High response helps save census $1.6B, officials say

Ed O'Keefe
The Seattle Times
August 11, 2010

WASHINGTON — Higher than anticipated response rates and an overqualified temporary work force helped the U.S. Census Bureau keep the 2010 Census at least $1.6 billion under budget, officials announced Tuesday.

Congress appropriated $14.7 billion over 12 years for the 2010 head count, which began with early planning meetings in 1999. More than half of the money was spent this year.

"This did not happen by chance," Commerce Secretary Gary Locke told reporters on Tuesday, adding later: "We demanded accountability and stretched every dollar as far as it could go."

This year's census was still the most expensive in U.S. history, but census budgets have climbed every decade since 1950 as the population and number of households increase. The Census Bureau managed to return $305 million from a $7 billion total budget in 2000.

Locke and Census Bureau Director Robert Groves credited the American public for its 72 percent response rate this year, on par with the 2000 count. The response rate helped control the costs of the labor-intensive follow-up process.

The 565,000 temporary workers hired to conduct follow-up interviews at the 47 million households that didn't return census forms also were more educated and experienced than in previous years, Locke said. Census officials said that because of the economic slump, they had a more qualified applicant pool than a decade ago. "That highly skilled work force came up with efficiencies on their own and ideas that were then incorporated communitywide and then systemwide," Locke said.

Groves also credited the agency's multimillion-dollar multilingual advertising effort that spanned television, radio, the Internet, billboards and public transportation. The actual amount of money that will be returned to the government is still unknown, because census operations are scheduled to continue through the end of September. The amount will be no less than $1.6 billion and Congress will have the final say on what happens to the money, officials said.

The day in D.C.

Aid bill: Congress on Tuesday gave final approval and President Obama signed a $26.1 billion aid package for cash-strapped states that is designed to keep 161,000 teachers and thousands of police, fire and other local government workers from being laid off. The measure, approved along party lines as the House returned to Washington for a rare summer-break session, also provides additional money to help states maintain medical services for low-income Americans.

Rangel defense: Facing serious accusations of violating House rules, Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., offered an extended defense of his conduct on the House floor Tuesday after asserting his right to take the floor between votes on other issues. He demanded a prompt ethics-committee hearing, admitting he improperly solicited donations using congressional letterhead.

Airline delays: In the first months of tightened federal regulations inspired by passengers trapped for six hours on a grounded airliner in Minnesota, the nation's largest airlines have nearly eliminated the lengthiest of delays on airport tarmacs, the Department of Transportation reported Tuesday. The major airlines reported three flights in June with tarmac delays exceeding three hours, compared to 268 flights in June 2009.

Toyota finding: A government investigation into runaway Toyotas has found no new safety defects beyond problems with accelerator pedals that explain reports of sudden acceleration, according to preliminary findings released Tuesday. Safety experts have said vehicle electronic systems could be to blame for the problems that have led to recalls, but the Transportation Department said it had not found any problems beyond floor-mat entrapment and sticking accelerator pedals.