"Iowans may not realize what's at stake when they receive their Census 2000 form in the mail," said Grassley. "Undercounts put community resources, especially school funding, at risk. You can protect yourself and your children from getting shortchanged by taking a short amount of time to complete and mail back your family's survey."
To raise awareness about the services and benefits that are impacted by census returns, Grassley today announced his plans for a series of community events next month that are designed to alert Iowans and encourage their participation in Census 2000.
"Getting the word out will help Iowa avoid getting shortchanged over the course of the next 10 years," he said.
"More than $185 billion in federal funds nationwide are awarded annually to local communities based on census counts," said Grassley. "Local communities in Iowa could lose $1,000 in state funds over the next 10 years for every person missed by Census 2000 and the state of Iowa could lose at least double that figure in federal funding for each undercounted person."
Starting in mid-March, the U.S. Census Bureau will begin mailing census surveys to 1.1 million Iowa households. The U.S. Constitution calls for a complete accounting of every resident living in the United States every 10 years.
"Iowans have a lot to gain by filling out the simple survey," said Grassley. "However, if they don't respond, they stand to lose out in terms of eligibility for government programs, from road construction, to elderly programs, veterans services and emergency disaster assistance."
Grassley reminds Iowans to encourage their friends, families and neighbors to participate.
According to Grassley, civic leaders and transportation officials use census data to plan and pay for a community's infrastructure needs, such as for building new schools, roads, hospitals, libraries, playgrounds, day-care and senior citizen centers.
Local economic development initiatives and business investments, including the location of new housing developments, industrial parks, movie theaters and restaurants are also influenced by census figures, he said.
"From public safety to public works, the U.S. Census will play a major role in your community projects at the turn of the new century. As a taxpayer, you can help conserve resources by filling out your form and promptly returning it."
According to the Census Bureau, the 1990 census was the first in more than 50 years that was less accurate than the one previous with 35 percent of Americans failing to return their forms. Approximately 12,000 Iowans were undercounted in 1990.
"Thankfully, Iowans take their civic responsibilities seriously," said Grassley. "In the last decennial census, Iowa's response rate ranked second in the nation at 76 percent. We can't afford not to match our record and must work hard to improve upon it, especially among Iowa's growing population of newcomers who may not understand the importance of the census to their families and communities."
Grassley's events will coincide with the Census Bureau's mass mailing to Iowa households in mid-March. Census Day 2000 is April 1. The senator will release a complete schedule of his community census events in the near future.