Ron Paul Bill Will Restrict Census
Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) - the only libertarian in Congress - has
introduced a bill that will prohibit the Census Bureau from collecting any
information from citizens except for name, address, and the number of
people per residence.
Congressman Paul says the bill, HR 4085, was prompted by scores of calls to
his office from constituents who felt the census form was too intrusive.
"American citizens have the right to be free from the prying eyes of
government bureaucrats," Paul said. "This legislation will give Americans
the peace of mind that comes from knowing that every detail of their lives
is not being filed away and viewed as potentially criminal. It restores and
protects the fundamental privacy and due process rights that are the
foundation of our system of government."
Many of the complaints coming into Paul's office were from constituents who
received the "long form" from the Census Bureau which asks for information
such as income and religious affiliation. Paul said all that the census
needs is a person's name, address, and the number of occupants in the home.
"All of this additional information being request by the Census Bureau is a
major intrusion on the privacy of American citizens," Paul said. "Some
members of Congress will claim that the federal government needs the power
to monitor Americans in order to allow the government to operate more
efficiently. I would remind my colleagues that in a constitutional republic
the people are never asked to sacrifice their liberties to make the job of
government officials a little bit easier. We are here to protect the
freedom of the American people, not to make privacy invasion more efficient.
"It's time we take a stand against federal bureaucrats invading our privacy
and recording every detail of our lives."
(Source: Ron Paul media release, March 27, 2000)
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