The $600 million USD program to buy handheld devices to collect data for the 2010 Census and to create an automated network is behind and over budget according to a story in the Washington Post on Saturday. The agency contracted with Harris Corp. to buy 500,000 handheld devices and networking equipment that will automate records in field offices.
The Field Data Collection Automation (FDCA) program is $50 million over its original cost, and the Census Bureau warns that if abandoned it would cost at least $1 Billion to $12 Billion USD to go back to pen and paper.
