GOP bill would stop feds from mailing out $2 bills to survey respondents

[markomalley]

From The Hill:
Rep. Scott Tipton (R-Colo.) proposed new legislation on Friday that would prevent the federal government from mailing people cash in an effort to encourage them to fill out federal surveys.

Tipton’s Survey Savings Accountability Act, H.R. 6569, is a response to a 2011 survey by the Bureau of Reclamation, which asked 11,000 people about whether four privately owned dams should be removed from the Klamath River in Oregon and California. As part of its plan to get people to respond, the Bureau included a $2 bill with each survey packet.

Tipton says 1,245 people failed to respond, but kept the money anyway. After another survey was sent to these non-respondents, 286 people mailed the survey back and were given $20, which put the total cost of the survey at about $30,000.

Tipton said the government has no business spending money this way at a time of fiscal crisis.
Nothing like throwing away money (literally).

 

[sedonaman]

…Tipton says 1,245 people failed to respond, but kept the money anyway. After another survey was sent to these non-respondents, 286 people mailed the survey back and were given $20, which put the total cost of the survey at about $30,000.
…

Once again demonstrating that the dishonest are rewarded, in this case with an extra $20 that the honest people didn’t get.

---

No good deed goes unpunished.

 

[Ridgerunner]

From The Hill:
Rep. Scott Tipton (R-Colo.) proposed new legislation on Friday that would prevent the federal government from mailing people cash in an effort to encourage them to fill out federal surveys.

Tipton’s Survey Savings Accountability Act, H.R. 6569, is a response to a 2011 survey by the Bureau of Reclamation, which asked 11,000 people about whether four privately owned dams should be removed from the Klamath River in Oregon and California. As part of its plan to get people to respond, the Bureau included a $2 bill with each survey packet.

Tipton says 1,245 people failed to respond, but kept the money anyway. After another survey was sent to these non-respondents, 286 people mailed the survey back and were given $20, which put the total cost of the survey at about $30,000.

Tipton said the government has no business spending money this way at a time of fiscal crisis.
Nothing like throwing away money (literally).

One has to wonder why the B of R did this at all. How many of the people surveyed actually have any idea at all what good or harm the dams do?

 

[austenbosten]

Aww I wish someone gave me a $2 bill…frankly the only currency worth something since it’s not being chugged out by Candyman Ben Bernanke at a screaming pace.