Census Bureau reassures Bachmann about privacy

A Census Bureau spokesman says his office has met with Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann's staff about her concerns over the 2010 census.

Bachmann told Fox News Thursday that she won't fill out most of the census form, only the number of people in her household. Bachmann, a Republican, says she's not comfortable answering some of the questions.

Census bureau spokesman Steve Buckner says the census form is just ten questions long, although a small percentage of people may be randomly asked to complete a longer survey.

"So these would include questions such as income, education levels, how long it take you to get to work," he said. "All of these things are actually tied to federal programs, laws or judicial rulings that say we must collect data on these questions. So Congress approves these questions so they can now administer some of the programs and laws that they've passed."

Buckner says any census worker who violates the privacy rules faces 5 years in prison and a $250,000 dollar fine.

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