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Responding to special interests, last week President Obama ordered that the oversight of the Census Bureau be transferred from the Secretary of Commerce to the White House. The action came after special interest groups - including the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), an organization that openly advocates amnesty for illegal aliens - expressed concern about Obama's new nominee to fill the Commerce Secretary position, Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH). (CQ Politics, February 5, 2009).
In 1995, Senator Gregg voted for a budget that would have sought to eliminate the Commerce Department, and in 2000, Gregg fought against then-President Clinton over a request for "emergency" funding for the 2000 census. Gregg's history prompted NALEO to release a statement last Tuesday - the day on which he was named to the Commerce Secretary post - in which they questioned Gregg's "willingness to ensure that the 2010 census produces the most accurate possible count of the nation's population." (CQ Politics, February 5, 2009). Two days later, media outlets began reporting on the change in Census Bureau oversight. (Id.).
Details of how the day-to-day relationship between the White House and the Census Bureau will function are unclear, but the White House said that the President will work closely with the bureau. According to a White House spokesperson "there is historic precedent for the director of the census, who works for the Commerce secretary and the president, to work closely with White House senior management - given the number of decisions that will have to be put before the president." (Congress Daily, February 6, 2009). The spokesperson added that the Obama administration plans "to return to that model." (Id.). According to Politico, Hill sources are indicating that "the Census would, more or less by default, fall under the jurisdiction of Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel." (Politico, February 5, 2009).
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Information Policy, Census and National Archives Subcommittee Ranking Member Patrick McHenry (R-NC) "expressed significant opposition" to Obama's decision. (Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Press Release, February 5, 2009). Issa and McHenry sent a letter to Obama, highlighting their concerns and questioning the legality of the move. (Id.).
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The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a national, nonprofit, public-interest, membership organization of concerned citizens who share a common belief that our nation's immigration policies must be reformed to serve the national interest.
FAIR seeks to improve border security, to stop illegal immigration, and to promote immigration levels consistent with the national interest-more traditional rates of about 300,000 a year.
