350
Opinion of Breyer, J.
urement, or ICM) is not so intended. Rather, ICM uses statistical sampling to supplement traditional enumeration methods in order to achieve the very accuracy that the census seeks and the Census Act itself demands. See, e. g., Decennial Census Improvement Act of 1991, § 2(a)(1), 105 Stat. 635, note following 13 U. S. C. § 141 (directing the Secretary to contract with the National Academy of Sciences to study "means by which the Government could achieve the most accurate population count possible").
The language of § 195 permits a distinction between sampling used as a substitute and sampling used as a supplement. The literal wording of its "except" clause focuses upon the use of sampling "for the determination of population for purposes of apportionment of Representatives in Congress among the several States." 13 U. S. C. § 195 (emphasis added). One can read those words as the majority does—applying to apportionment-connected sampling irrespective of use or kind. But one can also read them as applicable only to the use of sampling in place of the traditional "determination of population for purposes of apportionment." The "except" clause does not necessarily apply to every conceivable use of statistical sampling any more than, say, a statutory rule forbidding "vehicles" in the park applies to everything that could possibly be characterized as a "vehicle." See generally H. Hart, The Concept of Law 124-136 (2d ed. 1994) (discussing the "open texture of law"). Context normally informs the meaning of a general statutory phrase and often limits its scope.
The history and context of § 195 favor an interpretation that so limits the scope of that section. Cf. Brief for Appellants in No. 98-404, p. 36, n. 19; Brief for Appellees Gephardt et al. in No. 98-404, pp. 9-10, 22-23, 33-38; Young v. Klutz-nick, 497 F. Supp. 1318, 1335 (ED Mich. 1980) ("All that § 195 does is prohibit the use of figures derived solely by statistical techniques. It does not prohibit the use of statistics in addition to the more traditional measuring tools to arrive at a
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