Today, Congressman Patrick McHenry (NC-10), Ranking Member on the House Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives, released the following the statement in response to Dr. Robert Groves’ confirmation hearing to be Director of the U.S. Census Bureau.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Groves stated, “If the information is believed to be slanted by partisan influence, the credibility of the statistics is destroyed.  Once destroyed, the public trust cannot be easily or quickly restored.”

“I commend Dr. Groves for his well-articulated understanding of the consequences of partisan meddling in the census.  Dr. Groves’ statement encapsulates precisely why the political manipulation of census data should never be experimented with.  Statistical adjustment has been proven to increase the inaccuracy of the census count and would unquestionably ensure partisan politics as the guiding force behind census results.  Protecting the ‘credibility of the statistics’ is reason enough for the bureau to stop accepting census takers from the ranks of ACORN, an organization skilled at committing fraud with government forms.”

###