Why is US Census Bureau Buying Promotional Items Made Overseas?
ABC News reported the public relations fall out from the “March to the Mailbox” promotional items given out by the Census Bureau. The nationwide event was an effort to get people in 6000 areas with low rates of return for their Census forms to fill out and mail the forms. If the forms are not mailed, a paid Census worker needs to visit each non-respondent. The Census Bureau defended their use of goods made in China, Bangladesh and Haiti as a way to save the taxpayers money. Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) Executive Director Scott Paul said, “Unemployment is nearly 10 percent. Millions of Americans are suffering. The Census Bureau should ensure that all of its materials are made in America, especially since census workers will be knocking on the doors of scores of families that have been devastated by layoffs. The Census Bureau has said that these purchases were made by contractors and were under the threshold for compliance with Buy America requirements. But in this day and a
