Mar 25 2008 7:42AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |
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After a one-year reprieve, the Census Bureau has announced again that it will cease collecting data on remodeling, eliminating the only regular government source of data on the industry. Last year, lobbying by NAHB and other groups resulted in the $1 million study being reinstated for 2008.

Read more on the issue here from NAHB.

In case you're wondering, here's some things the government is willing to spend about $1 million on (thanks to OMB Watch, the Congressional Budget Office, Citizens Against Government Waste and the Government Accountability Office for the info): 

• Shipping costs (actually $998,798.36) for 38 cents worth of washers
• Research into improving the shelf life of vegetables
• The Waterfree Urinal Conservation Initiative
• The MountainMade Foundation, an organization dedicated to promoting the works of West Virginia artists on the Internet
• The Sparta Teapot Museum in Sparta, N.C.
• The National Wild Turkey Federation (at least it's the bird and not the drink)
• The First Tee Foundation, an organization dedicated to creating "affordable and accessible golf facilities" for underpriveleged kids