General Accounting Office Associate Director Christopher Mihm said Tuesday the Census Bureau has done a sound job overall in preparing for the 2000 decennial census-but that uncertainties largely beyond the bureau's control could threaten the timelines and accuracy of the census.
"I'd give them a firm B. They've worked very hard throughout the decade ... to do the best census," Mihm said. "Fundamentally the concerns that we raise are concerns beyond their concern."
Mihm said the success of the census would depend on whether an estimated 61 percent of households return their census questionnaires, whether the bureau can hire and train enough census takers to follow up on unreturned forms--and whether the bureau can rapidly process the information.
The bureau contends that extra money to hire more field enumerators would be the best way to respond to these uncertainties. But Mihm said the bureau should provide more detailed contingency plans, such as how long the bureau will stay in the field if the census does not go well or how much it will rely on proxy data from neighbors or letter carriers.
"In response to our recommendation, the bureau has noted that the only serious contingency plan would be to request a supplemental appropriation from Congress," Mihm said. "However, we continue to believe that a more fully developed and publicly disclosed plan would be helpful."
House Government Reform Census Subcommittee Chairman Dan Miller, R-Fla., said he believes the census budget contains a "cushion" of funding that could be transferred to handle emergencies-adding that he does not presently see the need for a $100 million contingency fund, as subcommittee ranking member Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., has proposed.