Senate confirms Obama’s pick to lead 2010 census

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s nominee to be census director was approved Monday by the Senate, ending weeks of opposition from a pair of Republicans over his role in next year’s high-stakes count.

The voice vote confirming Robert Groves, a veteran survey researcher at the University of Michigan, came after supporters urged action so that Groves can take the helm in the final months before the headcount. More than a dozen states stand to gain or lose House seats after 2010 depending in part on how fully their residents are tallied.

“Dr. Groves has the leadership and professional experience,” said Maine Sen. Susan Collins, the top Republican on the panel that considered Groves’ nomination. “Let us get on with the critical work that needs to be done.”

To advance the stalled nomination, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., used a procedural motion that required 60 votes in the 100-seat Senate. After that motion passed 76-15, senators quickly confirmed Groves.

Groves, 60, had been easily approved by the Senate Homeland Security committee in May after he ruled out the controversial use of statistical adjustments in 2010 to make up for undercounted populations. But Sens. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and David Vitter, R-La., blocked a full confirmation vote, saying they wanted assurances from the White House that sampling wouldn’t be used.

The two senators had also sought a guarantee from Obama that the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, which has been accused of voter fraud, would not participate in the count. Census officials say ACORN is one of many unpaid grass-roots groups that are needed to help boost participation and that controls are in place to prevent fraud.

“By overcounting here, undercounting there, manipulation could take place for sole political gain,” Shelby said Monday. “The people of this nation deserve a census that is conducted in a fair and accurate manner.”

In a statement after the vote Monday, Groves pledged to get to work quickly.

“I’ll work to ensure our systems operate according to plan, and to make sure the public understands the vital importance of filling out and mailing back the census questionnaires in a timely fashion,” he said. “Every survey conducted by the Census Bureau needs constant innovation to provide the taxpayer with the most efficiently produced, high-quality statistics this country needs.”

Groves’ confirmation came as the Census Bureau prepares an aggressive outreach campaign aimed at hard-to-find groups such as immigrants, non-English speaking residents and displaced homeowners.

The population figures are used to apportion House seats, redraw congressional boundaries and distribute more than $400 billion in federal aid.

Groves has expressed concern about a persistent undercount of millions of minorities who typically vote for Democrats, but he has not said what, if any, additional measures are needed. As a former census associate director, Groves pushed for sampling in the 1990s but was overruled by the Republican commerce secretary.

In a statement Monday, House Republican leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said he looked forward to Groves fulfilling “his promise to keep the census free of statistical sampling and adjustments in both 2010 and 2020.”