House takes aim at Census look-alike letters

The House passed legislation Wednesday to ban misleading mailings designed to appear as official business from the Census Bureau, following criticism that Republican groups were sending fundraising letters using the census name.

Under the bill, mailings marked "census" will be required to state the name and address of the sender, along with an unambiguous disclaimer that the survey was not affiliated with the federal government.

The legislation passed 416-0. Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., has said he intends to move forward with legislation in the Senate.

Earlier this year, the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee put out letters that were labeled "census document." The mailings made a plea for money along with a form asking voters to identify their political leanings and top issues.

The RNC appeal came in the name of Chairman Michael Steele while the NRCC letter was from House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio. Both GOP groups said Wednesday they would comply with the law as they had in the past. "The NRCC remains opposed to misleading mailings," said NRCC spokesman Paul Lindsay.