354
Opinion of Breyer, J.
Report 30 (strata crossed state lines in 1990, but in 2000, strata will be defined on a state-by-state basis); cf. id., at 29 (explaining that the ICM methodology, which was used in the past two censuses to evaluate census quality, has "undergone substantial review and improvement" and "is generally accepted as the most reliable method to improve census results"). And, as I understand it, ICM will help to uncover and to correct undercounting not only among minority but also among majority populations. Any special emphasis the Census Bureau might place on including racial and ethnic minority neighborhoods among its samples would be justified as an effort to ensure proper counts among groups that history shows have been undercounted. Although some amici express concerns about the possibility of error in the execution of the statistical program, the Census Bureau itself, aware of potential difficulties, has created an expert panel of statisticians and social scientists, which will guide the Census Bureau's execution of its plan for the 2000 census, particularly with respect to its use of sampling. See id., at 49-51. And, of course, unadjusted headcounts are also subject to error or bias—the very fact that creates the need for a statistical supplement. See, e. g., id., at 3-4 (describing the problem of differential undercount under the traditional head-count method); id., at 37 (without ICM, the 2000 census will be less accurate than the 1990 census).
Finally, as Justice Stevens points out, Congress has changed the statute considerably since it enacted § 195 in 1957. Each change tends to favor the use of statistical sampling. In 1964, for example, Congress repealed former § 25(c) of the Census Act, see Act of Aug. 31, 1964, 78 Stat. 737, which had required that each enumerator obtain "every item of information" through a personal visit to each household, 68 Stat. 1015, thereby permitting census taking by mail. In 1976, Congress amended § 141(a) ("Population and other census information") to authorize the Secretary to "take a decennial census of population . . . in such form and
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