House Government Reform Census Subcommittee Chairman Dan Miller, R-Fla., and Rep. Carrie Meek, D-Fla., Wednesday introduced a bill that would allow recipients of federal benefits to accept census enumeration jobs for the 2000 count without losing their eligibility.
"Our bill is based on the theory that people in these neighborhoods will be much more likely to talk to their neighbors than to strangers," said Meek.
The bill would allow welfare, Social Security, retired veterans and some student aid recipients to accept the temporary jobs without losing their benefits, which often have certain income requirements.
"This legislation is designed to ensure that bureaucratic red tape doesn't hinder the Census Bureau from hiring the best people for the job," Miller said.
Meek introduced a similar bill last Congress and won Miller's support this year by stripping any references to statistical sampling, a method Democrats argue is more accurate but Republicans claim is illegal and untrustworthy.
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