Government Reform Democrats sue over sampled Census data

More than a dozen House Government Reform Committee Democrats filed suit Monday in federal court in Los Angeles, seeking to force Commerce Secretary Donald Evans to release sampled census data from the 2000 decennial census. Government Reform ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., Census Subcommittee ranking member William Lacy Clay, D-Mo., and Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., were among 16 Democrats who filed the suit. "It is outrageous that the Bush administration refuses to release the detailed information on where over 6 million Americans--mostly black, Hispanic, Asian and American Indians-- were missed in the 2000 census," said Maloney, who preceded Clay as Census Subcommittee ranking member. The same federal court in Los Angeles has already rejected a suit filed by the city of Los Angeles and other municipalities. City officials contended more-traditional census methods undercounted their populations and would cost them political representation and federal resources. Evans has released traditional data for redistricting but has not released the sampling data. A committee of bureau professionals and census experts concluded in March that the sampling method could be proven more accurate than more traditional methods. But the panel added that statisticians might be able to validate the sampling data if given more time, prompting Democrats to press their case in court.