By TERI SFORZA

Samantha O'Neil, of the Census Bureau Public Information Office, told us. "We cannot provide detailed pricing information on promotion item costs because the information constitutes a trade secret of our main contractor -- DRAFT FCB."

As we fitfully prepared to file our Freedom of Information Act Request, we got a phone call from a good-humored man named Stephen L. Buckner. Buckner begged our pardon and proceeded to answer our questions.

The good news is that the U.S. Census Bureau did not spend $1 billion on swag! And that the public information we asked for is, indeed, public!

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