Lawmakers Battle on Census Question

A measure gaining traction in Congress would require the 2010 Census to include a question about citizenship, a change that would cost millions of dollars and possibly derail a full count. Two Republican senators, David Vitter of Louisiana and Bob Bennett of Utah, have offered an amendment to a spending bill that funds the Department of Commerce, which oversees the Census Bureau. The amendment would bar any funds from being used for the Census if it doesn't ask about a person's citizenship status. A similar measure has been introduced in the House. If successful, the change would force the Census Bureau to reprint more than 425 million questionnaires, as it had already started printing the forms in order to have them ready for distribution in early 2010. It would require software revisions, new training materials and revised promotional campaigns. And it could fuel a boycott of the Census supported by some Latino leaders as a way to protest U.S. immigration policy. Census statistics are used to determine the distribution of congressional seats and federal funds.