Census director Thompson resigns abruptly

May 10 (UPI) -- U.S. Census Bureau Director John H. Thompson resigned amid disagreements over the funding of the agency as it prepares for the 2020 census.

Johnson, director since 2013, will leave the Census Bureau on June 30, a Commerce Department statement said Tuesday. Although his five-year term expired in December, he was expected to remain in his position until the end of 2017.

While his resignation was unexpected, it comes after a congressional budget allocation for the agency in April earmarked $1.47 billion for the 2020 census. The figure is less than requested, and regarded by some analysts as inadequate for the once-per-decade task of the agency.

At a May 3 hearing, Thompson told a congressional committee that a new electronic data collection system cost nearly 50 percent more than originally planned; the 2013 estimate of $656 million had risen to $965 million.

The Census Bureau typically increases spending in the years prior to a decennial census to cover the costs of hiring, publicity and testing of equipment.

No successor to Thompson was announced.