[ti:Policies, Politics and Dollars Rest on US Census]
[ar:Steve Ember]
[al:IN THE NEWS]
[by:www.21voa.com]
[00:00.00]This is IN THE NEWS
[00:05.48]in VOA Special English.
[00:08.17]Census forms have been
[00:10.66]mailed across America.
[00:12.30]Every ten years
[00:14.12]since seventeen ninety
[00:15.81]the Constitution has required
[00:18.15]a population count.
[00:20.30]The results decide
[00:22.11]how many seats each state
[00:25.24]will have in the House
[00:26.43]of Representatives.
[00:27.93]The numbers will also decide
[00:30.37]how more than four hundred
[00:32.66]billion dollars a year
[00:35.04]in federal assistance is divided.
[00:38.18]States that are hurting financially
[00:40.82]depend on the federal government
[00:43.36]for about twenty percent
[00:45.52]of their money.
[00:46.87]The more people counted,
[00:49.07]the more money
[00:50.26]the states can receive.
[00:51.76]But counting the world's
[00:54.39]third largest population
[00:56.53]-- about three hundred nine million
[00:59.17]by current estimates
[01:01.11]-- is no easy job.
[01:02.90]The process costs more
[01:05.24]than fourteen billion dollars.
[01:07.82]The Census Bureau says
[01:10.40]the ten-question form this year
[01:13.20]is one of the shortest ever
[01:15.89]and should take no more
[01:17.78]than ten minutes.
[01:19.34]Officials want all forms returned
[01:22.42]by Census Day, April first.
[01:25.65]The form asks for the number
[01:28.67]of people living or staying
[01:31.21]in a house, apartment or mobile home.
[01:34.69]It asks for the name
[01:37.31]of each person living there, and
[01:39.40]about the ownership of the home.
[01:42.49]There are also race
[01:45.17]and ethnicity questions.
[01:47.36]And a phone number is requested,
[01:50.65]the form explains, in case
[01:52.96]an answer is not understood.
[01:55.90]The records are made public
[01:58.39]after seventy-two years.
[02:01.15]But until then, federal law bars
[02:04.72]the Census Bureau from
[02:06.92]sharing individual records
[02:09.27]with any other agency
[02:11.15]-- such as immigration
[02:13.40]or anti-terrorism officials.
[02:16.31]Leaders of minority groups
[02:19.09]including Hispanics and Muslims
[02:22.37]are urging their communities
[02:24.77]to complete the form
[02:26.55]so they are counted.
[02:28.55]But some people say they do not
[02:31.34]trust the government and
[02:33.61]will not answer all the questions.
[02:36.67]People are required by law
[02:39.73]to answer all questions
[02:42.20]to the best of their ability.
[02:44.84]There is a five hundred dollar
[02:47.46]fine for giving false answers.
[02:50.29]There is a fine of up to
[02:52.86]five thousand dollars
[02:54.67]for not returning a census form,
[02:57.80]but the fine is rarely enforced.
[03:01.35]Officials say
[03:03.03]about seventy percent
[03:05.14]of the population took part
[03:07.33]in the last census.
[03:09.29]This year they hope
[03:11.59]for higher rates. Still,
[03:14.62]they expect more than
[03:16.43]forty-seven million households
[03:19.11] not to return their forms.
[03:21.83]This will require a visit
[03:23.67]by a census worker.
[03:25.51]This year's mailing includes,
[03:29.04]for the first time,
[03:30.29]bilingual forms
[03:32.13]in English and Spanish.
[03:34.92]The Census Bureau chose
[03:37.44]thirteen million households
[03:39.45]in areas with large numbers
[03:42.51]of Spanish speakers.
[03:44.62]In addition, forms will be available
[03:47.56]in fifty-nine languages
[03:49.97]including Chinese, Korean and Russian.
[03:54.59]Within around thirty years
[03:57.33]the Census Bureau expects racial
[04:00.48]and ethnic minorities to form
[04:03.32]the majority of America's population.
[04:06.81]But more than half of all children
[04:10.36]will be minorities in less than
[04:13.33]half that time. Minority children,
[04:17.01]especially Hispanics,
[04:19.40]are increasing at a fast rate
[04:22.53]while the United States
[04:24.24]has fewer white children.
[04:26.89]Experts predict that the share
[04:30.00]of babies born to white,
[04:32.48]non-Hispanic women will fall below
[04:35.87]fifty percent within the next two years.
[04:40.08]And that's IN THE NEWS
[04:42.57]in VOA Special English,
[04:45.16]written by Brianna Blake.
[04:47.56]For more news, go to 51voa.com.
[04:52.90]I'm Steve Ember.
END OF TRACK. "END OF TRACK." The two men bowed. "Whoever was that person you were talking to?" she enquired, as soon as they stood together. The took of triumph faded from her eyes, she had grown worn and weary. The roses were wilting on the walls, the lights were mostly down now. Hetty, looking in to see if anything was wanted, found herself driven away almost fiercely. I only saw Master Jervie once when he called at tea time, The year 1747 was opened by measures of restriction. The House of Lords, offended at the publication of the proceedings of the trial of Lord Lovat, summoned the parties to their bar, committed them to prison, and refused to liberate them till they had pledged themselves not to repeat the offence, and had paid very heavy fees. The consequence of this was that the transactions of the Peers were almost entirely suppressed for nearly thirty years from this time, and we draw our knowledge of them chiefly from notes taken by Horace Walpole and Lord Chancellor Hardwicke. What is still more remarkable, the reports of the House of Commons, being taken by stealth, and on the merest sufferance, are of the most meagre kind, sometimes altogether wanting, and the speeches are given uniformly under fictitious names; for to have attributed to Pitt or Pelham their[112] speeches by name would have brought down on the printers the summary vengeance of the House. Many of the members complained bitterly of this breach of the privileges of Parliament, and of "being put into print by low fellows"; but Pelham had the sense to tolerate them, saying, "Let them alone; they make better speeches for us than we can make for ourselves." Altogether, the House of Commons exhibited the most deplorable aspect that can be conceived. The Ministry had pursued Walpole's system of buying up opponents by place, or pension, or secret service money, till there was no life left in the House. Ministers passed their measures without troubling themselves to say much in their behalf; and the opposition dwindled to Sir John Hinde Cotton, now dismissed from office, and a feeble remnant of Jacobites raised but miserable resistance. In vain the Prince of Wales and the secret instigations of Bolingbroke and Doddington stimulated the spirit of discontent; both Houses had degenerated into most silent and insignificant arenas of very commonplace business. "It certainly will be. Miss Widgeon," answered Maria, with strictly "company manners." "One who has never had a brother exposed to the constant dangers of army life can hardly understand how glad we all feel to have Si snatched from the very jaws of death and brung back to us." "Just plug at 'em as you would at a crow, and then go on your way whistlin'?" persisted Harry. "Hurroo!" echoed Hennessey; "that's the ticket." "Come forward, keeper," continued the baron, "and state how these arrows came into your hands!" "Yes." HoMEJULIA¾©Ïã2018ÏÂÔØ
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