Thursday, February 18, 2010

Census Spending Criticized

The Census Bureau, a month away from its 2010 population count, has already WASTED millions paying temporary employees who never did the work and others who overbilled for travel, according to excerpts of an audit obtained by the AP.

Still, federal investigators said it was appropriate for the Census Bureau to spend $133 million on its advertising campaign, including $2.5 million for Super Bowl spots that some Republicans derided as wasteful.

In response, Census Bureau spokesman Stephen BUckner attributed the excessive training costs to strong applicant interest in the temporary jobs. As a result, more recruits than expenced showed up for the paid training sessions, and many subsequently were let go without performing work.

Since then, the agency has adjusted its job recruitment to account for the changes and imposed new controls to manage expenses.

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