[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 178 (Wednesday, September 15, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55572-55573]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-20775]


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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, Wave 4 Topical Modules.
    Form Number(s): SIPP 24405(L) Director's Letter; SIPP/CAPI 
Automated Instrument; SIPP 24003 Reminder Card.
    Agency Approval Number: 0607-0905.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden: 148,028 hours.
    Number of Respondents: 97,650.
    Average Hours Per Response: 30 Minutes.
    Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau requests authorization from 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct the Wave 4 topical 
module interview for the 2004 Panel of the Survey of Income and Program 
Participation (SIPP). We are also requesting approval for a few 
replacement questions in the reinterview instrument. The core SIPP and 
reinterview instruments were cleared under Authorization No. 0607-0905.
    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 of interviewing. 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 4 are Work Schedule, Child Care, Annual Income and 
Retirement Accounts, and Taxes. These topical modules were previously 
conducted in the SIPP 2001 Panel Wave 4 instrument. Wave 4 interviews 
will be conducted from February through May 2005.
    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]).


[[Page 55573]]


    Dated: September 10, 2004.
Madeleine Clayton,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 04-20775 Filed 9-14-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P