The Battalion fiMPCIS Tuesday • June Z, i, President plans trip to Houston WASHINGTON (AP) — Wading into a high-stakes political battle over how the 2000 Census will be conducted. President Clinton travels to Houston on Tuesday to make the case for a new method of counting the na tion's population. At first blush, the once-a-decade head count might not seem a front-burner politi cal issue. But the census is of keen importance be cause states receive their share of $180 billion or so annually in federal money for every thing from Medicaid to highways on the ba sis of official population estimates. And, more importantly for political strate gists, the census determines the number of House seats per state — and ultimately either could help swing control of the House back to Democrats or further cement the GOP's hold. By the Census Bureau's own estimate, the 1990 Census missed 4 million people and proved notoriously bad at counting minori ties and the inner-city poor. Five percent of all Hispanics and blacks were missed last time, compared to less than one percent of non-Hispanic whites. In Texas, nearly half a million people were missed. That undercount is depriving the state of hundreds of millions of federal dol lars, state officials estimate. The selection of Houston for the presi dential showcase was not accidental. Nearly 67,000 people in the city were missed in the 1990 count. i Clinton, who will take part in a round table discussion at a community center, will talk about "why it's so important to have an Accurate census," White House communica tions director Ann Lewis said. - While in Texas, Clinton also will raise money for the Democratic National Com mittee and congressional campaigns at fund raisers in Houston and Dallas. . The administration is pushing a census using what Lewis calls "the most up-to-date scientific methods." The Census Bureau wants to count 90 per cent of households the traditional way—with mail-in questionnaires and in-person visits — and then use statistical sampling techniques The Greys to estimate those who were missed. Without sampling. Census officials suggest the count could be even less accurate than it was in 1990. But their plan has run into a buzz saw on Capitol Hill, where Republicans are leery of anything other than the actual enumeration called for in the Constitution. Sampling is of dubious scientific merit, they say, citing a botched sampling test attempted and jetti soned during 1990 Census calculations. GOP lawmakers fear that a sampling adjustment — ora deliberate manipulation of the numbers — could result in higher counts in inner-city areas and other tradi tionally Democratic strongholds, possibly costing them seats. House Republicans have filed suit in federal court to block any use of sampling. "The partisan calculations of political sci ence are driving the Clinton administration's census sampling scheme," said Rep. Dan Miller, the Florida Republican who chairs the House census subcommittee. "Rather than committing himself to do the hard work necessary to end the minority undercount, the president is out peddling statistical snake oil to the public that will add millions of 'virtual people' in some areas while subtracting millions of real people from other areas," Miller added. Administration officials defend sam pling as a sound science and deny any political intent in advocating the Census Bureau's proposal. "This is not the administration plan. This is the plan of the National Academy of Sci ences and the statistical experts of the Cen sus Bureau," said Commerce Undersecretary Robert Shapiro, whose department is the Census Bureau's parent. Manipulation of the numbers would be possible only with "widespread corruption and conspiracy across the country of profes sional Census Bureau officials," Shapiro said. "You can't do that." But, says Miller spokeswoman Liz Hick ey: "Even if there wasn't political manipula tion, it's just such a risky scheme that we don't trust that the government is going to be able to pull this off." Getting his feet wet £*,, . wh • ft* a ^ LW y SSS& - .NT,.vS »T';. -'