Chaffetz wants no criminal counters

Rep. Jason Chaffetz wants the Census Bureau to certify in writing that it is sure that enumerators hired to go door-to-door next year do not have criminal records.

He joined three other Republicans in a letter to Census Bureau Director Robert Groves on Monday raising concerns because a Governmental Accountability Office study recently said the Census Bureau may have accidentally hired 200 criminals.

The GAO said that problem came because those people had "unclassifiable fingerprints" that led to incomplete background checks. The bureau said the people had been used in early work to check on addresses to allow a complete mailing of census forms next year. The bureau has said it has been addressing the problem.

Chaffetz and the other GOP members of a subcommittee that oversees the census wrote asking for "a commitment in writing" that "the Census Bureau will not hire anyone with any criminal record to be an enumerator" or any other position "that will interact with the public."

They wrote that "allowing individuals with criminal records to be enumerators … will have a seriously detrimental effect on the American people's confidence in the 2010 Census." They added, "Moreover, the safety and security of Americans in their own homes are at stake."

They also asked for census policy on what types of crimes could disqualify potential employees, and asked for a list of all employees with criminal records to be provided by Nov. 6.

Others who joined in the letter include Reps. Patrick T. McHenry, R-N.C.; John Mica, R-Fla.; and Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga.

e-mail: lee@desnews.com