[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 118 (Thursday, June 19, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36861-36862]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-15533]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Emergency Request

    The Social Security Administration (SSA) publishes a list of 
information collection packages that will require clearance by the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with Pub. L. 104-13 
effective October 1, 1995, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
    SSA is soliciting comments on the accuracy of the agency's burden 
estimate; the need for the information; its practical utility; ways to 
enhance its quality, utility and clarity; and on ways to minimize 
burden on respondents, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology. Written comments 
and recommendations regarding the information collection(s) should be 
submitted to the OMB Desk Officer and the SSA Reports Clearance 
Officer. The information can be sent to the individuals listed below:

(OMB),Office of Management and Budget,Attn: Desk Officer for SSA,Fax: 
202-395-6974.
(SSA),Social Security Administration, DCFAM,Attn: Reports Clearance 
Officer,1338 Annex Bldg.,6401 Security Blvd.,Baltimore, MD 21235,Fax: 
410-965-6400.

    SSA has submitted the information collection listed below for 
emergency consideration by OMB. SSA has requested OMB approval within 
28 days from the date of this notice. Therefore, your comments will be 
most useful if received before the 28 days conclude. You can obtain 
copies of the OMB clearance package by calling the SSA Reports 
Clearance Officer at 410-965-0454, or by writing to the address listed 
above.

Survey of Adults To Determine Public Understanding of Social Security 
Programs--0960-0612

    As required by section 2(b) of the Government Performance and 
Results Act (GPRA), which provides that

[[Page 36862]]

Agencies establish the means for measuring their progress in achieving 
agency-level goals, SSA established the Public Understanding 
Measurement System (PUMS) in 1998 as a tool for measuring its 
performance in meeting its strategic objectives in the area of public 
knowledge about and understanding of the Social Security program. The 
instrument used in PUMS is a national phone survey of adult Americans 
(age 18 and over) which will be conducted annually for SSA by a 
professional polling organization.
    SSA has recently put in place a new strategic plan and established 
a new strategic performance objective, ``the percent of adult Americans 
who are knowledgeable about the current Social Security program and 
related issues, including long-range financing.'' In line with the new 
plan, SSA is revising its public education program to include 
information about Social Security issues such as program solvency. SSA 
is also adjusting its PUMS process to collect baseline (initial) data 
on this revised measure. Once this baseline data is collected, SSA will 
set a strategic performance goal with yearly performance targets as 
required by the GPRA.
    The survey instrument is designed to collect baseline knowledge 
data at the national level via 1,400 national surveys. Additionally, 
the survey is designed to assure a valid baseline knowledge measure for 
key populations toward which SSA has significant targeted education and 
outreach programs--African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian 
Americans. This data is a crucial step in making SSA more focused and 
effective in its communication programs.
    Without the data provided by the PUMS survey process, SSA would 
lack the capability to measure the actual level of public knowledge by 
which its performance is measured and would lack data to design 
effective public education programs in support of its strategic plan. 
The respondents will be randomly selected adults residing in the United 
States.
    Type of Request: Reinstatement with change of an information 
collection.
    Number of Respondents: 1400.
    Frequency of Response: 1.
    Average Burden Per Response: 15 minutes.
    Estimated Annual Burden: 350 hours.

    Dated: June 16, 2003.
Elizabeth A. Davidson,
Reports Clearance Officer, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 03-15533 Filed 6-18-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P