Witness Testimony and Hearing Announcement for Subcommitte Hearing on: "Stakeholders' Views on the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)."

Today at 2:00 p.m., The Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census and National Archives will hold a hearing on: “Stakeholders Views on the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).” The hearing will take place in room 2154 Rayburn House Office Building.

Wm. Clay to Visit Louisiana

NEW ORLEANS, LA— Congressman William Clay (D–MO) and his staff will be visiting Louisiana for a tour of Baton Rouge and New Orleans to see first hand the efforts that are being put forth to revive areas that have suffered devastation. His trip will begin on Aril 6th late morning in Baton Rouge and leave for New Orleans later that evening.

Clay will be available for questions along with Press Director Steve Bengelhardt. There is a photo op scheduled for Tuesday April 7th and at 4:00 pm at Camp Restore, 9301 Chef Mentuer Hwy., New Orleans, LA 70127.

Clay was first elected to the U. S. House of Representatives in 2000, succeeding his father, the Honorable Bill Clay, who served for 32 years and was a founding Member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Congressman Clay is the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census and National Archives, which regulates the federal government’s information and privacy standards and also oversees the operations of the Census Bureau. One of Congressman Clay’s primary goals as chairman is to work with the Census Bureau to eliminate the undercount of African Americans, Hispanics and other minorities from the upcoming national census in 2010.

Mr. Clay also serves on the full Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which has major oversight responsibilities for the operations of the federal government. For more information visit http://lacyclay.house.gov.

CHAIRMAN CLAY WELCOMES PRESIDENT'S NOMINATION FOR DR. ROBERT M. GROVES AS THE DIRECTOR OF THE U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

STATEMENT BY CONGRESSMAN WM. LACY CLAY (D) MO, CHAIRMAN, HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE ON INFORMATION POLICY, CENSUS AND NATIONAL ARCHIVES REGARDING PRESIDENT OBAMA’S NOMINATION OF DR. ROBERT M. GROVES TO SERVE AS DIRECTOR OF THE U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

-WASHINGTON, DC. –
“I welcome President Obama’s nomination of Dr. Robert Groves as the next Director of the U.S. Census Bureau.  Dr. Groves is a nationally recognized expert in statistical research and survey methodology.  I look forward to working closely with him to reduce the undercount of minorities and to increase the national mail-back response rate for the census questionnaire. 
The Census is America’s largest peacetime project.  As Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census and National Archives, I am committed to helping the Census Bureau conduct the most accurate enumeration in U.S. history. I welcome Dr. Groves’ leadership of this shared national mission.”

Ease census fears, Clay urges

Tuesday, Mar. 31 2009
WASHINGTON — Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., said Monday that he wanted the
government to halt immigration raids next year to ensure an accurate count in
the 2010 census.

Speaking at a Census Bureau conference being held one year before Census Day
2010, Clay and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke tried to allay fears among
Hispanics and Asians in areas where immigrants often mistake census workers for
tax collectors or law enforcement officials.

Clay went a step further, urging the partnership groups, ranging from the
AFL-CIO and Coca-Cola to the NAACP and Vote Latino, to expose any “sinister
tricks” to dissuade immigrants from completing their census forms.

There are nearly 12 million undocumented workers in the United States, many of
them clustered in California, New York, Florida and Texas, which stand to
either lose House seats or gain fewer seats depending on whether their Hispanic
residents are fully counted.

Clay pointed out that immigration officials halted raids during the 2000
census.

“It think it should be repeated to tamp down on any fears the immigrant
population might have on certain raids, whether they are here legally or not,”
said Clay, who heads the House subcommittee overseeing the census. “They don’t
want that hanging over them.”

In 2000, immigration officials informally agreed, at the request of the Census
Bureau, to not conduct large-scale immigration raids. The bureau asked the
Homeland Security Department two years ago to hold off again in 2010, but was
rejected by the administration of President George W. Bush, which said it would
continue to enforce federal laws.

At the conference on Monday, according to the Washington Post, Clay said, “We
need to know what’s happening in your communities and how we can help you. We
will also depend on you to expose any attempts to misinform or deceive the
public by those who are attempting to suppress the count.”