Cite as: 525 U. S. 316 (1999)
Opinion of the Court
where he deems it appropriate" to "shall, if he considers it feasible." 90 Stat. 2464. The amended section thus reads: "Except for the determination of population for purposes of apportionment of Representatives in Congress among the several States, the Secretary shall, if he considers it feasible, authorize the use of the statistical method known as 'sampling' in carrying out the provisions of this title." 13 U. S. C. § 195. As amended, the section now requires the Secretary to use statistical sampling in assembling the myriad demographic data that are collected in connection with the decennial census. But the section maintains its prohibition on the use of statistical sampling in calculating population for purposes of apportionment.
Absent any historical context, the language in the amended § 195 might reasonably be read as either permissive or prohibitive with regard to the use of sampling for apportionment purposes. Indeed, appellees and appellants each cite numerous examples of the "except/shall" sentence structure that support their respective interpretations of the statute. See, e. g., Brief for Appellee Glavin et al. in No. 98-564, p. 36, n. 36 (citing § 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment, which provides that "when the right to vote . . . is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State . . . except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State" (emphasis added)); Brief for Federal Appellant et al. in No. 98-404, p. 29, n. 15 (citing 2 U. S. C. §§ 179n(a)(1) and 384(a) and 5 U. S. C. § 555(e), which contain the "except/shall" formulation in contexts where appellants claim "the exception cannot reasonably be construed as prohibiting the excepted activity"). But these dueling examples only serve to illustrate that the interpretation of the "except/shall" structure depends primarily on the broader context in which that structure appears. Here, the context is provided by over 200
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