"65% News to Celebrate"
April 19, 2000
Dr. Kenneth Prewitt, Census Bureau Director, today made the following announcement:
"Sixty-five percent of the households
in America have returned their census forms. This is a serious achievement;
it is news to celebrate. The country has stopped in its tracks a
decades-long decline in meeting our civic responsibilities. The country
is saying that democracy is about obligation as well as benefits, about
responsibility as well as rights.
"In reaching 65%, the American public
out-performed the expectations of the Census Bureau, of the U.S. Congress,
and of the General Accounting Office. More than 100,000 census
partners deserve credit. Congratulations are owed to thousands of
mayors, county commissioners, teachers, community advocates, houses of
worship, and other local government, civic and business leaders.
They were determined to ensure the highest possible mail response rate.
They treated the census as the serious civic event intended by the founders
when in 1787 they wrote the census into the Constitution.
"Now the Census Bureau and its community
partners turn to an even more demanding task -- convincing the millions
and millions who did not return their form nevertheless to cooperate when
census-takers knock on the door in the coming weeks. A half-million
Americans will be out doing America's task. Census 2000 is poised
to be the first successful civic event of the new century. We need
only sustain the civic momentum and commitment represented by the initial
phase of the census."
Census 2000 Initial
Response Rates
An initial response rate presented in red
indicates that the jurisdiction has met or exceeded the local goal of its
1990 rate plus five percentage points. Congratulations!
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