DUTIES OF CENSUS ENUMERATORS AND ADVANCING THE DATE OF ECONOMIC CENSUSES TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 1963 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON POST OFFICE AND CIVIL SERVICE, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m., in room 215, House Office Building, Hon. Arnold Olsen, of Montana (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Mr. OLSEN. The subcommittee will please come to order. This subcommittee was appointed by the chairman of the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee for the purpose of considering the following identical bills: H.R. 3544, introduced by Chairman Murray, and H.R. 4818, introduced by Mr. Corbett; and also the identical bills H.R. 3545, introduced by Mr. Murray, and H.R. 4819, introduced by Mr. Corbett. The subcommittee is composed of Mr. Staggers, Mr. Burkhalter, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Pool, Mr. Watson, Mr. Johansen, Mr. Cunningham, Mrs. St. George, Mr. Ellsworth, and Mr. Abele; and I have been designated chairman. These bills were introduced at the request of the administration and are designed to give the Bureau of the Census flexibility in planning for the next decennial census and to permit a more equitable workload on the data processing facilities of the Bureau. The Director of the Bureau of the Census, Hon. Richard M. Scammon, is here to explain fully the purpose and need for these bills, and I am sure he will be glad to answer any questions which members of the subcommittee may raise. I am informed that these bills are noncontroversial; the subcommittee has been unable to find anyone wishing to appear in opposition. Similar-but not identical-bills were reported out by this committee and passed the House during the 87th Congress. However, the bills did not come up for action in the Senate in the closing days of the 87th Congress. We will insert into the record at this point H.R. 3544, along with the language of section 25 of title 13 of the United States Code. 1 2 DUTIES OF CENSUS ENUMERATORS (The information follows:) [H.R. 3544, 88th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To amend section 25 of title 13, United States Code, relating to the duties of enumerators of the Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That subsection (c) of section 25 of title 13, United States Code (relating to certain duties of enumerators of the Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce), is hereby repealed. TITLE 13, UNITED STATES CODE-CENSUS CHAPTER 1-ADMINISTRATION SUBCHAPTER II-OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES § 25. Duties of supervisors, enumerators, and other employees (a) Each supervisor shall perform the duties imposed upon him by the Secretary in the enforcement of chapter 5 of this title in accordance with the Secretary's orders and instructions. (b) Each enumerator or other employee detailed to serve as enumerator shall be charged with the collection in his subdivision of the facts and statistics called for on such schedules as the Secretary determines shall be used by him in connection with any census or survey provided for by chapter 5 of this title. (c) Each enumerator shall visit personally each dwelling house in his subdivision, and each family therein, and each individual living out of a family in any place of abode, and by inquiry made of the head of each family, or of the member thereof deemed most competent and trustworthy, or of such individual living out of a family, shall obtain every item of information and all particulars required for any census or survey provided for in chapter 5 of this title. In case no person is found at the usual place of abode of such family, or individual living out of a family, competent to answer the inquiries, the census employee may obtain the required information as nearly as may be practicable from the families or persons living nearest to such place of abode who may be competent to answer such inquiries. Mr. OLSEN. First, we will take up H.R. 3544 and H.R. 4818, bills to repeal subsection (c) of section 25, title 13, and at this point I will place in the record a letter of January 16, 1963, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives from the Under Secretary of Commerce, Hon. Edward Gudeman, along with the statement of purpose and need prepared by his Department. I am also placing in the record at this point a letter from the General Counsel of the Post Office Department dated September 1, 1962, stating that the Post Office Department raises no objection to this legislation and goes on to say that "it appears feasible from our point of view to provide, on a reimbursable basis, service of the type" proposed in this legislation. I was informed yesterday that this continues to be the position of the Post Office Department on this matter. (The letters referred to follow :) THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE, Hon. JOHN W. MCCORMACK, Speaker of the House of Representatives, DEAR MR. SPEAKER: There are enclosed four copies of a draft bill to amend section 25 of title 13, United States Code, relating to the duties of enumerators of the Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce, and four copies of a statement of purpose and need in support thereof. We are advised by the Bureau of the Budget that, from the standpoint of the administration's program, there would be no objection to the submission of this proposed legislation to the Congress. Sincerely yours, EDWARD GUDEMAN, Under Secretary of Commerce. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND NEED The purpose of this proposal is to repeal subsection (c) of section 25 of title 13, United States Code, which relates to the duties of enumerators of the Bureau of the Census. Subsection (c) of section 25 is no longer necessary to carry out the census-taking functions of the Bureau of the Census as the duties of the enumerators are established through regulations issued by the Bureau of the Census. Enumerators are no longer used in the basic data-collection procedures of any censuses other than population, unemployment, housing, and agriculture; the development of improved techniques is changing the nature of their function in those censuses and may make possible some reduction in the numbers required. The present requirement in subsection (c) of section 25 that an enumerator must personally visit each dwelling house in his subdivision and each family therein is no longer practical and greatly increases the cost of taking a census. If the Bureau of the Census were permitted to take a census by sending the forms through the mail and having the filled-in reports returned by mail the cost of the census would be greatly reduced. At the same time, procedures involving the use of mail questionnaires and appropriate followup improve the quality of the data collected in the census. We believe enactment of this proposal is necessary for the more efficient operation of the Bureau of the Census. POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, Hon. DAVID N. HENDERSON, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Postmaster General has asked me to reply to your letter regarding H.R. 11949 and H.R. 11999. If enacted into law, these bills would abolish the requirement of house-to-house visits by census enumerators. Your letter states: "Testimony by Census officials at the hearings indicates that the proposed legislation would call for a much greater use of the Post Office Department services in future censuses. On page 17 of the testimony, for instance, mention is made of using the Post Office Department to update census lists of dwelling units by asking the letter carriers to check out lists for their areas or routes. Moreover, some 80 to 90 percent of the next census would be done by mail questionnaires delivered and returned by the postal service. All of these postal services would be used by Census on a reimbursable basis, it is understood." You ask for an expression of the Department's views in the matter. The Department has provided the Bureau of the Census with service of the nature described in your letter and in the transcript of the hearing on a reimbursable basis during the last decennial census and during the conduct of several localized special censuses. Based on this experience, it appears feasible from our point of view to provide, on a reimbursable basis, service of the type covered by your inquiry. Sincerely yours, LOUIS J. DOYLE, Mr. OLSEN. We are ready now for you, Mr. Scammon. Would you kindly proceed as you see fit? Later, we will want to question you and perhaps ask for further clarification on some of the points. Would you begin by introducing your colleagues to the members of the subcommittee? STATEMENT OF HON. RICHARD M. SCAMMON, DIRECTOR, BUREAU OF THE CENSUS Mr. SCAMMON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On my far left is Mr. Edwin Goldfield, Chief of Statistical Reports, Bureal of the Census. On my immediate left is Dr. Ross Eckler, Deputy Director, Bureau of the Census. On my immediate right is Dr. Conrad Taeuber, Assistant Director, Bureau of the Census; and on my far right is Mr. Mathew Erickson, attorney-adviser, Bureau of the Census. With reference to the first of the bills which we are considering this morning, the bill dealing with the taking of the decennial census, legislation to accomplish this purpose was introduced in the last Congress and was passed in the House of Representatives but did not. succeed of passage in the Senate because of the press of affairs in the closing days of the Congress. The basic purpose of the legislation is set out in this general statement of mine, which if I may, Mr. Chairman, I will submit for the record and briefly summarize for the committee now. Mr. OLSEN. Without objection, the statement will be placed in the record at this time. (Statement of Richard M. Scammon, Director, Bureau of the Census, follows:) PREPARED STATEMENT OF RICHARD M. SCAMMON, DIRECTOR, BUREAU OF THE CENSUS The purpose of bills H.R. 3544 and H.R. 4818 is to repeal subsection (c) of section 25 of title 13, United States Code, the body of law pertaining to the Bureau of the Census. Subsection (c) is an impediment to the development and utilization of modern techniques of census taking, because it requires the enumerator personally to visit each dwelling place in taking the population census. This requirement dates back to the 19th century when door-to-door canvass was used for all censuses and alternative methods had not been considered and tested. As of today, changes in the living conditions of the population and developments in enumeration technique makes it appear that censuses can be taken more accurately and more economically without actual door-to-door canvass in every area. Evaluation of the experience gained in the 1960 censuses of population and housing, and research currently in progress, indicate that significant improvements can be made in the procedures of the next decennial census that would make it possible to collect the data primarily by mail, with important reliance on the facilities of the Post Office Department, with followup by enumerators where necessary, and with intensive door-to-door canvassing in selected areas where mail procedures would not yield complete coverage. Successful use of a mail canvass followup has been repeatedly demonstrated in the censuses of business, manufactures, and mineral industries. Under the procedures used in 1960, some 200,000 temporary field employees would be required to take the 1970 census. It is exceedingly difficult to recruit, train, and supervise such a large temporary field force; we estimate that the job might be more efficiently done with some 80,000 well-qualified temporary field employees if the requirement for the enumerator personally to visit every household is removed. The removal of the requirement would give the Bureau of the Census flexibility to use the most efficient methods which can be developed for the taking of the census. Although the 1970 census is at some distance in the future, enactment of the legislation at this time is important because the Bureau of the Census is already engaged upon studies, including field tests, leading to the development of new procedures. These studies involve expenditures which would be more than repaid if the indicated improvements in techniques eventuate, but depend upon the assumption that the restriction imposed by subsection (c) of section 25 can |
