| | Public Law 105-119-nov. 26,1997 Departments Of Commerce, Justice, And State, The Judiciary, And Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998
| Sec. 210. (a) There shall be established a board to be known as the Census Monitoring Board (hereafter in this section referred to as the Board)
(b) The function of the Board shall be to observe and monitor all aspects of the preparation and implementation of the 2000 decennial census (including all dress rehearsals and other simulations of a census in preparation therefor).
(c) (1) The Board shall be composed of 8 members as follows:
(A) Two individuals appointed by the majority leader of the Senate.
(B) Two individuals appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(C) Four individuals appointed by the President, of whom-
(i) one shall be on the recommendation of the minority leader of the Senate; and
(ii) one shall be on the recommendation of the minority leader of the House of
Representatives All members of the Board shall be appointed within 60 days
after the date of enactment of this Act. A vacancy in the Board shall be
filled in the manner in which the original appointment was made.
(2) Members shall not be entitled to any pay by reason of their service on the Board, but shall receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United States Code.
(3) The Board shall have-
(A) a cochairman who shall be appointed jointly by the members under subsection (c)(1)(A) and (B), and
(B) a co-chairman who shall be appointed jointly by the members under subsection (c)(1)(C).
(4) The Board shall meet at the call of either co-chairman.
(5) A quorum shall consist of five members of the Board.
(6) The Board may promulgate any regulations necessary to carry out its duties.
(d)(1) The Board shall have-
(A) an executive director who shall be appointed jointly by the members under subsection (c)(1)(A) and (B), and
(B) an executive director who shall be appointed jointly by the members under subsection (c)(l)(C), each of whom shall be paid at a rate not to exceed level IV of the Executive Schedule.
(2) Subject to such rules as the Board may prescribe, each executive director-
(A) may appoint and fix the pay of such additional personnel as that executive director considers appropriate; and
(B) may procure temporary and intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, but at rates for individuals not to exceed the daily equivalent of the maximum annual rate of pay payable for grade GS-15 of the General Schedule. Such rules shall include provisions to ensure an equitable division or sharing of resources, as appropriate, between the respective staff of the Board.
(3) The staff of the Board shall be appointed without regard to the provisions of title 6, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, and shall be paid without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title (relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates)
(4) The Administrator of the General Services Administration, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce, shall locate suitable office space for the operation of the Board in the W. Edwards Deming Building in Suitland, Maryland. The facilities shall serve as the headquarters of the Board and shall include all necessary equipment and incidentals required for the proper functioning of the Board.
(e)(1) For the purpose of carrying out its duties, the Board may hold such hearings (at the call of either co-chairman) and undertake such other activities as the Board determines to be necessary to carry out its duties.
(2) The Board may authorize any member of the Board or of its staff to take any action which the Board is authorized to take by this subsection.
(3)(A) Each cochairman of the Board and any members of the staff who may be designated by the Board under this paragraph shall be granted access to any data, files, information, or other matters maintained by the Bureau of the Census (or received by it in the course of conducting a decennial census of population)which they may request, subject to such regulations as the Board may prescribe in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce.
(B) The Board or the cochairmen acting jointly may secure directly from any other Federal agency, including the White House, all information that the Board considers necessary to enable the Board to carry out its duties. Upon request of the Board or both cochairmen, the head of that agency (or other person duly designated for purposes of this paragraph) shall furnish that information to the Board.
(4) The Board shall prescribe regulations under which any member of the Board or of its staff, and any person whose services are procured under subsection (d)(2)(B), who gains access to any information or other matter pursuant to this subsection shall, to the extent that any provisions of section 9 or 214 of title 13, United States Code, would apply with respect to such matter in the case of an employee of the Department of Commerce, be subject to such provisions.
(5) Upon the request of the Board, the head of any Federal agency is authorized to detail, without reimbursement, any of the personnel of such agency to the Board to assist the Board in carrying out its duties. Any such detail shall not interrupt or otherwise affect the civil service status or privileges of the Federal employee.
(6) Upon the request of the Board, the head of a Federal agency shall provide such technical assistance to the Board as the Board determines to be necessary to carry out its duties.
(7) The Board may use the United States mails in the same manner and under the same conditions as Federal agencies and shall, for purposes of the frank, be considered a commission of Congress as described in section 3215 of title 39, United States Code.
(8) Upon request of the Board, the Administrator of General Services shall provide to the Board on a reimbursable basis such administrative support services as the Board may request.
(9) For purposes of costs relating to printing and binding, including the cost of personnel detailed from the Government Printing Office, the Board shall be deemed to be a committee of the Congress.
(f)(1) The Board shall transmit to the Congress-
(A) interim reports, with the first such report due by April1, 1998;
(B) additional reports, the first of which shall be due by February 1, 1999, the second of which shall be due by April 1, 1999, and subsequent reports at least semiannually thereafter;
(C) a final report which shall be due by September 1, 2001; and
(D) any other reports which the Board considers appropriate.
The final report shall contain a detailed statement of the findings and conclusions of the Board with respect to the matters described in subsection (b).
(2) In addition to any matter otherwise required under this subsection, each such report shall address, with respect to the period covered by such report----
(A) the degree to which efforts of the Bureau of the Census to prepare to conduct the 2000 census—
(i) shall achieve maximum possible accuracy at every level of geography;
(ii) shall be taken by means of an enumeration process designed to count
every individual possible; and
(iii) shall be free from political bias and arbitrary decisions; and
(B) efforts by the Bureau of the Census intended to contribute to enumeration improvement, specifically, in connection with-
(i) computer modernization and the appropriate use of automation;
(ii) address list development;
(iii) outreach and promotion efforts at all levels designed to maximize
response rates, especially among groups that have
historically been undercounted (including measures
undertaken in conjunction with local government
and community and other groups);
(iv)establishment and operation of field offices; and
(v) efforts relating to the recruitment, hiring, and training of enumerators.
(3) Any data or other information obtained by the Board under this section shall be made available to any committee or subcommittee of Congress of appropriate jurisdiction upon request of the chairman or ranking minority member of such committee or sub-committee. No such committee or subcommittee, or member thereof, shall disclose any information obtained under this paragraph which is submitted to it on a confidential basis unless the full committee determines that the withholding of that information is contrary to the national interest.
(4) The Board shall study and submit to Congress, as part of its first report under paragraph (1)(A), its findings and recommendations as to the feasibility and desirability of using postal personnel or private contractors to help carry out the decennial census.
(g) There is authorized to be appropriated $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1998 through 2001 to carry out this section.
(h) To the extent practicable, members of the Board shall work to promote the most accurate and complete census possible by using their positions to publicize the need for full and timely responses to census questionnaires.
(i)(1) No individual described in paragraph (2) shall be eligible-
(A) to be appointed or to continue serving as a member of the Board or as a member of the staff thereof, or
(B) to enter into any contract with the Board.
(2) This subsection applies with respect to any individual who is serving or who has ever served- (A) as the Director of the Census; or
(B) with any committee or subcommittee of either House of Congress, having jurisdiction over any aspect of the decennial census, as—
(i) a Member of Congress; or
(ii) a congressional employee.
(j) The Board shall cease to exist on September 30, 2001.
(k) Section 9(a) of title 13, United States Code, is amended in the matter before paragraph (1) thereof by striking “of this title-“ and inserting “of this title or section 210 of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998—“.
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