{"id":13349,"date":"2017-11-02T17:10:37","date_gmt":"2017-11-02T17:10:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2017\/11\/02\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:39:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:39:05","slug":"gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2017\/11\/02\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\/","title":{"rendered":"GAO: Census costs skyrocket as effectiveness declines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Conducting the 2020 census will likely cost more and receive fewer responses than in previous years, according to trends described in a recent Government Accountability Office report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn recent years, we have identified challenges that raise serious concerns about the bureau\u2019s ability to conduct a cost-effective count of the nation, including issues with the agency\u2019s research, testing, planning, scheduling, cost estimation, systems development and IT security practices,\u201d Eugene L. Dodaro, comptroller general of the United States, told members of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs committee in a recent hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe cost of the census has been escalating over the last several decennials. The 2010 decennial was the costliest U.S. Census in history at about $12.3 billion, and was about 31 percent more costly than the $9.4 billion 2000 Census,\u201d the GAO report said. \u201cMeanwhile, the return of census questionnaires by mail (the primary mode of data collection) declined over this period from 78 percent in 1970 to 63 percent in 2010 (see figure 1). Declining mail response rates \u2014 a key indicator in determining the cost-effectiveness of the census \u2014 are significant and lead to higher costs. This is because the bureau sends temporary workers to each non-responding household to obtain census data.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"482\" height=\"403\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GAO-2020-Census.png.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-38141\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GAO-2020-Census.png.png 482w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GAO-2020-Census.png.png?resize=300,251 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 482px) 100vw, 482px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Department of Commerce also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federaltimes.com\/smr\/census-roundtable\/2017\/10\/12\/commerce-chief-billions-more-dollars-needed-for-2020-census\/\">recently updated<\/a> the 2015 cost estimate of $12.5 billion for the 2020 census by adding over $3billion, after GAO found that the original estimate was not reliable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the report, delays in the cancellation of the 2017 field test and scaling back of its 2018 End to End test of new census technologies could pose problems for the 2020 rollout, which plans to rely heavily on new IT systems to boost numbers and reduce costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA critical concern to me and my constituents are the cancelled tests in Indian Country. Indian reservations provide unique challenges for the Census Bureau, such as historic distrust of the federal government, a lower likelihood of deliverable mail, and sparse population centers,\u201d said Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D. \u201cThese concerns go beyond just tribal issues. From what I have seen, I am not sure the Census Bureau is generally prepared to do an effective job in counting residents in rural areas nationwide. The planned tests focus on more urban and suburban regions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The report also raised concerns that the Census Bureau has not addressed several security risks in those IT systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAt the direction of Congress, the Bureau created a plan to modernize the Census to avoid the costly mistakes of 2010,\u201d said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc. \u201cHowever, the ambitious plans \u2015 which include multiple self-response methods and new systems to store census data \u2015 bring additional risks that upgrades will not be delivered on time, or systems that are not fully secure could be manipulated or hacked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, according to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, the addition to the cost estimate will enable the bureau to make a \u201csignificant course correction\u201d for problematic programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe 2020 Census operational plan includes many innovations,\u201d said Ross. \u201cThis will be the first Census to introduce and promote internet response; to introduce telephone call centers as an additional mode of response; to use aerial imagery to update maps and addresses for the entire country; to automate field procedures and use algorithms to improve the efficiency of our field enumerators and to use administrative records to increase accuracy and reduce workload. We are keenly aware of the challenges, risks and costs associated with this technology transition. However, we believe these technologies will improve efficiency while reducing costs that would be otherwise realized if investment in these technologies did not occur, and will serve as a solid foundation for future Decennial Censuses.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Conducting the 2020 census will likely cost more and receive fewer responses than in previous years, according to trends described in a recent Government Accountability Office report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":38137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":9,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[106,31,110,14,33,9],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2853],"class_list":["post-13349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-brief","category-home","category-it-cloud-report","category-it-networks","category-newsletters","category-federal-oversight"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"P5WNK2GBYRGULJEOGCNGCE2CDE","arc_canonical_url":"\/federal-oversight\/2017\/11\/02\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>GAO: Census costs skyrocket as effectiveness declines - Federal Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Conducting the 2020 census will likely cost more and receive fewer responses than in previous years, according to trends described in a recent Government Accountability Office report.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2017\/11\/02\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"GAO: Census costs skyrocket as effectiveness declines\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Conducting the 2020 census will likely cost more and receive fewer responses than in previous years, according to trends described in a recent Government Accountability Office report.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2017\/11\/02\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Federal Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-11-02T17:10:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T04:39:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jessie Bur\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jessie Bur\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/federal-oversight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/02\\\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/federal-oversight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/02\\\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"GAO: Census costs skyrocket as effectiveness declines\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2017-11-02T17:10:37+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T04:39:05+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/federal-oversight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/02\\\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 599,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/federal-oversight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/02\\\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-164229173.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily Brief\",\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"IT &amp; Cloud Report\",\n\t                \"IT &amp; Networks\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Oversight\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/federal-oversight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/02\\\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/federal-oversight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/02\\\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/federal-oversight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/02\\\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"GAO: Census costs skyrocket as effectiveness declines - Federal Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/federal-oversight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/02\\\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/federal-oversight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/02\\\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-164229173.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2017-11-02T17:10:37+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T04:39:05+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Conducting the 2020 census will likely cost more and receive fewer responses than in previous years, according to trends described in a recent Government Accountability Office report.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/federal-oversight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/02\\\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/federal-oversight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/02\\\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/federal-oversight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/02\\\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-164229173.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-164229173.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/federal-oversight\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/02\\\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Oversight\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/federal-oversight\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"federal-oversight\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"GAO: Census costs skyrocket as effectiveness declines\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Federal Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Federal Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Federal Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/federal-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/federal-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Federal Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"GAO: Census costs skyrocket as effectiveness declines - Federal Times","description":"Conducting the 2020 census will likely cost more and receive fewer responses than in previous years, according to trends described in a recent Government Accountability Office report.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2017\/11\/02\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"GAO: Census costs skyrocket as effectiveness declines","og_description":"Conducting the 2020 census will likely cost more and receive fewer responses than in previous years, according to trends described in a recent Government Accountability Office report.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2017\/11\/02\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\/","og_site_name":"Federal Times","article_published_time":"2017-11-02T17:10:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T04:39:05+00:00","author":"Jessie Bur","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jessie Bur","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2017\/11\/02\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2017\/11\/02\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"GAO: Census costs skyrocket as effectiveness declines","datePublished":"2017-11-02T17:10:37+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T04:39:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2017\/11\/02\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\/"},"wordCount":599,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2017\/11\/02\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-164229173.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily Brief","Home","IT &amp; Cloud Report","IT &amp; Networks","Newsletters","Oversight"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2017\/11\/02\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2017\/11\/02\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2017\/11\/02\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\/","name":"GAO: Census costs skyrocket as effectiveness declines - Federal Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2017\/11\/02\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2017\/11\/02\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-164229173.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2017-11-02T17:10:37+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T04:39:05+00:00","description":"Conducting the 2020 census will likely cost more and receive fewer responses than in previous years, according to trends described in a recent Government Accountability Office report.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2017\/11\/02\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2017\/11\/02\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2017\/11\/02\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-164229173.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-164229173.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2017\/11\/02\/gao-census-costs-skyrocket-as-effectiveness-declines\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Oversight","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/","ad_zone":"federal-oversight"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"GAO: Census costs skyrocket as effectiveness declines"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/","name":"Federal Times","description":"Federal Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#organization","name":"Federal Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/federal-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/federal-logo-white.png","caption":"Federal Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-164229173.jpg.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Federal Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13349"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13358,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13349\/revisions\/13358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13349"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=13349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}