Clay

(Note: Jacob Carpenter of the P-D Washington Bureau sent this from the committee.)

WASHINGTON — When U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Groves appeared in front of a House subcommittee today, Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-St Louis, said he was squarely in Groves’ corner when it came to cutting ties with ACORN.

During and after a House Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census and National Archives hearing, Clay lauded Groves’ decision last week to end the Census Bureau partnership with the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now.

The organization has been pummeled since hidden-camera video was aired showing ACORN workers advising two undercover conservative “journalists” about evading taxes and smuggling illegal immigrants.

“In this case of the 2010 census, ACORN was becoming a distraction,” Clay said. “The American public has to have confidence in the operation itself and its partners.”

Clay’s comments were echoed by the subcommittee’s ranking minority member, Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C.

“I know it hasn’t won wide acclaim, but I applaud you for maintaining the integrity of the census,” McHenry said.

ACORN was among the thousands of groups signed up to help the bureau find job candidates and encourage its members to take part in next year’s national count, but Groves quickly ended that relationship when the scandalous tape surfaced.

The move is just the latest in Groves’ revitalization of a bureau that was blasted earlier this year by the Government Accountability Office for mismanagement and computer failures that could cost taxpayers up to $3 billion.

Since Groves’ rocky July appointment — two Senate Republicans blocked the confirmation hearings over concerns about the bureau’s ties to ACORN — the new director has updated count efforts, put additional focus on reaching hard-to-count people and prepared an upcoming $320 million media blitz.

“I think the improvements have quite a lot to do with his hiring,” Clay said. “You have to have leadership and the top. This will go a long way in adding stability and righting the ship of the bureau.”

The 2010 census will be of particular importance to Missouri, among the states in danger of losing a congressional seat because of slow-growing populations.

Clay said his biggest concern is ensuring residents are counted in areas where residents are transient and  where citizens regularly ignore census mailings because of apathy or language barriers.

“The most important aspect is making sure we get to those who don’t respond the first time,” Clay said.