Internet may be next stop for Census

WASHINGTON, July 7 (UPI) -- This year's U.S. Census may be the last one to be filled out by hand and conducted primarily through mailings and home visits, the head of the census says.

Census Bureau Director Robert Groves said he has asked a University of Michigan biostatistician to explore ways to get more people to participate in future censuses, USA Today reported Wednesday.

The purpose of the assignment is to increase the efficiency of the census and to keep costs down.

Groves said it's time to add the Internet to mail, phones and face-to-face interviews for counting the number of people in the United States.

"We need to be serious about saving money," Groves said.

This year's Census will cost $14.7 billion, nearly $50 a person when completed, an amount that is 66 percent higher than the cost of the 2000 Census.

"Spending billions of dollars is ridiculous," says small businessman Terry Stamm of Kansas. "There's got to be a better way."