By Bill Zeeble, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-878470.mp3
Dallas, TX –
The United States Census Bureau has kicked off its once-a-decade effort to count every American. It says the new form is the shortest ever. KERA's Bill Zeeble reports.
The national population count has been taken every 10 years practically since the birth of the nation. The first census act passed in 1790. Regional Census director Gabriel Sanchez says an accurate count is vital, especially in Texas, where the population has steadily grown over the past decade.
Sanchez: The numbers used in 2010 are used for Congressional apportionment, so it determines how many Congressional seats we'll have here in Texas, as well as federal funding that comes down based on population formulas.
Dallas City Council woman Vonciel Jones Hill says an accurate count helps determine where more than 400 billion government dollars go, for transportation, housing, and even free school lunch programs. So, she says, it's important.
Jones Hill: Everywhere you go, to the Boy Scout meeting, the Girl Scout meeting, up in the hood to the domino game where they're shooting dice under the tree. Tell them...be counted.
Ten years ago, critics argued some immigrants, including those here illegally, were undercounted, because they feared filling out the form. They didn't want to be found out and deported. Sanchez says that didn't happen then, and will not happen now.
Sanchez: It takes 10 minutes to do 10 questions for the next 10 years. It's a very simple short questionnaire only. We don't' ask anything about immigration status or anything that could harm you in any way.
Best of all in this down economy, Sanchez says the Census Bureau is hiring a million and a half people nationwide, and nearly 84 thousand in Texas alone.