‘High risk’ from high-tech for U.S. census

Harris Corp. was awarded a $596 million contract in March 2006 to supply the handheld computers and the operating system that supports them. The contract has since grown to $647 million, and could balloon by as much as $2 billion, according to a report this month by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress.

Gutierrez and Murdock are considering several plans to scale back the use of the computers. Only one option would have door-to-door headcounters using them to enter census data collected from residents. The others call for a return to paper and pencil.

Murdock said Tuesday he wasn't ready to put a price tag on the options. Gutierrez is expected to brief Congress early next month.

Widespread repercussions
Harris Corp. spokesman Marc Raimondi said the company is committed to working with the Census Bureau to resolve any issues involving the handheld computers or the operating system.

He also said the computers actually are easy to use, with a failure rate of less than 1 percent when tested in the field.

"After you spend about 30 minutes to an hour familiarizing yourself with it, it's as easy to use as a modern cell phone," Raimondi said.

The success — or failure — of the census could have widespread repercussions. The Constitution has required a census every 10 years since the first one in 1790. It is used to apportion the 435 seats in the House of Representatives among the states. And states and many cities use census data to draw legislative districts.

Population numbers are used to calculate billions in state and federal grants for transportation, education and other programs. Private businesses use census data to identify labor and consumer markets.

"It is a massive undertaking, and if it is not done right, it weakens the confidence in the data that is produced," said Rep. Mike Turner, the top Republican on the House subcommittee that oversees the census.

"The reality is, we have to do the census, we have to do it well it and Congress will need to fund it," Turner said.

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