2000 CENSUS Analysis of Fiscal Year 2000 Budget and Internal Control Weaknesses at the U.S. Census Bureau
Abstract
The decennial census is the nation's most comprehensive and expensive data-gathering program. The Constitution requires a decennial census of the population in order to apportion seats in the House of Representatives. Public and private decision makers also use census data on population counts and social and economic characteristics for a variety of purposes. The 2000 decennial census covers a 13-year period of effort from fiscal years 1991 through 2003 at an estimated cost of $6.5 billion. During fiscal year 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau mailed census forms (questionnaires) to almost 119 million American households asking the occupants to complete the forms as of April 1, 2000, and mail them back. The bureau reported that for some 42 million nonresponding households, it hired over 500,000 temporary workers, known as enumerators, to visit households that had not responded by April 18, 2000. 1 Enumerators gathered the requested information in slightly less than the planned 10-week period that ended July 2, 2000.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA398278
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office