Presidential Power Grab: Obama to Move Census from Commerce to Executive; Pork Included
From AtlasShrugs:
Deeply deeply troubling Obama development. President b. Hussein is removing the Census from the Commerce department and moving it to the White House. Bear in mind that President O has allocated one billion dollars in the porkulous package [did you catch that one?] for the already automatically funded census taking.
Look at the seal of the Bureau of the Census. It was the intent of the framers of the this great country (the first census after the American Revolution was taken in 1790 under Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson) to keep the census out of partisan hands. This move by ACORN organizer and current President seems a deliberate violation of the Constitution. And yes, I think his ACORN days (illegal voter registrations etc) and the gaming of the Census data are tied.
Is this another reason why the ‘President’ named Judd Gregg as Commerce secretary – to cite “conflict of interest”? Scary, eh?
The United States Census is a decennial census mandated by the United States Constitution.[1] The population is enumerated every 10 years and the results are used to allocate Congressional seats(congressional apportionment), electoral votes, and government program funding.[2] Some states or local jurisdictions also conduct local censuses.
The census is performed by the United States Census Bureau. The first census after the American Revolution was taken in 1790 under Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson; there have been 21 federal censuses since that time.[2]The last national census was held in 2000, and the next census is scheduled for 2010.
Politico even provides a remark from House Minority Leader Boehner (R-OH):
From Jmart:
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) is joining other Republicans in blasting the White House for plucking control of the Census Bureau away from Commerce Secretary-designate Judd Gregg and vesting it, perhaps, with Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.
Boehner, in a soon-to-be-released statement:
“I am disturbed by reports that control of the traditionally nonpartisan Census Bureau is being stripped from the Commerce Department and placed with the White House staff. This action appears to be motivated by politics, rather than the interests of our country, and the burden will be on the new administration to prove otherwise during Senator Gregg’s confirmation hearings. The United States Census should remain independent of politics; it should not be directed by political operatives working out of the White House.”
In plain English, the Constitution says the following about a census (Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3):
The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative …
Update: From AmericanPowerblog:
John Fund’s piece today at the Wall Street Journal, “Why Obama Wants Control of the Census“:
President Obama said in his inaugural address that he planned to “restore science to its rightful place” in government. That’s a worthy goal. But statisticians at the Commerce Department didn’t think it would mean having the director of next year’s Census report directly to the White House rather than to the Commerce secretary, as is customary. “There’s only one reason to have that high level of White House involvement,” a career professional at the Census Bureau tells me. “And it’s called politics, not science.”
The decision was made last week after California Rep. Barbara Lee, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, and Hispanic groups complained to the White House that Judd Gregg, the Republican senator from New Hampshire slated to head Commerce, couldn’t be trusted to conduct a complete Census. The National Association of Latino Officials said it had “serious questions about his willingness to ensure that the 2010 Census produces the most accurate possible count.”
Anything that threatens the integrity of the Census has profound implications. Not only is it the basis for congressional redistricting, it provides the raw data by which government spending is allocated on everything from roads to schools. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also uses the Census to prepare the economic data that so much of business relies upon. “If the original numbers aren’t as hard as possible, the uses they’re put to get fuzzier and fuzzier,” says Bruce Chapman, who was director of the Census in the 1980s.
It is likely that this power was subject to the Commerce Department, as it is one of the few explicitly-stated areas that the federal government has power/authority over the several States. I wonder if a case could be made that since the language doesn’t stipulate this power belonging expressly to the Legislative branch, but that since it’s found in Article 1 (talking about the House of Representatives, specifically), why the need to move this power under the Executive branch?
Unless, of course, you’re trying to find a way to do universal gerrymanding of any given district in any given State to try to control the electoral outcomes as much as possible.
Dude. This guy hasn’t even been in office for his first 100 days and he’s expressing intentions of radically altering what I see as intentions of the Constitution without the consent of the People first.
I smell a federal lawsuit just waiting to happen.
-Phil
21 responses to Presidential Power Grab: Obama to Move Census from Commerce to Executive; Pork Included
This is bad for America. Doesn’t matter if your Republican or Democrat, the census has to be apolitical. I don’t see the current adminstration altering the intent of the Constitution, more like just completely ignoring it.
If anyone during the campaign raised red flags, as I did, we were so shunned. It is amazing what is going on. He has taken so man steps that seem benign, like replacing the Hail to the Chief with an Arabic themed song. The moves that this guy has and is trying to make is almost a carbon cop of our friend in Venezuela.
Phil,
The Commerce Dept. is part of the Executive Branch, hence why secretaries of commerce serve at the pleasure of the president.
The founders couldn’t have intended for the census to have been done by the Commerce Dept., as the commerce department wasn’t even created until 1903, and the census was created as part of the original constitution. The first several censuses were actually run by the U.S. Marshal Service, so it’s not like this is the first time there’s been a reorganization of the census.
I do not get why Judd Gregg overseeing the census as Commerce Secretary would be a conflict of interest. Could someone explain this to me?
It is amazing how devious and power hungry these people are. They are obviously staying up late thinking of every possible scheme to consolidate their power.
1Lishell,
Unfortunately for both of us, the Administrative State has taken over the intentions of Congress since at least the 1930s. As such, each federal Department has, unfortunately, received delegated power and authority from all three branches of the federal government.
So — it is only the Secretary of Commerce that is properly of the Executive branch, whereas the rest of the Department operates under the auspices of the Legislative and, to a greater or lesser extent, the Judicial.
Nevertheless, I still have to wonder why it is that the Executive must have direct control over the Census Bureau. Then again, I don’t trust this President.
Thanks for the comment,
-Phil
CAL,
The rest of the Atlas Shrugs posting goes into greater detail on that front; that aspect wasn’t the point on which I was focusing.
Thanks for the comment,
-Phil
He did promise to remake America and has said that the Constitution (and Cabinet) is obsolete. Powell called him a transformational leader.
I expect we will soon have a new “constitution” in fact whether the Constitution is formally changed or not. One of Odinga’s first acts in Kenya was to promise a new constitution soon.
I wonder what the billion allocated for the Census will be used for? Isn’t the Census usually included in the budget?
This Stimulus Bill is quite frightening. Why ask for so much so early if you are not hiding something in it, or you don’t think that anyone will give it to you later? And the stuff about no white guys to be hired and paid volunteers. Something really stinks.
Watch who is appointed under the Cabinet Secretaries. The Cabinet could become a show place with all of the power exercised below. I hope that the Secretaries will watch for this.
Didn’t make the connection initially, but Judd Gregg is the republican chosen for Commerce Secretary.
Like Hilary, Obama doesn’t trust him to do what he wants to do, so he is going to bypass him.
He is out of the Senate, replaced by a “Republican” and has reduced power in the Cabinet. (See last post)
Listen to this person who has talked to the Democratic officials in Chicago talking about what they are going to do with the money and why they do not want to disclose how they plan to spend it.
The Dems are trying to use this stimulus money to create jobs that will make people vote Democratic forever if they want to keep their job. This Stimulus bill will take away the two party system and there will be no reversing it.
We need to demand that our representatives do not pass this or anything like it.
This is why Obama wanted to pass it so soon and so fast. He didn’t want people to figure this out. He hoped it would be too long for people to read and sort through. The real programs he has hidden will guarantee him voters in 2012.
This country will be doomed if there is only one party.
“So — it is only the Secretary of Commerce that is properly of the Executive branch, whereas the rest of the Department operates under the auspices of the Legislative and, to a greater or lesser extent, the Judicial.”
Eh? I confess that I don’t understand this sentence at all.
Besides, I’m not aware of any function relating to the day-to-day functioning of government which is run by the legislative branch. It’s trite, but the old expression “the legislature makes the law, the executive enforces the law” is reasonably accurate.
its not really about any pork its about Subugation and control and the end game is about the blame game and the ideals of the tribal BS. Understand one fact obama wants to keep power and this is one great tool to do the dehumanizing game on you.
Since Obama’s earnest drive to convince the nation to weaken its economic strength through redistribution as well as weaken its national defense, COUPLED WITH HIS UNPRECEDENTED WHITE HOUSE TAKEOVER OF DECENNIAL CENSUS TAKING FROM THE COMMERCE DEPARTMENT, has confirmed the very threats to our Republic’s survival that the Constitution was designed to avert, it no longer is sustainable for the United States Supreme Court and Military Joint Chiefs to refrain from exercising WHAT IS THEIR ABSOLUTE CONSTITUTIONAL DUTY TO DEFEND THE NATION FROM UNLAWFUL USURPATION. The questions of Obama’s Kenyan birth and his father’s Kenyan/British citizenship (admitted on his own website) have been conflated by his sustained unwillingnes to supply his long form birth certificate now under seal, and compounded by his internet posting of a discredited ‘after-the-fact’ short form ‘certificate’. In the absence of these issues being acknowledged and addressed, IT IS MANIFEST THAT OBAMA REMAINS INELIGIBLE TO BE PRESIDENT UNDER ARTICLE 2 OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION. Being a 14th Amendment ‘citizen’ is not sufficient. A ‘President’ MUST BE an Article 2 ‘natural born citizen’ AS DEFINED BY THE FRAMERS’ INTENT.
Geoff,
I’m not sure which part of the sentence you don’t understand. Each federal department (unfortunately, in my view) encompasses delegated power/authority from all three branches (basically) of the federal government. For example, the IRS has the power/authority to execute the tax code, judge who is and isn’t going against said code, and legislate protocols of execution, based on the parameters its been given from Congress. Then, the Executive appoints the Treasury Secretary and Congress oversees the Department.
-Phil
Furthermore, the census has long been perverted from merely taking a count of people to intruding into how the people live so the Great Nanny State could “better” decide how to regulate us.
I refuse to answer any census questions beyond the one that seeks to know how many people live at my address. 9 years ago, I did this, and came home from work to find a census worker in my front yard. My wife refused to talk with him, so he sat in his car and waited for hours for me to come home. He told me I had failed to answer some questions on the (short form) census, assuming it was an oversight. I told him I had answered all I would. He told me I could be fined and then he asked if I would at least fill in my address! He was at my house! He came back the next 2 days. On the 3rd day, I told him to get off and stay off my property.
Manfred,
It would be great if someone took the time to find what obligates anyone to share anything more than the fact that they exist in such-and-such a County in such-and-such a State.
That is truly all that the census requires, in my view.
While I do provide my address, I don’t answer any of the other questions, because it’s none of the government’s business. If they were to show me where something stipulates that it is, I would begin the process of contacting my federal representatives to have the law changed.
Thanks for the comment,
-Phil
“Then, the Executive appoints the Treasury Secretary and Congress oversees the Department.”
Right. However, I don’t see how the fact that the White House would be doing something “in-house” would lessen the amount of congressional oversight. For every executive branch function, the Congress appropriates the funds, some of which are appropriated with conditions (only certain projects, etc.) and some of which are appropriated without conditions (general operating budget, acting pursuant to other laws and regulations, etc.). The fact that the census bureau may not report to the commerce secretary doesn’t lessen Congress’ power of oversight; they still control the pursestrings of and the legislative authority for the census’ bureau’s operations.
You’re not required to give any response to the census.
You are aware, aren’t you, that the Commerce Department is in the Executive branch and answers to the president? This change is as significant as a company moving responsibility for some function from its Accounting Department to the its Purchasing Department.
I suggest eliminating the census. Each person can apply for a SS number if they provide a birth certificate and keep their address current based on their IRS filing. Then a computer can generate the entire census in a few seconds of computer time. Any one without a SS number should not be counted.
And what does your crystal ball say that intent is? Benny Franklin refused to talk about it when I had a beer with him last week. Did you and Taney talk about it on the driving range?
Also, the 14th Amendment AMENDS the Constitution, hence why it is called an amendment. Madison’s intent no longer matters if the 14th Amendment redefines natural born citizen.
Do you want to give foreigners SS numbers? The Constitution doesn’t say the number of citizens, it says the number of persons. Aliens fall under the definition of persons, and therefore must be counted.