KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr. says a detailed questionnaire from the U.S. Census Bureau is intrusive and unnecessary.

The Knoxville Republican voted with the majority last week to bar the Census Bureau from using government funds to conduct the American Community Survey.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reported Duncan said the survey gathers information that is none of the government's business. The form goes out monthly to 250,000 households nationwide.

In a statement released Friday, the Census said the bill devastates its ability to collect statistical information about the status of the economy.

Among questions on the survey are the householders' ethnicity, earnings and whether they own or rent their home.

The bill passed 232-190, mostly along party lines. It seems unlikely that it will also pass in the Democrat-controlled Senate.