Senators told the administration's Census Bureau director nominee Thursday he will face strong political pressures regardless of how the Supreme Court rules on statistical sampling for the 2000 census, the Associated Press reported.
Kenneth Prewitt in turn told the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee it was crucial that the issue of sampling be settled soon.
Prewitt said if the Supreme Court does not rule by March 1, he would "have to convene some sort of emergency meeting" with Congress to decide how to conduct the census.
"You are going to get pressures from all sides," said Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Fred Thompson, R-Tenn. "Let me urge you not to become too good a politician."
Prewitt has said he agrees with the Census Bureau that the proper use of sampling would improve the accuracy of the count and cut the costs of the decennial census.
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