March 6, 2001

For Immediate Release

Contacts: John Chambers
301-713-6672

RESPONSE TO COMMERCE SECRETARY DON EVANS' DECISION

Washington D.C. -- In response to the Commerce Secretary Don Evans' decision today not to release adjusted census data at this time, Census Monitoring Board Presidential Member and former Undersecretary of Commerce Dr. Everett Ehrlich released the following statement:

"Secretary Evans' decision not to adjust the Census allows him to make use of some of the Bureau's report but not others. Specifically, he has chosen to overlook the Bureau's statement that it lacked time to investigate fully the differences between its sampling methodology and so-called demographic analysis, and that the risk that demographic analysis might pose outweighed the improvements that the Bureau recognized were created by sampling."

"We are concerned that, pressed for time, the Bureau did not do an adequate analysis of this question. Our own research, which we are releasing today, reveals that the differences between the demographic and statistically-adjusted estimates are entirely understandable and that there is a preponderance of evidence that shows that the sample-based adjustment was correct, and demographic analysis is in error."

"We call on Secretary Evans to allow the Bureau to continue its own research and, if it comes to the same conclusions, to use adjusted numbers for those uses the law would allow at a later date. And we urge him to release immediately the corrected data so that the scientific community may study it and learn about the strengths and weaknesses of the 2000 count."

Established in 1997, the Census Monitoring Board is a bipartisan board that monitors the Census Bureau's conduct of the 2000 census. Its findings are reported every six months to Congress. For more information on the Board, visit http://www.cmbp.gov.