Reps. Maloney, Clay, And Towns Act To Stop Census Look-Alike Mailings

Press Release

As the constitutionally-mandated 2010 Census begins, mailings with bold lettering saying "Do Not Destroy", "Official Document" and "Census Document Registered To:" on the outer envelope have been received in areas ranging from Georgia to Colorado to Montana that are NOT from the Census bureau but from the Republican National Committee among other groups. What's more, these envelopes often do not carry any return address, further camouflaging the fact that the mailing is not associated with the U.S. Census Bureau in any way.
In response to this rising wave of look-alike direct mail from private organizations, Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Wm. Lacy Clay (D-MO), Chair, House Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census and National Archives, and Edolphus Towns (D-NY) Chair, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, today introduced legislation H.R.4621 which would prohibit using such wording and design by private mailers, and empower the Postal Service to take action to stop them.

"There are too many reports from too many places to ignore the fact that direct-mail fundraisers are deliberately attempting to confuse people into opening envelopes by imitating official Census documents, piggybacking on awareness generated by the Census Bureau's multi-million dollar ad campaign now on the airwaves," Rep. Maloney said. "We must do everything we can to prevent confusion and ensure an accurate, cost-effective census."

"This legislation will give Postal Inspectors a much needed tool to crack down on the widespread, deceptive direct mail pieces sent by scam artists and some partisan groups who try to exploit the U.S. Census for their own purposes. It is outrageous that these groups feel free to subvert the Census for profit or politics, and we must act to stop it," said Congressman Clay.

"The 2010 Census is far too important to be the subject of any political gamesmanship," said Chairman Towns. "We must pass this bill quickly to protect the integrity of the Census and to ensure an accurate count."

The bill, the Prevent Deceptive Census Look Alike Mailings Act, would 1) require any mailing with an envelope marked "Census" to clearly indicate the name and address of the sender and 2) would add mailings that use the word "Census" to an existing requirement in federal law to include a disclaimer that the mailing is not from or affiliated with the federal government. If organizations do not comply with these two requirements, then the U.S. Postal Service is authorized to take the appropriate action to stop the mailings.

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Complete text of the bill may be found here.

Background.
As the Ranking Member of the Census Subcommittee ten years ago, Rep. Maloney complained to the Postal Service about mailings by the Southwest Legal Foundation and the Republican National Committee which used language and design which resembled census forms. The Postal Service stopped the mailings from the Southeast Legal Foundation.

In December 2009, Mrs. Maloney and Chairman Clay wrote the Postal Service about the latest wave of look-alikes, sponsored by the Republican National Committee, but the Postal Service found no cause for action, giving rise to this proposed legislation. Text of that letter may be found here and the postal service's response here.

Source