Census Bureau Declares Victory
Dateline: 09/21/00
Despite attacks from privacy and civil rights groups, minority advocacy groups, some members of Congress and lots of people who just did not like "all those questions," the Census Bureau reported on Tuesday that over 67 percent of U.S. citizens had responded to their Census 2000 forms by mail, telephone or the Internet through September 7.
The response rate of 67 percent is five points higher than anticipated, two points higher than in the 1990 count, and represents over 80.4 million homes that do not have to be visited by a Census taker, according to the Census Bureau.
Response rates in 13 of the nation's 15 most populous cities either equaled or surpassed their 1990 response rates, according to figures released by the Census Bureau on Tuesday.
Census Director Kenneth Prewitt stated that the improved response rate broke a three-decade-long downward trend in census participation and would ensure that the $6.5 billion Census 2000 project would no go over budget.
Census takers are still in the process of visiting households that did not respond to the mailed forms.
Of that $6.5 billion budget, approximately $167 million was spent on advertising campaigns designed to encourage people to participate in the census by filling out and returning the forms.
Many people objected to both the number and to, what they considered, the intrusive nature of questions on the Census 2000 long form. Indeed, the Census Bureau acknowledged an 11 percent higher return rate for the short form than for the long form.
Census May Drop Long Form by 2010 Count
At an April 5, 2000 meeting of the House Subcommittee on the Census, subcommittee chairman Rep. Dan Miller (R-Florida), announced plans to eliminate the controversial form in time for the 2010 census.
In his opening statements to the April 5th meeting of the subcommittee, Rep. Miller acknowledged the public's objections to the longer census form.
"The reason why there is a long form controversy is because millions of Americans aren't comfortable answering the questions," stated Miller.
Rep. Miller suggested the media may have contributed to the public's negative feelings toward the census stating, "Long before remarks by any congressional leaders, news stories were talking about the long form problems. The News Hour on PBS had an entire segment on the privacy issue and the long form almost 2 weeks ago."
In expressing the desire of Congress to eliminate the long form by 2010, Rep. Miller stated, "Of course we can't eliminate the long form in a vacuum. There is information that government needs to make informed decisions on the allocation of resources, and the planning and distribution of $185 billion in funding. A new tool called the American Community Survey is being developed by the Census Bureau. Is that the answer? Maybe. This is going to take careful consideration by this subcommittee and eventually the Congress as a whole."
The Census Bureau is expected to release further details on the "American Communities Survey" soon.
Reference Links
Census 2000 Final Response Rates
Official Census Bureau site showing response rates for returns received by mail, telephone or over the Internet through September 7.House Subcommittee on the Census
Chaired by Rep. Dan Miller of Florida, this House subcommittee is charged with overseeing the census. Hearings and Testimony.
Census 2000: Apportionment & Representation
Find out how figures from Census 2000 will be used to determine how many members of the U.S. House of Representatives each state will get and where congressional districts within states are drawn. From your About Guide.
Civil Liberties Guide J.D. Tuccille presents reasons for not taking part in Census 2000.
With the Census Bureau implicated in the internment of Japanese-Americans, the whole exercise in nosiness is on the ropes. Civil Liberties Guide, J.D. Tuccille reports.
African-American Culture Guide, R. Jeneen Jones, examines how Census 2000's new method for identifying race may actually work against African-Americans.
Will the new expanded race classifications of Census 2000 address the needs of multiracial individuals? Race Relations Guide, Kimberly Hohman reports.
Links to all you need to know about the geographic tools of Census 2000 from Geography Guide, Matt Rosenberg
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