Groves Sworn in as Census Bureau Chief

In the US, Robert Groves has been sworn in as the 23rd Director of the US Census Bureau, at a ceremony attended by seven of his predecessors as well as hundreds of members of the statistical community and Census Bureau employees.

Earlier this month, the US Senate approved President Obama's nomination of Groves as Census Director, following more than a month of objections from Republican lawmakers.

He takes up the post just eight months before Census Day - April 1 2010 - when a count will take place of everyone living in the US. The numbers are used to apportion congressional seats to states; to distribute more than $400bn in federal funds to local, state and tribal governments each year; and to make decisions about what community services are required.

'In a matter of months, we'll begin the national operation we call the decennial census,' said Groves. 'It is a time-honored tradition. There is no other federal agency charged with such a large undertaking. It is awesome in every bit of its aspects.'

The first census was conducted in 1790, counting nearly 4 million people. A temporary census office conducted the count every 10 years, with the Census Bureau becoming a permanent agency in 1902. The latest census in 2000 counted more than 286 million and next year, the count is expected to exceed 310 million residents.

Web site: www.census.gov .