I recently received an envelope from the Census Bureau with a
printed admonition that my "response is required by law."
When I opened the envelope, I found a census form (Form D-1,
"OMB No. 0607-0856: Approval Expires 12/31/2000") and a form
note (D-16A(L)) from Kenneth Prewitt (Census Bureau director)
dated March 13, 2000.
While the census form included a statement required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act, neither the form itself nor the note
which accompanied it provided the information which is required
by the Privacy Act of 1974 (codified in 5USC552a(e)(3)).
(Section 552a, Title 5, United States Code, states, in part:
"(e) Agency Requirements.--Each agency that maintains a system
of records shall--
(3) inform each individual whom it asks to supply
information, on the form which it uses to collect the
information or on a separate form that can be retained by
the individual--
(A) the authority (whether granted by statute, or by
executive order of the President) which authorizes the
solicitation of the information and whether disclosure
of such information is mandatory or voluntary;
(B) the principal purpose or purposes for which the
information is intended to be used;
(C) the routine uses which may be made of the
information, as published pursuant to paragraph (4)(D)
of this subsection; and
(D) the effects on him, if any, of not providing all
or any part of the requested information.")
(Subsection (g) states, in part:
"(1) Civil Remedies.--Whenever any agency
(D) fails to comply with any other provision of this
section, or any rule promulgated thereunder, in such a
way as to have an adverse effect on an individual,
the individual may bring a civil action against the
agency, and the district courts of the United States
shall have jurisdiction in the matters under the
provisions of this subsection."
"(4) In any suit brought under the provisions of subsection
(g)(1)(C) or (D) of this section in which the court
determines that the agency acted in a manner which was
intentional or willful, the United States shall be liable
to the individual in an amount equal to the sum of--
(A) actual damages sustained by the individual as a
result of the refusal or failure, but in no case shall a
person entitled to recovery receive less than the sum of
$1,000; and
(B) the costs of the action together with reasonable
attorney fees as determined by the court."
"(5) An action to enforce any liability created under this
section may be brought in the district court of the United
States ... within two years from the date on which the cause
of action arises, except that where an agency has materially
and willfully misrepresented any information required under
this section to be disclosed to an individual ... the action
may be brought at any time within two years after discovery
by the individual of the misrepresentation.")
(Subsection (i) states, in part:
"(3) Any person who knowingly and willfully requests or
obtains any record concerning an individual from an agency
under false pretenses shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and
fined not more than $5,000.")
(For purposes of Section 552a, the following definitions apply:
"(3) the term ``maintain'' includes maintain, collect,
use, or disseminate;
(4) the term ``record'' means any item, collection, or
grouping of information about an individual that is
maintained by an agency, including, but not limited to, his
education, financial transactions, medical history, and
criminal or employment history and that contains his name,
or the identifying number, symbol, or other identifying
particular assigned to the individual, such as a finger or
voice print or a photograph;
(5) the term ``system of records'' means a group of any
records under the control of any agency from which
information is retrieved by the name of the individual or by
some identifying number, symbol, or other identifying
particular assigned to the individual;
(6) the term ``statistical record'' means a record in a
system of records maintained for statistical research or
reporting purposes only and not used in whole or in part in
making any determination about an identifiable individual,
except as provided by section 8 of title 13.")
Normally, federal agencies routinely provide the information
required by 5USC552a(e)(3) when requesting persons to provide
personal information. (Examples can be found on tax form
instructions, passport applications, and requests for public
assistance.) Assuming that it is as competent and knowledgeable
as other agencies, the Census Bureau apparently made a willful,
intentional decision not to provide the required information --
a clear violation of federal law. Illegally requiring persons
to provide private information to a federal government agency,
when that agency by its very action violates federal law,
constitutes an obvious "adverse effect" on individuals.
Accordingly, if the current census form remains in use, the
federal government could be liable for massive lawsuits with a
minimum damage of $1,000 for each person affected -- potentially
millions of persons, billions of dollars (5USC552a(g)(4)(A)).
Additionally, again assuming job competence, Census Bureau
officers and employees who continue the illegal collection of
information are subject to misdemeanor convictions and $5,000
fines (5USC552a(i)(3)).
In any event, since persons are not required to comply with an
illegal request by a government agency, the 2000 census, as
currently being conducted, is likely invalid. To correct this
situation, the Census Bureau must immediately provide all
persons with the information which is required by 5USC552a,
paragraph (e)(3), and afford them an opportunity to retract any
information which they may have given to the Census Bureau prior
to receiving the required information.
This appears to be a serious error on the part of the government.
Does anyone have ideas on how to proceed with this matter?
