Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: DECEMBER 7, 1994 (WEDNESDAY)
Public Information Office CB94-O.04
301-763-4040 REVISED
301-763-5668 (TDD)
Census Bureau To Receive Vice President Gore's Hammer Award
Today the Commerce Department's Census Bureau will receive Vice President Al Gore's Hammer Award for promoting efficiency in government, a major goal of the Clinton Administration's National Performance Review.
The Bureau is being honored for creating an INTERNET prototype system that provides a new and more efficient way to distribute Census Bureau data and dramatically increase public access to Bureau information. The Bureau is continuing to expand access while ensuring confidentiality is protected. The Census Bureau envisions a day in the not too distant future when most census data will be disseminated electronically.
The Census Bureau, which receives the award for the second time, is one of 22 federal agency teams to get the award, sponsored by the Washington Area Working Group for Reinvention and National Performance Review. The first was for using computers to assist in surveying, yielding more accurate information and faster data collection.
The Hammer Award is a $6 hammer that symbolizes the administration's commitment to cutting through bureaucracy and rebuilding a government that is more customer oriented.
On Nov. 22, Jane A. Callen, Assistant Director for Communications and Arnold A. Jackson, Associate Director for Information Technology at the Census Bureau, also received recognition for the INTERNET prototype system when they were honored with Secretary Brown's "Cutting Red Tape" award. Other members of the INTERNET team at the Census Bureau include, Donald E. Badrak II, Edward Cary Bean, Jr., Richard L. Bitzer, Larry W. Carbaugh, Gary L. Goldberg, Eric G. Grant, Valerie J. Gregg, Robert B. Hammond, Jackson H. Morton, Barry D. Nichols, Chris C. Stuber, Richard W. Swartz, and Scott D. Williams.
The INTERNET is a worldwide computer "network of networks" that allows users to access and download information from anywhere in the world using a personal computer and a modem. Between March and September of 1994, over one million INTERNET users have logged onto the Census site on the information highway. The types of information available on the site include Bureau news releases, statistical briefs, estimates from demographic and economic program areas, plus much more.
The ceremony will be held today from 12:30 to 2:30 at the Mellon Auditorium located at Constitution Avenue between 12th and 14th Streets, NW. ABC-TV and National Public Radio correspondent Cokie Roberts will be the master of ceremonies. Media planning to cover the event should notify Mary Ann Maloney at 202-606-1800.