Congresswoman Matsui Urges Sacramentans to Send Back Their Census Forms Today

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 16, 2010

CONTACT: MARA LEE
(202) 225-7163

Today, Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento) urged Sacramentans to return their Census forms they were sent in the mail. With only one day left until the Census deadline for the mail-back phase, only 69 percent of Sacramento County households have returned their forms. In order to be properly counted and get the necessary resources we need, our community needs full participation in the United States Census count.

During the 2000 Census count, only 74 percent of Sacramento County residents returned their Census forms, said Representative Matsui. As a result, we lost out on hundreds of thousands of dollars for our school districts, police departments, community health clinics, and low-income housing providers. It is critical that every Sacramento household fills-in and returns their Census form this year.

Starting in May, Census workers will make visits to homes that did not return their forms by mail. While this may seem like a second chance to increase participation rates, it comes at high price. For every 1% of an increase in the mail back response rate, our federal government can save $85 million dollars. It only costs 42 cents for a form to be mailed back, but it costs the American people $57 to send a Census worker to each door for follow up.

The 2010 Census is one of the shortest in history, with only ten questions that should take about a minute each to answer, added Matsui. With everyone's participation, we can together ensure that Sacramento continues to receive its fair share of federal funding for critical programs.

For more information about the Census including downloadable fact sheets, please click here.