Cite as: 525 U. S. 316 (1999)
Stevens, J., dissenting
1976.3 Indeed, the bill was reported out of the House Committee by a unanimous vote, both the House and Senate versions easily passed, and the Conference was unanimous in recommending the revised legislation.4 Surely we must presume that the legislators who voted for the bill were familiar with its text as well as the several references to sampling in the Committee Reports.5 Given the general agreement on the proposition that "sampling and surveys" should be encouraged because they can both save money and increase the reliability of the population count, it is not at all surprising that no one objected to what was perceived as an obviously desirable change in the law.6
3 Many did object to the use of the mid-decade census statistics for congressional apportionment and districting. See id., at 9792 ("The bill presently contains a specific prohibition against the use of mid-decade statistics for purposes of apportionment or for the use in challenging any existing districting plan"). In a supplement to H. R. Rep. No. 94-944, two Republican Congressmen insisted that limits on the frequency of reapportionment were necessary to ensure stability. Supplemental Views on H. R. 11337, H. R. Rep. No. 94-944, pp. 17-18 (1976); see also 122 Cong. Rec. 9794-9796, 9799-9802 (1976).
4 See id., at 9792, 33305, 32253.
5 Although the comment on page 4 of the Senate Report quoted supra, at 359, is the only specific reference to the use of sampling in the decennial census, several other statements reflect the general understanding that sampling should be used whenever possible. Consider, for example, this comment following the succinct and accurate explanation of the amendment to § 195 in the Conference Report: "The section, as amended, strengthens the congressional intent that, whenever possible, sampling shall be used." H. R. Conf. Rep. No. 94-1719, at 13; see also H. R. Rep. No. 94-944, at 6 ("Section 7 revises section 195 of title 13 which presently authorizes, but does not require, the use of sampling. This clarifies congressional intent that, wherever possible, sampling shall be used").
6 See id., at 1; 122 Cong. Rec. 35171 (1976) (statement of Rep. Schroeder) ("Support for this bill has come from virtually every sector of American society"); see also Statement by President Gerald R. Ford on Signing H. R. 11337 into Law, Oct. 18, 1976, 12 Weekly Comp. of Pres. Doc. 1535 (1976) ("[I]t will provide us with better data, of greater consistency, at a reduced cost").
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