only source of comparable, timely,
small-area data about the condition of the nations housing stock and the
socio-economic characteristics of neighborhoods, all key pieces of
information to guide a recovering housing market at a time of economic
uncertainty.****

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A full copy of the congressional letter is posted online at: (
http://www.thecensusproject.org/letters/2012-05-16_Senate_Census_Budget_Ltr-
SenateLeadership-Final-Signed.pdf
)****

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Phil Sparks
Executive Vice President
[hidden email]****

401 Ninth Street NW, Suite 450
Washington, DC 20004-2142
Direct: 202-326-8700
Fax: [phone]****

Read our blogs, get tips and media trends: http://www.ccmc.org Follow CCMC
on Twitter: http://twitter.com/CCMCtweets Like CCMC on Facebook:
http://facebook.com/CCMCdc****


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