Res. No. 1784
Title
Resolution condemning President George W. Bush for failing to release adjusted Census 2000 results which would provide a more accurate count of people of color.
Body
By Council Members Lopez, Clarke, Malave-Dilan, Freed, Linares, Marshall, Quinn and Reed; also Council Members DiBrienza, Foster, Harrison, Michels, Nelson, Robinson and Sabini
Whereas, The decennial Census is taken to provide the country with an accurate picture of America; and
Whereas, Accurate and complete data collected during Census 2000 will be vitally important to New York City; and
Whereas, The 1990 Census missed 245, 000 people in New York City, and therefore, for ten years the City has had to live with the ramifications of that undercount; and
Whereas, If the 1990 undercount trend continues, according to a study commissioned by the Presidential side of the Census Monitoring Board, between 2002 and 2012, a projected undercount could cost the New York City metropolitan area $2.3 billion over the decade, and will also mean another decade of political under-representation; and
Whereas, Historically, Census undercounts are concentrated in rural areas and urban centers, such as New York City; and
Whereas, The Bush Administration has refused to adjust Census 2000 results despite estimates that more than 3.3 million people, predominantly members of minority groups, went uncounted; and
Whereas, The Bush Administration decision means that Congressional districting and the allocation of federal funds will be based on the inaccurate raw-data head count; and
Whereas, As a result of the Bush Administration decision, New York City may once again lose valuable representation and resources it deserves; and
Whereas, By utilizing the raw-data head count, rather than Census numbers adjusted through statistical sampling, the result will not provide us with an accurate reflection of the actual number of residents, particularly in cities, such as New York City, and areas where there are large populations of people of color; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York condemns President George W. Bush for failing to release adjusted Census 2000 results which would provide a more accurate count of people of color.
LS # 3945
03/12/01