Census to Be Under White House Purview

Congressional Quarterly is reporting that the director of the Census Bureau will report directly to the White House and not to Commerce Secretary-designate Judd Gregg. My sense from the story is that this is mostly about political optics. Black and Latino advocacy groups aren't fond of Gregg period, and they're not happy about the fact that he pushed back against emergency funding for the 2000 Census.

But this makes good management sense. As Allan Holmes has reported over and over again, the 2010 Census is in real danger. Putting it directly in the White House's line of sight makes it a priority, and ups the need for serious accountability.