Bachmann: Won't fill out Census form

Published: June 25, 2009 at 6:47 PM
Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota

WASHINGTON, June 25 (UPI) -- Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., says she won't fill out the 2010 Census form and officials say that would violate the law but prosecution is not likely.

The Minnesota Star Tribune said Bachmann made the assertion in a Fox News Channel interview Thursday, repeating an assertion first made last week. Bachmann says she will only give the Census Bureau the number of people living in her home.

The other questions are an invasion of privacy, she said.

Even though the U.S. criminal code cites penalties for refusing to fill out the questionnaire, the Census Bureau said it is "not a prosecuting agency" and refusing to answer its questions is not likely to result in a fine, the newspaper reported.

Bachmann cites the U.S. Constitution for her stand.

"I'm saying, for myself and my family, our comfort level is we will comply with the Constitution Article I Section II," Bachmann told Fox News, the Star Tribune reported. "We will give the number of people in our home, and that's where we're going to draw the line."

The section requires a "decennial" "enumeration" to be used to apportion seats in the U.S. House.

© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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