HON. WILLIAM J. GREEN, HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES, Chairman, Census and Statistics Subcommittee, DEAR MR. GREEN: This Authority has been recently advised of action initiated about a year ago by Congressman Jackson E. Betts of Ohio (H.R. 10952) and similar bills which would limit the effectiveness of our U.S. census to be taken in 1970. In the Public Housing field we have relied on census figures in many respects as to needs for housing, conditions of housing etc., and we have looked forward to the 1970 census as making available to us definite information on our needs. This letter is written to you to do what is in your power to discourage the passage of any bills which would restrict information to be derived from the census. I feel that census questionnaires in the past have not been unreasonable, and the small amount of time to complete such questionnaires on the part of any individual should not be objectionable. Sincerely, Dr. JAMES K. HETLAND, Jr., JESSE E. SPRAY, General Housing Manager HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Chairman, Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities Area, DEAR JIM: Thank you for your recent letter concerning legislation which would substantially alter the 1970 Census as proposed by the Bureau of the Census. As you know, this legislation was the subject of hearings before a subcommitt ee of the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee, but no further action has been taken, to date, on any of these bills. I have taken the liberty of making the excellent Metropolitan Council memorandum on this subject available to the Post Office and Civil Service Committee for their study and consideration. Keep up the good work. Best regards. MEMORANDUM CLARK MAC Gregor. METROPOLITAN COUNCIL, To: Members of the Metropolitan Council. Subject: Recommendations on the 1970 Census of Population and Housing. There are 16 bills currently before Congress which would alter the 1970 census as proposed by the Bureau of the Census. The main element of each of these bills which is of concern to the Council is the proposal to make the response to a number of the questions voluntary. Many of these questions provide information which is vital to the work of the Council. If answers to these questions are voluntary the answers would be statistically invalid and therefore unusable. In Appendix "A" are indentified the questions which would be voluntary in the 1970 census under provisions of pending congressional legislition. The value of answers to each of these questions is indicated. Questions with a value of 1 or 2, if made voluntary, would significantly effect the work of the Council. Questions identified with a value of 3, if made voluntary, would have a negligible effect on the work of the Council. Recommendation Recommendation is that the Council make available copy of this report to congressional delegation with the request that they oppose legislation which would allow voluntary response on questions with a value of 1 or 2, as indicated on Appendix "A," and support measures designed to protect the confidentiality of information supplied by individuals to the Census Bureau. ROBERT T. JORVIG, Executive Director. APPENDIX A.-QUESTIONS WHICH WOULD BE VOLUNTARY IN THE 1970 CENSUS UNDER PROVISIONS Used in population projections and migration studies.... Population projections, school enrollment projections; Projecting: job manpower needs; job training; occupa- Determination of unemployment areas and potential Used to measure ethnic segregation and social mobility Useful for analyzing population movement and growth; in Important data for highway and transit planning; in in- Economic indicator... Population studies and family stability indicator.... 2 22 15. Water supply, flush toilet, 1940 bathtub or shower. Useful as one of the basic measurements in determin- .do. 1 17. Telephone.. 1960 Used for administrative purposes by Census Bureau. Can 26. Automobiles.. 1960 Useful in highway planning; mass transit planning; level- 11221 28. Air conditioning. 1960 29. Bedrooms. 1960 Indicator of housing quality. Housing studies.. 31. Television.. 1950 Indicators of level of living. 12333333~ 1 Mandatory under Scott bill, voluntary under other 15 bills proposed. These comments are in addition to those uses identified in U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census document series II, No. 7, dated Sept. 28, 1967. 31 represents great value; 2 represents moderate value; and 3 represents little value. Mr. T. EDWARD TEMPLE, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Washington, D.C., July 10, 1968. Director, Division of Planning, Office of Administration, Commonwealth of Virginia, Richmond, Va. DEAR MR. TEMPLE: I do thank you for your very comprehensive letter outlining reasons for the Division's opposition to the Betts proposal, H.R. 10952, which would limit the content and scope of the 1970 Censuses of Population and Housing. Your views are greatly appreciated. share in your concern over the proposed limitations and want to assure you that I do not and will not support this proposal. In my opinion, it would be impossible for a planning agency to function intelligently or plan effectively in the absence of sound and comprehensive statistical data. I know that the Census provides vitally needed information not available from any other source. I am taking the liberty of forwarding your letter to the Subcommittee on Census and Statistics of our Post Office and Civil Service Committee for inclusion in their hearings on this matter. Please let me know if I can be of further service. DEAR CONGRESSMAN DOWNING: The Division of Planning has been designated by the Governor as the State's statistical coordination office. For this reason we take a great interest in developments which would affect the supply and quality of statistics available for use by State agencies, local governments, regional planning groups, and private businesses. We are greatly concerned by pending legislation which would seriously impair the usefulness of the 1970 census. Representative Betts of Ohio has introduced a bill, H.R. 10952, which would place serious limitations on the 1970 census. The bill is designated to limit census questions which must be answered under penalty of law. The bill would require mandatory answers only for the following items: name and address, relationship to head of household, sex, date of birth, race or color, marital status, and visitors in the home at the time of the census. Answers to any other questions would be voluntary. If this were the case, we would not obtain reliable information about such important topics as employment status, type of employment, income, education, and housing characteristics. Such information is vital in our work and the work of countless other users of census data. I trust that you will consider our position when action is due on H.R. 10952 and other similar restrictive proposals. Sincerely, T. EDWARD TEMPLE, Director. (The following letters were received by the subcommittee, for inclusion in the record, from representatives of various associations.) NEW YORK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, New York, N.Y., November 2, 1967. Hon. WILLIAM GREEN, DEAR CONGRESSMAN GREEN: The New York Chamber of Commerce, now in its 200th year, was one of the first organizations to institute a continuing program of research in urban problems. We have long felt the need for more adequate statistical information on socio-economic conditions in urban areas, necessary to the development of proper solutions to the growing problems of transportation, housing, education and man-power training, unemployment, and economic and physical renewal. These burgeoning urban problems cannot be approached without adequate information reflecting current conditions and which provides the concomitant basis for projections of future conditions. The proposal included in HR 10952 to eliminate vital data from the 1970 Census would seriously hamper private and public agencies in dealing with current problems, or planning for the future needs of the Nation's urban areas. For these reasons, the Committee on Industry, Trade and Transportation of the New York Chamber of Commerce strongly opposes the passage of HR 10952. Sincerely yours, DR. LEONARD LUND, Director of Governmental Relations. THE CHICAGO URBAN LEAGUE, Hon. WILLIAM J. GREEN, Chairman, Census and Statistics Subcommittee, DEAR SIR: I am writing you regarding the sixteen bills that have been introduced into the House of Representatives and into your subcommittee which would limit the number of questions that a person would be required to answer on a 1970 census questionnaire. I am writing particularly in regards to H.R. 10952 introduced by Congressman Jackson E. Betts. I think that this bill would be detrimental to the purpose of the census and would make it a far less useful instrument for evaluating social and economic progress. The proponents of the legislation contend that the questions violate the privacy of the individual citizen. Nothing could be further from the truth. The information asked on the census is confidential, therefore, the privacy of the person releasing the information is not violated. Over the years the census has developed into an extremely valuable instrument for measuring the social and economic progress of the country, and has become a valuable tool in the arsenal of every social scientist battling to solve poverty, unemployment and other socio-ecenomic problems. I urge you to do all in your power to prevent H.R. 10952 and other similar bills from being passed. Respectfully yours, EDWIN C. BERRY, Executive Director, Chicago Urban League. JANUARY 29, 1968. Congressman WILLIAM J. GREEN, Chairman, Census and Statistics Subcommittee, DEAR CONGRESSMAN GREEN: As the Head of the Research Department of the Fremont Chamber of Commerce I would like to urge the acceptance of the full 1970 Census. As Fremont is a relatively small city, 93,000, most of our valuable information comes from National or State-wide censuses. It would be financially impossible four our Chamber to conduct a city-wide census of such a detailed nature. It is vital to our community to have factual and up-to-date information on the characteristics of our population in order to attract industry and maintain a healthy level of growth. In other words, the decennial census is necessary to us in preparing the type of information needed to draw industry and business into Fremont. For this reason I strongly urge you to back the full 1970 Census. DEAR CONGRESSMAN GREEN: It has recently come to our attention that attempts are being made in the Congress to limit severely the number of questions to be asked in the 1970 Census of Population and Housing. I have specific reference to H.R. 10952 introduced by Cong. Betts and similar bills introduced by others. The Institute of Urban Life is a non-profit corporation, affiliated with Loyola University, and engaged in urban research. We have made extensive utilization of the data published as the result of the 1960 census of Population and Housing, and would regard the proposed cut-back in the coverage of the 1970 Census as being distinctly against the public interest. The research projects which we undertake are not of a theoretical or academic nature, but are commissioned by our clients (governmental agencies as well as private groups) in the belief that the research will provide guidance in the decisions they must make with respect to specific problems facing them. Let me illustrate this by citing only two of the many projects on which we have recently been involved. 1. We have been engaged by the City of Decatur, Illinois, to provide most of the technical assistance required in the preparation of a Community Renewal Program. A large component of this assignment involves the comparison of data, on a block-by-block basis, on the condition and occupancy of residential structures as they now exist, and their condition as reported in the 1960 Census. If H.R. 10952 were enacted, statistics by individual city blocks would not be produced by the 1970 Census. This would seriously impair the diagnosis and treatment of urban problems by municipalities such as Decatur. 2. We have been requested to prepare data on the socio-economic characteristics (educational levels, type of employment, length of residence, etc.) of the resident population in the 34 Counties which comprise the Southern Division of the U.S. District Court for Western Michigan, in connection with legal proceedings in which an issue has been raised as to whether the procedure used in that District for the selection of juries results in an appropriate cross-section of the population eligible for jury service. This analysis would have been futile had not the 1960 Census provided the pertinent data for each County. H.R. 10952 would exclude most of this type of data for individual Counties. The need for this type of analytical study is being increasingly recognized by both governmental and private organizations, and the decennial censuses provide essential benchmark data without which such studies would become prohibitively expensive or, in some cases, impossible. I hope that your Subcommittee will have the wisdom to consider an adequate Census of Population and Housing in 1970 as a national resource whose value for the continued development of our nation far outweighs its cost. Respectfully yours, JOHN M. DUCEY, President. Hon. WILLIAM J. GREEN, TULSA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, Chairman, Census and Statistics Subcommittee, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. DEAR CONGRESSMAN GREEN: The Population and Census Tracts Committee of our Chamber discussed H.R. 10952, a bill introduced by Congressman Betts, that would drastically limit the number of questions being asked in the 1970 Census of Population and Housing. Those present represented the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission; electric, gas, and telephone utilities; the Tulsa CityCounty Health Department; education services; local newspaper publishers; and a local manufacturer. We discussed each question of the proposed 1970 census. We determined that answers to 63 of the 69 proposed questions are essential to planning for the composite of the organizations represented. We would not pass judgment on the remaining six questions, as we realize these could have considerable value to types of organizations not represented in our discussion. As users of the census data, we urge your opposition to H.R. 10952 and encourage your support of the proposed questions of the 1970 census that are essential to our planning. We believe that benefits which would be derived far outweigh the additional cost over that of a bare minimum of questions, and that in the end each citizen will be benefited by a worth far greater than that represented by the possible inconvenience of answering the questions. Sincerely, J. E. DALEY, President. 95-144-68—8 |