[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 199 (Wednesday, October 15, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59363-59364]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-26018]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    DOC has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
clearance the following proposal for collection of information under 
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).
AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: 2004 Panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation 
(SIPP), Core Instrument and Wave I Topical Modules.
    Form Number(s): SIPP 24105(L) Director's Letter; SIPP/CAPI 
Automated Instrument; SIPP 21003 Reminder Card.
    Agency Approval Number: None.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Burden: 98,685 hours.
    Number of Respondents: 97,650.
    Avg Hours Per Response: 30 minutes.
    Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau plans to conduct the 2004 
Panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). This 
clearance request is to accommodate the core instrument for the life of 
the 2004 Panel, the topical modules for the Wave 1 interviews, and the 
reinterview instrument, which will be used during the life of the 2004 
Panel. The reinterview instrument will be used for quality control 
analysis of data collected by the SIPP field representatives.
    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 3 to 4 years. The 2004 Panel is scheduled for 
four years and will include twelve waves which will begin February 1, 
2004. All household members 15 years old or over are interviewed a 
total of twelve times (twelve waves), at 4-month intervals, making the 
SIPP a longitudinal survey.
    The survey is molded around a central ``core'' of labor force and 
income questions that remain fixed throughout the life of a panel. The 
core is supplemented with questions designed to answer specific needs. 
These supplemental questions are included with the core and are 
referred to as ``topical modules.'' The topical modules for the 2004 
Panel Wave 1 are

[[Page 59364]]

Recipiency History and Employment History. These topical modules were 
previously conducted in the SIPP 2001 Panel Wave 1 instrument. The 2004 
Panel Wave 1 interviews will be conducted beginning February 1, 2004 
and concluding on May 31, 2004.
    Data provided by the SIPP are being used by economic policymakers, 
the Congress, state and local governments, and Federal agencies that 
administer social welfare or transfer payment programs, such as the 
Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of 
Agriculture. 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 and 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. Monetary incentives to encourage non-respondents to participate 
is planned for all waves of the 2004 SIPP Panel.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Frequency: Every 4 months.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Section 182.
    OMB Desk Officer: Susan Schechter, (202) 395-5103.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-0266, Department of Commerce, room 6625, 14th and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at 
[email protected]).
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to Susan Schechter, OMB Desk Officer, either by fax (202-395-7245) or 
e-mail ([email protected]).

    Dated: October 8, 2003.
Madeleine Clayton,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 03-26018 Filed 10-14-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P