[ti:Policies, Politics and Dollars Rest on US Census] [ar:Steve Ember] [al:IN THE NEWS] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]This is IN THE NEWS [00:05.48]in VOA Special English. [00:08.17]Census forms have been [00:10.66]mailed across America. [00:12.30]Every ten years [00:14.12]since seventeen ninety [00:15.81]the Constitution has required [00:18.15]a population count. [00:20.30]The results decide [00:22.11]how many seats each state [00:25.24]will have in the House [00:26.43]of Representatives. [00:27.93]The numbers will also decide [00:30.37]how more than four hundred [00:32.66]billion dollars a year [00:35.04]in federal assistance is divided. [00:38.18]States that are hurting financially [00:40.82]depend on the federal government [00:43.36]for about twenty percent [00:45.52]of their money. [00:46.87]The more people counted, [00:49.07]the more money [00:50.26]the states can receive. [00:51.76]But counting the world's [00:54.39]third largest population [00:56.53]-- about three hundred nine million [00:59.17]by current estimates [01:01.11]-- is no easy job. [01:02.90]The process costs more [01:05.24]than fourteen billion dollars. [01:07.82]The Census Bureau says [01:10.40]the ten-question form this year [01:13.20]is one of the shortest ever [01:15.89]and should take no more [01:17.78]than ten minutes. [01:19.34]Officials want all forms returned [01:22.42]by Census Day, April first. [01:25.65]The form asks for the number [01:28.67]of people living or staying [01:31.21]in a house, apartment or mobile home. [01:34.69]It asks for the name [01:37.31]of each person living there, and [01:39.40]about the ownership of the home. [01:42.49]There are also race [01:45.17]and ethnicity questions. [01:47.36]And a phone number is requested, [01:50.65]the form explains, in case [01:52.96]an answer is not understood. [01:55.90]The records are made public [01:58.39]after seventy-two years. [02:01.15]But until then, federal law bars [02:04.72]the Census Bureau from [02:06.92]sharing individual records [02:09.27]with any other agency [02:11.15]-- such as immigration [02:13.40]or anti-terrorism officials. [02:16.31]Leaders of minority groups [02:19.09]including Hispanics and Muslims [02:22.37]are urging their communities [02:24.77]to complete the form [02:26.55]so they are counted. [02:28.55]But some people say they do not [02:31.34]trust the government and [02:33.61]will not answer all the questions. [02:36.67]People are required by law [02:39.73]to answer all questions [02:42.20]to the best of their ability. [02:44.84]There is a five hundred dollar [02:47.46]fine for giving false answers. [02:50.29]There is a fine of up to [02:52.86]five thousand dollars [02:54.67]for not returning a census form, [02:57.80]but the fine is rarely enforced. [03:01.35]Officials say [03:03.03]about seventy percent [03:05.14]of the population took part [03:07.33]in the last census. [03:09.29]This year they hope [03:11.59]for higher rates. Still, [03:14.62]they expect more than [03:16.43]forty-seven million households [03:19.11] not to return their forms. [03:21.83]This will require a visit [03:23.67]by a census worker. [03:25.51]This year's mailing includes, [03:29.04]for the first time, [03:30.29]bilingual forms [03:32.13]in English and Spanish. [03:34.92]The Census Bureau chose [03:37.44]thirteen million households [03:39.45]in areas with large numbers [03:42.51]of Spanish speakers. [03:44.62]In addition, forms will be available [03:47.56]in fifty-nine languages [03:49.97]including Chinese, Korean and Russian. [03:54.59]Within around thirty years [03:57.33]the Census Bureau expects racial [04:00.48]and ethnic minorities to form [04:03.32]the majority of America's population. [04:06.81]But more than half of all children [04:10.36]will be minorities in less than [04:13.33]half that time. Minority children, [04:17.01]especially Hispanics, [04:19.40]are increasing at a fast rate [04:22.53]while the United States [04:24.24]has fewer white children. [04:26.89]Experts predict that the share [04:30.00]of babies born to white, [04:32.48]non-Hispanic women will fall below [04:35.87]fifty percent within the next two years. [04:40.08]And that's IN THE NEWS [04:42.57]in VOA Special English, [04:45.16]written by Brianna Blake. [04:47.56]For more news, go to 51voa.com. [04:52.90]I'm Steve Ember.