Photo by T. Kevin Walker
Meyer Pro fan Vivian Burke prm?ntt gift* to US Hopm. AW Ufafr and Kkhtmd Burr, purr and Walt took part in a
town had mmtlmiy during a community forum Saturday.
Watt, Butr spar during forum
? ByT. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
It was billed as a town hall
meeting featuring two local con
gressmen, but it ended up being a
? debate, after a few verbal jabs led to '
a round of political sparring.
U.S. Reps. Mel Watt and
Richard Burr hashed out their
varying political ideologies to a
captive crowd at Winston-Salem
State University's Anderson Center
Saturday morning.
Burr, a Winston-Salem Republi
can, and Watt, a Charlotte Democ
rat, sat on a stage in the auditorium
with only a small, wooden coffee
table separating them. But when it
came to a number of current, hot
button issues, the coffee table might
have well been the Atlantic Ocean.
"I don't want to turn this into a
debate between Richard and
mysfelf, but I just think (Burr), is
wrong," said Watt after his col
league disagreed with him on the
effect an undercount would have on
North Carolina in the 2000 census.
Watt has taken an active role in
the so-called "census fairness''
issue. At a City Hall news confer
ence here less than two weeks earli
er, Watt stressed the importance of
citizens, especially minorities, coop
erating with the Bureau of the Cen
sus as they launch the first count of
the 21st century.
Watt again hammered away at
the topic Saturday, telling the audi
ence that the 1990 census missed
nearly 130,000 people in North
Carolina. Watt said the undercount
cost the state $68.3 million,- money
the federal government would have
doled out in education, transporta
tion, community development and
Medicaid funding if the census had
accurately gauged North Carolina's
population.
But Burr saidin many cases
census figures do not, necessarily,
lead to more funding and better ser
vices for states. He said the last cen
sus missed less than 2 percent of
America's population.
"I wish I could tell you a more
accurate count would mean better
health care, (but) it really doesn't,"
Burr said.
Congressional Republicans and
Democrats have been debating
whether or not to use statistical
sampling to conduct the 2000 cen
sus. Currently the head-count
method is used. Statistical sampling
involves estimating the population
of areas where residents have avoid
ed all other efforts of census coun
ters.
The U.S. Supreme Court greatly
limited the use of statistical sam
pling, in the 2000 census, but some
Dertiocrats are hoping that the
method can still be used as a last
measure to count those who have
continually dodged other census
measures. '
Democrats say statistical sam
pling would eliminate census under
counts. Republicans say that the
method would turn the census into
a "guessing game" and that it
would not benefit most towns and
cities.
"To allow statistical sampling is
very beneficial only to the larger
cities," Burr said.
Watt, though, stood by his
claims that undercounts rob the.
state of millions in fedferal money.
The census has never been com
pletely successful by going door-to
door or by mailing out question
naires, Watt said.
See Burr on A9
*** "
V * .
r - 4 wi
The Chronicle's e-mail address is:
wschron @ netunlimited.net
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