Page "Race and ethnicity in the United States Census" Paragraph 5

" Data on ethnic groups are important for putting into effect a number of federal statutes ( i. e., enforcing bilingual election rules under the Voting Rights Act ; monitoring and enforcing equal employment opportunities under the Civil Rights Act ).

Data on Ethnic Groups are also needed by local governments to run programs and meet legislative requirements ( i. e., identifying segments of the population who may not be receiving medical services under the Public Health Act ; evaluating whether financial institutions are meeting the credit needs of minority populations under the Community Reinvestment Act ).”