Stuck in D.C.: Y&R's $100 Mil. Census Task

Uncertainty about funding and questions of racial fairness on the $100 million Census 2000 ad account continued to plague Young & Rubicam last week, nearly two years after it won the contract.
Y&R, already under scrutiny by the Congressional Black Caucus, may see its fall media buys for the campaign jeopardized if Congress fails to pass the Commerce Justice State appropriations bill by Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year. Y&R account executives have good cause to worry since the bill, which contains the census budget, almost never passes on time.
The census is controversial since Republicans have declared it an emergency to avoid budget caps, even though the decennial head count is a routine function.