Census gives up automation plans

Portions of the 2010 Census will be conducted by paper and pen, the Bush administration told Congress Thursday, as technology problems finally torpedoed the Census Bureau’s plans to use hand-held electronic devices.

{mosads}Commerce Department Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and Census Bureau Director Steven Murdock, in testimony before the House Appropriations Committee, blamed a problematic $595 million contract that was to allow census-takers to do some work with hand-held computers.

The bad news came with more bad news: A higher price tag. The cost of the 2010 Census is now $14.5 billion, up from the original total of $11.5 billion.

The problems with the contract have been an irritation to members of Congress, and the congressional response was withering Thursday, starting with committee Chairman Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-W.V.).

“It has been the administration’s refusal to identify and correct early indications of failure that has turned the crisis into an emergency,” he said.

The Bush administration contracted with the Melbourne, Fla.-based Harris Corporation in April 2006 for the hand-held devices, but problems with speed and storage capabilities have plagued the process. The Census Bureau has also come under criticism from the General Accounting Office for consistent management failures over the program.

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), whose as chairman of a subcommittee with oversight over the Census Bureau has been the Senate’s lead critic of the situation, slammed the administration’s “severe management failures,” and warned Congress would not pay the higher cost without more scrutiny.

“While we must be willing to pay what it takes to get a quality, accurate census, we are not prepared to write out a blank check.,” he said. "At a time when many other countries rely heavily on technology to efficiently gather census information, it is difficult to understand how the United States government can still rely on paper census surveys.”

Gutierrez, who oversees the Census Bureau, told Mollohan's committee a paper-based “NRFU” would be used in 2010. NRFU refers to the Non-Response Follow-Up process by which census-takers attempt to search out Americans who did not respond to two mail inquiries.

The hand-held computers were part of the Census Bureau’s planned Field Data Collection Automation program, which verify and manage information such as address and demographic information collected by census-takers.

Harris spokesman Marc Raimondi said his company intended to fulfill its contractual obligations, and that it is committed to working to ensure the 2010 census is accurate, secure and reliable. He noted that Harris helped Census modernize its processes by updating the bureau’s databases.