822
Opinion of Stevens, J.
census.25 The decision memorandum approved by the Secretary described several reasons for this conclusion, including "growing bipartisan concern of the Congress" and the belief of the Defense Department that its employees should be included in apportionment calculations because they considered themselves to be "usual residents" of the United States. Id., at 120. The prospect of more accurate data than previously available also contributed to the decision. The memorandum stated that the Defense Department's plans to conduct an enumeration of its employees provided a "significant reason" for the decision. Id., at 121; see also id., at 184. In December 1989, however, a lack of funds led the Defense Department to cancel the survey. Ibid. The Secretary nevertheless adhered to the decision to include overseas personnel.
In reaching the ultimate decision to allocate overseas federal employees to States, the Secretary had an obligation to "examine the relevant data and articulate a satisfactory explanation for [the] action including a 'rational connection between the facts found and the choice made.' " State Farm, 463 U. S., at 43 (quoting Burlington Truck Lines, Inc. v. United States, 371 U. S. 156, 168 (1962)). The District Court was properly concerned by the scant evidence that the Secretary reconsidered the apportionment policy following the cancellation of the Defense Department survey. If the justification for the decision no longer obtained, the refusal to reconsider would be quite capricious. The District Court was certainly correct in concluding that "[i]nertia cannot supply the necessary rationality" for the Secretary's decision. 785 F. Supp., at 265.
While the question is a close one, two factors in particular lead me to conclude that the decision to include overseas employees ultimately rested on more than inertia. First, the Secretary received assurances from the Defense Department
25 Id., at 182.
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