Robert Groves will lead the 2010 Census

The confirmation comes at a critical time for the Commerce Department bureau, which is about to undertake its once-a-decade tally of the U.S. population.

Groves has the skills to tackle this challenge, top senators say. From 1990-1992, he was associate director for statistical design, standards and methodology at the Census Bureau. For the last eight years, he has directed the University of Michigan Survey Research Center.

“Dr. Groves is a brilliant social scientist, he has impeccable credentials and the administration would have had a hard time appointing a better-qualified candidate to lead the Census Bureau,” said Joe Lieberman, Ind.-Conn., who chairs the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Options being considered include thin solar films that are imbedded into roofs, additional insulation to repel heat, and vegetative roofs such as a 5,000-square-foot garden patch atop the seven-story Interior Department headquarters building in Washington.

Other agencies have outfitted their roofs with vegetation, recognizing both the environmental and economic benefits. Our videographer, Colin Kelly, recently toured two examples outside the nation’s capital in Suitland, Md. Follow the links for video of green roofs at the Census Bureau headquarters and at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration facility.

“I didn’t campaign for this job,” he said, adding that he did call the White House after hearing he was a candidate to check on the status of the nomination.

Gregg said the reorganization of the Census Bureau was only a “slight issue” in his decision to pull his name from consideration. He said President Barack Obama is a “strong, effective and good president” and that his nomination “wasn’t a good fit and was not fair to (Obama).”

He said repeatedly that the decision to step down helps him remain true to himself and not serve in a situation where he couldn’t remain true to his values.

I said yes, but that was my mistake, not his. After 30 years of being myself, it would be hard to assume another role.

He said he was too caught up in the “euphoria” of being nominated to focus on the details.

When they asked me if I’d do the job, I said yes … I should have focused sooner on the implications of being in the Cabinet.

Gregg, a Republican from New Hampshire, said he won’t run for re-election in 2010. He declined to say if he will vote on the stimulus bill Friday in the Senate, but he did add that the markets will respond to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s “Tarp 2″ proposal announced this week once they hear the details.

– Rebecca Neal

Update: White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs just issued a rather terse statement regarding Judd Gregg’s abrupt departure as Commerce secretary nominee. Here’s the statement, in its entirety:

Senator Gregg reached out to the President and offered his name for Secretary of Commerce.  He was very clear throughout the interviewing process that despite past disagreements about policies, he would support, embrace, and move forward with the President’s agenda.  Once it became clear after his nomination that Senator Gregg was not going to be supporting some of President Obama’s key economic priorities, it became necessary for Senator Gregg and the Obama administration to part ways.  We regret that he has had a change of heart.

Original post: Sen. Judd Gregg has withdrawn his nomination for Commerce secretary.

President Barack Obama nominated Gregg on Feb. 3 in an effort to reach across the political aisle. But philosophical differences between the Republican senator and the Democratic administration were too large to overcome, Gregg said in a statement issued this afternoon.

It has become apparent during this process that this will not work for me as I have found that on issues such as the stimulus package and the Census there are irresolvable conflicts for me. Prior to accepting this post, we had discussed these and other potential differences, but unfortunately we did not adequately focus on these concerns. We are functioning from a different set of views on many critical items of policy.

Gregg abstained from voting on the stimulus bill when it came before the Senate on Tuesday, provoking a firestorm of criticism from his home state of New Hampshire. And observers have noted that Gregg voted in the 1990s to kill the Census Bureau, which he would be tasked with leading as head of the Commerce Department.

Gregg is the second nominee for the Commerce post to have withdrawn from consideration. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, President Obama’s first choice, stepped down last month.

• The Postal Service will deliver more than 20 billion pieces of mail throughout the season.
• Last year holiday shoppers spent $30.5 billion on gifts.
• Christmas tree farmers sold $493 million worth of pine trees last year; $114 million worth were sold in Oregon alone.
• Approximately $1.3 billion worth of candles were shipped to stores in the U.S. in 2002, many of which were lit during Hanukkah and Kwanzaa celebrations.
• Approximately $475 million worth of bubbly was shipped to U.S. wine sellers in 2002.

Bonus: There are many festively named cities and towns in the U.S. including Santa Claus, Ind.; Santa Claus, Ga.; Noel, Mo.; Rudolph, Wis., Dasher, Ga.; Snowflake, Ariz.; Holly Springs, Miss.; Mount Holly, N.C.; and Champaign, Ill.

How about 271 million turkeys for starters? That’s the number of turkeys that were raised in the U.S. since last Turkey Day, according to the Census Bureau, the keeper of all fun facts. According to Census the average American consumes 13.3 pounds annually.

Here’s what else Census has to say about other Thanksgiving eats:

• The U.S. cranberry industry produced 689 million pounds of cranberries this year, up 5 percent from last year. And surprise, Wisconsin, not Massachusetts, leads the nation in cranberry production.
• Approximately 1.8 million pounds of sweet potatoes were harvested in 2007. (Bonus: Per capita sweet potato consumption is 4.6 pounds).
• A total of 1.1 billion pounds of pumpkins were produced for all those pies we’ll be consuming.
• And finally: 769,760 tons of green beans were harvested this year, perfect for those casseroles.

Bonus fun fact: TSA says you can bring your pumpkin (or other flavor) pie as a carry on for your holiday flights, provided you agree to put it through the x-ray machine. Apparently pie is neither liquid nor gel, just 100 percent solid yummy goodness.

•1.8 million veterans are women

•2.4 million are black, 1.1 million are Hispanic, 278,000 are Asian, 165,000 are American Indian or Alaska natives, 27,000 are native Hawaiians or Pacific Islanders and 18.7 million are white.

•9.3 million are older than 65 and 1.9 million are younger than 35.

•2.9 million served in World War II, 3 million served in Korea, 7.9 million served in Vietnam, 5 million served in the Gulf War and 6.1 million served in peace time. Approximately 1 million of these veterans served in two or more of these conflicts.

Bonus: Veterans Day started 89 years ago as Armistice Day to recognize the first anniversary of the end of World War I, the war to end all wars. There is only one U.S. World War I veteran alive to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the armistice today, according to CNN. His name is Frank Buckles.

•36 million potential trick-or-treaters. That’s how many kids between the ages of 5 and 13 are estimated to be in this country, but it doesn’t take into account immature adults — like this reporter — who might try to score some candy anyway. And those trick-or-treaters will visit…

•110 million occupied households in the United States.  All of which had better be stocked with something good, unless they like cleaning up eggs and toilet paper.

•Almost 1.1 billion pounds of pumpkins for jack-o’-lanterns and pie. And where should you go to find the perfect pumpkin to carve? Illinois, which grew 542 million pounds of pumpkin in 2007.

•24.5 pounds of candy. That’s how much the average American eats each year, but many trick-or-treaters will easily top that.

•And North Carolina seems to be the ideal state to celebrate Halloween. The Census Bureau points out that the Tarheel State is the home of Transylvania County, a city called Pumpkin Center, and not one, but two Cape Fears.

Sadly, the Census Bureau doesn’t estimate how many hapless trick-or-treaters might get the Charlie Brown treatment: rocks.