Today, Congressman Al Green (TX-09) wrote to the Director of the U.S. Census Bureau, Dr. Robert Groves, requesting that the Bureau place media advertisements for the upcoming 2010 Census in minority and ethnically-owned newspapers, television and radio stations in order to reach hard-to-count areas in the ninth Congressional District.

            Congressman Green noted that Census Bureau data demonstrates minorities have historically been undercounted by the Census. Specifically, according to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the 2000 Census undercounted African Americans by 628,000 and Latinos by 248,000, which resulted in lost federal funding for local communities nationwide. Federal funding allocations are based on data collected in the decennial Census.

            The Congressman expressed his concern about the impact of another undercount on services in the Houston area.  “The City of Houston has lost $234.4 million over the past 10 years due to the 2000 Census undercount. Given that my district has the ninth highest concentration of minorities in the nation, I am concerned about the impact of another undercount on missed federal resources for public schools, hospitals, law enforcement and other community services in my district,” he said.

            Although the U.S. Census Bureau created an $80 million national media campaign to boost participation in the 2010 Census count, Congressman Green said that the agency has not detailed how the funds were being spent. “I have requested that Dr. Groves inform me of the amounts to be spent on 2010 Census advertising in my district through minority and ethnically-owned media and what geographic areas that advertising will reach. I am confident that the Census Bureau will understand the urgency of this issue given the approaching Census count.”