Rep. Bachmann Refuses To Fill Out 2010 Census
Bachmann, a Republican, said her family will only be indicating the number of people in the household, because "the Constitution doesn't require any information beyond that."
Bachmann believes the upcoming census to be "very intricate" and "very personal" and expresses concerns about ACORN's involvement in the data collection. The community organizing program came under scrunity after charges of voter registration fraud during the 2008 presidential elections.
"I think what the threat of ACORN would be deluding the ballot box and the effectiveness of our vote," she said. "They will be in charge of going door to door and collecting data from the American public, this is very concerning."
Bachmann also expressed frustration at the president's backing for ACORN, saying he has supplied $8.4 billion to ACORN since he has come into office, a number that far surpasses the $53 million given in the past 15 years.
"ACORN has received $53 million from 1994 to today, but now, since President Obama has come into office, he is making available $8.5 billion – with a 'b' - to ACORN, an organization that is repeatedly under indictment for voter fraud in multiple states across the country," Bachmann said. "This is the last organization that should have the taxpayer's wallet open to them but unfortunately, under President Obama, he is multiplying the amount of money available to them."
Bachmann has claimed the $8.5 billion available multiple times, but it should be noted that the St. Petersburg Times' affiliated fact check Web site, Politifact.com, disputes its accuracy.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Bachmann may be in trouble if she fails to fill out the entire census. Spokeswoman Shelly Lowe told the Washington Times that anyone over the age of 18 must fill out all the questions and any such person who refuses to answer "any of the questions" faces a $5,000 fine.