House Votes Against RNC Fake Census Letters

The DCCC issued this press release today:

The House of Representatives voted yesterday 416-0 to ban misleading fundraising letters disguised as 2010 Census forms. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and the Republican National Committee (RNC) recently sent out political fundraising letters that looked like U.S. Census letters from House Republican Leader John Boehner and RNC Chairman Michael Steele.

The Census Bureau was concerned that these misleading mailings would undermine response rates for the official census forms, which arrive in mailboxes next week. By misleading and confusing Americans about which forms to return, the Republican fundraising letters increase the cost to American taxpayers. Lower mail response rates of Census forms increase government costs because a census employee is sent to every home that does not respond by mail. The US Census estimates every one percent decrease in the mail response rate costs taxpayers approximately $85 million to send census workers back to re-count.

“As Republicans fill their campaign accounts with cash from a misleading and deceptive fake census letter, American taxpayers are left with a higher bill,” said Ryan Rudominer, National Press Secretary of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Even if it means costing taxpayers millions of dollars and undermining the American people’s opportunity to be fairly represented, Republicans once again made clear they will do anything for campaign cash. House Minority Leader Boehner and RNC Chairman Steele have a responsibility to tell every Republican who received their fundraising solicitation that it is not an official U.S. Census form and encourage them to fill out their census form.”

Background

The National Republican Congressional Committee sent supporters a mailer with the word "Census" featured prominently throughout the document. [The Washington Post, 2/10/10]

“The Census Bureau has said it was concerned that misleading mailings would undermine response rates for the official census forms, which arrive in mailboxes next week. Lower mail response rates increase government costs, because the Census Bureau must send census-takers to every home that does not respond.” [Associated Press, 3/10/10] The US Census estimates every one percent decrease in the mail response rate costs taxpayers approximately $85 million to send census workers back to re-count. [The US Census, 2/18/10]

The Prevent Deceptive Census Look-Alike Mailings Act is a bipartisan bill that would ban non-government mailings which mimic the look and feel of official census forms. [H.R. 4621, 3/10/10].