[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 139 (Monday, July 21, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43079-43080]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-18405]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Survey of 
Income and Program Participation (SIPP) Wave 1 of the 2004 Panel

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed or continuing information collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before September 19, 
2003.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Diana Hynek, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6625, 14th 
and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet 
at [email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions 
should be directed to Judith H. Eargle, U.S. Census Bureau, FOB 3, Room 
3387, Washington, DC 20233-8400, (301) 763-3819.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Census Bureau conducts the SIPP which is a household-based 
survey designed as a continuous series of national panels. New panels 
are introduced every few years with each panel usually having durations 
of one to four years. Respondents are interviewed at 4-month intervals 
or ``waves'' over the life of the panel. The survey is molded around a 
central ``core'' of labor force and income questions that remain fixed 
throughout the life of the panel. The core is supplemented with 
questions designed to address specific needs, such as obtaining 
information on household members participation in government programs 
as well as prior labor force patterns of household members. These 
supplemental questions are included with the core and are referred to 
as ``topical modules.''
    The SIPP represents a source of information for a wide variety of 
topics and allows information for separate topics to be integrated to 
form a single, unified database so that the interaction between tax, 
transfer, and other government and private policies can be examined. 
Government domestic-policy formulators depend heavily upon the SIPP 
information concerning the distribution of income received directly as 
money or indirectly as in-kind benefits and the effect of tax and 
transfer programs on this distribution. They also need improved and 
expanded data on the income and general economic and financial 
situation of the U.S. population. The SIPP has provided these kinds of 
data on a continuing basis since 1983 permitting levels of economic 
well-being and changes in these levels to be measured over time.
    The 2004 panel is currently scheduled for 4 years and will include 
12 waves of interviewing beginning February 2004. Approximately 62,000 
households will be selected for the 2004 panel, of which, 46,000 are 
expected to be interviewed. We estimate that each household will 
contain 2.1 people, yielding 96,600 interviews in Wave 1 and subsequent 
waves. Interviews take 30 minutes on average. Two waves of interviewing 
will occur in the 2004 SIPP Panel during FY 2004. The total annual 
burden for 2004 Panel SIPP interviews would be 96,600 hours in FY 2004.
    The topical modules for the 2004 Panel Wave 1 collect information 
about:
    [sbull] Recipiency History
    [sbull] Employment History

Wave 1 interviews will be conducted from February 2004 through May 
2004.
    A 10-minute reinterview of 3,100 people is conducted at each wave 
to ensure accuracy of responses. Reinterviews would require an 
additional 1,035 burden hours in FY 2004.

II. Method of Collection

    The SIPP is designed as a continuing series of national panels of 
interviewed households that are introduced every few years with each 
panel having durations of 1 to 4 years. All household members 15 years 
old or over are interviewed using regular proxy-respondent rules. 
During the 2004 panel, respondents are interviewed a total of 12 times 
(12 waves) at 4-month intervals making the SIPP a longitudinal survey. 
Sample people (all household

[[Page 43080]]

members present at the time of the first interview) who move within the 
country and reasonably close to a SIPP primary sampling unit will be 
followed and interviewed at their new address. Individuals 15 years old 
or older who enter the household after Wave 1 will be interviewed; 
however, if these individuals move, they are not followed unless they 
happen to move along with a Wave 1 sample individual.

III. Data

    OMB Number: None.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 96,600 people per wave.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 30 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 97,635.
    Estimated Annual Cost to the Public: The only cost to respondents 
is their time.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Section 182.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized or 
included in the request for the Office of Management and Budget 
approval of this information collection. They also will become a matter 
of public record.

    Dated: July 15, 2003.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 03-18405 Filed 7-18-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P