Berkley warns that census may shortchange Nevadans again

Wednesday, June 2, 1999 | 10:07 a.m.

About 33,000 Nevadans won't be on the map when the 2000 Census is tallied if officials don't change the way they count people, Rep. Shelley Berkley said.

Berkley, D-Nev., said the 1990 Census missed about 18,000 Nevada residents, forcing the state to lose about $180 million in federal money that was awarded for various programs based on population figures.

Under current census-taking methods, projections call for 33,000 residents going uncounted in 2000 -- most of them minorities, older people and those who are homeless, Berkley said.

She stood near second base in Cashman Field Tuesday afternoon and swept her arm toward the empty stands to make her point.

"That could fill this field not once, not twice, but three times and still leave 5,000 people out in the parking lot," Berkley said. "We are the country's fast-growing area. We are uniquely at risk for a damaging undercount.

"It happened in 1990, and it could happen again this time."

Forms for the 2000 Census will be sent to all households April 1, 2000.

The nation's first census was taken in 1790 and has been tallied every 10 years since. It is the population count on which federal funding and congressional seat distribution is based.

In recent months the upcoming count also has become a hotly debated political issue. In order to make sure the census more accurately logs certain populations that historically have been impossible to count, officials want to be able to use statistical sampling.

Statistical sampling is a scientific method of making presumptions about certain populations based on what is already known about an area's demographic makeup.

It could be used to account for homeless people and elderly or minority residents who refuse to return census forms or open their doors to workers who visit homes of people who do not fill out the forms.

Only an act of Congress can allow such a change, and the proposal remains mired in political bickering on Capitol Hill. The debate is divided pretty much along party lines, with Democrats pushing for the change and Republicans opposing it.

Under projections for the current system being used, about 8 percent of Nevada's black residents, 5.6 of its American Indians, 5 percent of its Hispanics and 3.7 percent of its children would go uncounted in 2000, Berkley said.

In 1990 Nevada had the nation's worst census return rate, with only 51 percent of residents responding as asked. The national return rate was 70 percent.

And with Clark County's growth, it's going to be even harder to catch up with everyone, said Tom Perrigo, census coordinator for the city of Las Vegas.

"We create so many new households, it's hard to locate them all," Perrigo said.

People who live in remote rural areas, senior citizens who live alone and residents who don't speak English present a different set of challenges. They are the least likely to return the forms and the least likely to open their doors when a census worker comes knocking, he said.

With immigrants, it often boils down to a fear of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and many people fear the information will be turned over to the Internal Revenue Service, Perrigo said.

It's going to take a huge education campaign to dispel those myths.

"It has absolutely nothing to do with the INS or the IRS. These records are absolutely sealed. They are confidential," Perrigo said.

In addition to population-based federal money, Nevadans could lose congressional representation if the 2000 Census fails to count everyone, Berkley said. Congress is to consider adding a third Nevada seat to the House of Representatives after the count.

"That makes it all the more important that people turn in their forms," the congresswoman said.

The Supreme Court in January ruled that a census count based on statistical sampling cannot be used to reallocate House seats. However, it can be used to determine federal funding levels, and states may use it to change congressional district boundaries.