Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez has told Congress that the U.S. Census is abandoning plans to have its field agents use handheld computers to collect information about the millions of residents who won’t return census forms in the mail. Instead, the agency will resort to time-tested, highly reliable technology: paper and pencil.
“As I have said before, the situation today is unacceptable, and we have been taking steps to address the issues,” Gutierrez told a House Appropriations subcommittee. Gutierrez cited communications problems with one of the department’s key contractors as the main reason for ditching the high-tech plans, likely Florida’s Harris Corporation.
