For the first time in modern history, the Census Bureau may be prevented from incorporating the best available statistical methods in the national census and the result will be a "failed census." Instead, 1990 census methods will run a second time with strategic enhancements. For the third time in American history, the Congress is demonstrating that the national census is ultimately about politics. Come 2001, Census Bureau data may lose its luster as "best available." Local governments will need to develop legally defendable decisions and policies regarding use of census data with known undercounts and/or adjusted census data--and then use the data more carefully. However, preliminary results of a national survey of municipal planners who use census data show that skills in evaluating census data quality and making adjustments are little known and not even perceived as a high-priority training need.