Census Director Defends Long Form
Dateline: 04/12/00
On April 5, 2000, Census Bureau Director Kenneth W. Prewitt testified before the House Subcommittee on the Census. As part of his testimony, Mr. Prewitt responded to concerns of the Subcommittee regarding citizen complaints about the nature and length of the Census 2000 "long form" made up of 52 questions.
The following is a condensation of the section of Mr. Prewitt's prepared testimony on the uses of answers to the questions asked on the Census 2000 long form:
Plumbing Facilities Questions: Used by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to administer housing programs and by local communities to apply to the federal government for community development funds.
Income Questions: Used to allocate Title 1 education funds to school districts with high rates of student age poverty.
Time to Commute Questions: Used by federal, state, local, and private transportation planners who design new roads, bus routes, mass transit systems, and manage traffic congestion, as well as for the distribution of federal transportation funds.
Disability Questions: Required to help design and deliver public and private services to the elderly and disabled.
Veterans' Status Questions: Used to plan the location of veterans' hospitals and cemeteries and for the delivery of veterans' healthcare and nursing services.
According to Mr. Prewitt's statement, alternatives to the long form were not acceptable. "If there were no long form in Census 2000, each federal agency would have to undertake its own data collection efforts to fill the gap. The burden on respondents would actually increase; moreover, this would be an inefficient use of federal dollars. Alternatively, if the agencies did not conduct their own data collections, they would be forced to use ever more outdated information from the 1990 census.
Prewitt's statement also expresses the desire of the Census Bureau to replace the long form with an annual "American Community Survey" designed to provide more timely data throughout the decade. Further details on the American Community Survey have not yet been made available.
Reference Links:
Complete Statement by Census Bureau Director Kenneth W. Prewitt
As presented to the House Subcommittee on the Census, April 5, 2000.House Subcommittee on the Census
Chaired by Rep. Dan Miller (R. - FL), they oversee the operations of the Census Bureau.Census 2000 - Help With Forms
Need help filling out your census questionnaire? Look here. You might even be able to complete it online.How the Census Accounts for People Who Don't Respond
The Census Bureau's official answer to this controversial question.Title 13 - United States Code
The complete law on the census from Cornell University.Counting on the Census?
A policy analysis from the Brookings Institute.
Also on US Government Info/Resources |
Why Should You Answer the Census?
Find out how your community depends on a complete and accurate census.Census 2000 Fast Facts
What's the schedule for Census 2000? What's on the Census form? What is there to be counted?Jobs at the Census Bureau? Count on It!
Thousands of full and part time workers across the nation are being hired now.
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