Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today urged New Mexicans to do their part to ensure they are counted in the country's 2010 Census.

Bingaman encouraged New Mexico residents to participate in the 2010 Census by completing the 10-question survey that has been mailed to them and returning it as soon as possible.

"Census information is vital to ensuring an accurate count of our country's population, which will help determine where new schools, hospitals and roads should be built and also impact our states representation in all levels of government," Bingaman said.

Every year, the federal government distributes more than $400 billion to state, local and tribal governments based on census data.  Data also determine the number of seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives.  If every household completed and mailed back their census form taxpayers could reduce the cost of taking the census and save $1.5 billion.

The U.S. Census Bureau began delivering or mailing forms to households last month. Households should complete and mail back their forms upon receipt. Census workers will visit households that do not return forms to take a count in person.

Information shared with the Census Bureau is completely confidential. By law, the Census Bureau cannot share respondents' answers with anyone, including tribal housing authorities, other federal agencies and law enforcement entities. All Census Bureau employees take the oath of nondisclosure and are sworn for life to protect the confidentiality of the data. The penalty for unlawful disclosure is a fine of up to $250,000 or imprisonment of up to five years, or both.

The U.S. Constitution requires a population and housing census every 10 years. The massive undertaking has been referred to as the largest peacetime mobilization in U.S. history. The effort employs some of the most sophisticated technical and operational knowledge and tools available, as well as a work force of more than 500,000 enumerators to count every man, woman and child once, and only once, and in the right place.

For more information about the 2010 Census, visit http://2010census.gov.