Census to fingerprint more than 500,000 workers

Census Director Steven Murdock told a congressional committee the measures are necessary to ensure the federal government does not send criminals into the nation's homes.

He said it would be "absolutely devastating to the census" if temporary workers used their government jobs to commit crimes.

"We have a prime responsibility to ensure the safety of the American people," Murdock told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

The Census Bureau received a waiver for the 2000 census from the federal requirement to fingerprint government employees. Workers' names, however, were checked.

Murdock said four census workers were accused of crimes in 2000, though none was convicted. He said there were far more crimes committed against census workers.

Murdock said Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez, who oversees the Census Bureau, approved the massive fingerprinting operation. The FBI, which will do the background checks, also approved.

Census officials told congressional staffers the program would cost an additional $340 million, though Murdock said the bureau is working to reduce costs.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., a member of the committee, asked why such a big program was being implemented less than two years from the constitutionally mandated count.

"Couldn't they have decided this in 2002, 2004 or 2006, instead of at the last minute?" she said. "This is a big decision, decided late, by the administration and not career professionals at Census."