Executive Session

Floor Speech

EXECUTIVE SESSION -- (Senate - July 13, 2009)

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Ms. COLLINS. Madam President, I rise in support of the nomination of Dr. Robert Groves to be the next Director of the Census Bureau. Our committee, the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, scrutinized this nominee very carefully. First, I wish to give some background on why it is so critical that we have a well-qualified individual heading the Census Bureau as quickly as possible and then talk to my colleagues about why I believe Dr. Groves is, indeed, the right person for that critical position.

With the 2010 census fast approaching, the Director of the Census Bureau will need to quickly take action to ensure an accurate, actual enumeration of all those residing in the United States, as set forth and required by our Constitution.

The decennial census is a complex and extensive operation. The information collected has significant impact on the distribution of political power because, after all, it governs the allocation of seats in the House of Representatives and it also affects the allocation of more than $300 billion in Federal resources. With so much at stake, it is essential that the results of the census be accurate, objective, credible, and free from even the appearance of political influence.

The Census Bureau, unfortunately, faces significant operational and organizational challenges. Bureau officials acknowledged in 2008 that they were experiencing critical problems in the management and testing of key information technology systems.

Due to the leadership and investigative work of Senator Carper and Senator Coburn, our committee held numerous hearings looking at the failed procurements of the Census Bureau. Believe me, it has not been a pretty picture. These problems have resulted in a dramatic increase in the cost of the 2010 census, and it is particularly alarming in this day and age of technology that millions of dollars invested by the Census Bureau in handheld computers have gone to waste. The Bureau, in fact, has once again returned to the use of paper and pencil to gather important data. Isn't that extraordinary in this day and age? It is clear there are woefully inadequate and wasteful procurement practices and even gross mismanagement at the Bureau. We simply cannot afford to waste time and money on critical programs that do not produce results, particularly when it comes to a constitutionally mandated task such as the census.

The next Director of the Census Bureau must take steps right now to address the current shortcomings and to prepare for the current and future census challenges. He will be responsible for ensuring that the Bureau fulfills its mission in accordance with the U.S. Constitution, without undue political influence and with careful management of taxpayer dollars.

I have concluded that Dr. Groves is superbly well qualified for this important position. That is why our committee unanimously voted, by a voice vote, to confirm him. Our committee spans the political spectrum, and all of us felt Dr. Groves was well qualified for this critical position.

Madam President, personally, I have had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Groves, to scrutinize his qualifications and background, and to question him intensely about the issues that have caused a few of my colleagues concern. I say to my colleagues, look at the hearing record, look at Dr. Groves' responses. I pressed him, as Senator Carper has pointed out, about the need to conduct the census free of any political influence, and I specifically asked him about the use of sampling for the 2010 census and the 2020 census. Dr. Groves not only committed to keeping politics out of the population count but also said he would resign and actively work to stop any action to improperly influence the census for political gain. He further stated, under oath, that he had no intention of seeking an adjustment of either the 2010 census or the 2020 census.

Let me read from the committee transcript because I, too, am very concerned about this problem. There were some initial indications that this White House might, in fact, be looking to influence the census in an improper way. That is why I wanted to get Dr. Groves on the record, under oath, on this important issue.

Here is what I asked him:

Dr. Groves, would you be prepared to resign if you were asked or pressured to do something or take some action to satisfy a political concern?

Doctor Groves responded to me:

More than that, Senator. If I resign, I promise you today that after I resign, I would be active in stopping the abuse from outside the system.

In other words, Dr. Groves told me that if political pressure were put on him, he would not only resign, he would go public and he would lead the fight to protect the census from undue political influence. He committed to a transparent census process, stating:

Sunshine, doing one's work in an open environment, having an ongoing dialog with all of the stakeholders is one way to insulate the Census Bureau from that political partisanship.

He went on to add:

Transparency is a very powerful antidote to attempts for partisan influence.

What could be clearer than that? Here we have a nominee who has pledged that he would resign if political influence were brought to bear on his office. I don't know what more you could ask, and this is the commitment given at a public hearing, under oath, as well as privately to me when we met in my office.

Let me go on to the second issue that has been raised. Again, an important issue. I agree with my colleagues on my side of the aisle who have been concerned about whether sampling would be used rather than the actual count mandated by the Constitution. On this issue of sampling, I asked Dr. Groves:

Will you advocate for the statistical adjustment or use of sampling for the 2010 census?

Dr. Groves's response:

No, Senator.

That is an unqualified response: ``No, Senator.''

I then asked him a further question: ``Will you advocate for the statistical adjustment of the 2020 census,'' since, after all, maybe there is not time to adjust the 2010 census to have sampling or a statistical adjustment, given how close we are to the 2010 census. So I asked him about the 2020 census.

Dr. Groves's response:

I have no plans to do that for 2020.

Dr. Groves's record of service and leadership and scientific research spans the academic, government, and private sectors, both within the United States and internationally. As the director of the University of Michigan Survey Research Center, a very well-known prestigious research center; as the former director of the Joint Program in Service Methodology; and the former associate director of Statistical Design Standards and Methodology at the Census Bureau, he is considered to be one of a half dozen most highly regarded service research experts in the world.

He is extraordinarily well qualified. He is not a political person. He is a scientist, a researcher, a statistician. That is why it is not surprising that Dr. Groves's nomination has received strong support from a number of organizations, including the American Statistical Association. I will concede, I did not know that such an organization existed prior to this nominee. But they have endorsed him, as well as some, perhaps, groups better known to us, such as the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National League of Cities, and the Population Reference Bureau.

But here is what is more telling. Six former Census Directors from both Democratic and Republican administrations have also endorsed Mr. Groves's nomination. Six from both parties, from both sides of the aisle, from Democratic and Republican administrations. This is a testament to the respect that Dr. Groves's peers have for his work.

Dr. Groves has the leadership and professional experience that is needed to lead the Bureau through the 2010 census to plan for the 2020 census and to direct the Bureau's other vital programs. I would be the first to be here in opposition if I believed he was going to use sampling or if I believed he was going to be susceptible to political pressure. There is nothing in the record or in his testimony that suggests that.

I, therefore, urge my colleagues to support this nomination and to let us get on with the critical work that needs to be done at this Bureau which, regrettably, has been so poorly managed in the last few years.

I look forward to working with Dr. Groves. I urge our colleagues to support his nomination.

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