WASHINGTON, DC— With the April 16 deadline looming, U.S. Senators Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) today urged Mississippians to complete and send in their 2010 Census forms.  U.S. census data, which is collected every 10 years, is used to determine the number of Representatives each state may send to Congress and how much federal funding will be allocated for hospitals, schools, emergency services, transportation infrastructure, and other services.

            “The entire state of Mississippi benefits with each census form returned, and the reverse can also be true.  I encourage Mississippians to complete and return a census form so that our state can be properly represented over the next decade,” said Cochran.  “I commend the counties that, according to the Census Bureau, have return rates that meet or exceed 65 percent.  As a state, we can do better, and I hope our citizens will act by Friday’s deadline.”

            “Today, with only 61 percent of Mississippians participating in the census so far, our state is not where it needs to be.  I hope every household in Mississippi will take a few moments to complete the census form and mail it in by April 16.  This will help ensure that Mississippi is proportionately represented in Congress and that our state receives its fair share of federal resources to meet the specific needs of local communities,” said Wicker. 

Earlier this year, every U.S. household received in the mail a census questionnaire and a pre-addressed, postage-paid return envelope.  The questions on the form include the number of residents in the household as well as their ages, genders, and ethnicities. All information is kept confidential.  As of April 13, a Census Bureau survey indicated that only 61 percent of Mississippi households statewide have completed and sent in their forms.  Eighteen of the state’s counties have return rates of at least 65 percent—Alcorn, Chickasaw, Clay, DeSoto, Itawamba, Lincoln, Lowndes, Monroe, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Rankin, Tate, Tippah, Tishomingo, Union, Walthall, Webster and Winston.

            The Census Bureau will accept all census forms mailed on or before April 16, 2010.  After the mail return deadline, the Census Bureau will dispatch census workers to households that have not responded in order to collect the data.

It costs the government .42 cents to receive a questionnaire back through the mail, but it costs taxpayers $57 per household for census workers to collect the same information in person.  The Census Bureau projects that if every household mailed back its questionnaire, it would drastically reduce the cost of the census and save taxpayers $1.5 billion.

The U.S. Constitution calls for a census of American citizens to be carried out every 10 years.  The first census was conducted in 1790, and a count of the U.S. population has taken place every 10 years since.

            Constituents with additional questions may visit the U.S. Census 2010 website for more information:  http://2010.census.gov/2010census/index.php.

###