[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 241 (Friday, December 16, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74763-74764]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-7456]


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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: 2006 Short-Form Experiment.
    Form Number(s): S-1A, S-1B, S-1C.
    Agency Approval Number: None.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Burden: 4,734 hours.
    Number of Respondents: 28,400.
    Avg Hours Per Response: 10 minutes.
    Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau requests authorization from 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to collect data from the 
public as part of the Decennial Short Form Experiment (SFE). This is 
one of a number of tests planned to improve the 2010 Census.
    In response to the lessons learned from Census 2000, and in 
striving to better meet our Nation's ever-expanding needs for social, 
demographic, and geographic information, the U.S. Department of 
Commerce and the Census Bureau have developed a multi-year effort to 
completely modernize and re-engineer the 2010 Census of Population and 
Housing.
    In order to meet our constitutional and legislative mandates, we 
must implement a re-engineered 2010 Census that is cost-effective and 
improve measurement. Achieving this strategic goal requires an 
iterative series of tests that will provide an opportunity to evaluate 
new or improved question wording, methodology, technology, and 
questionnaire design. The 2006 SFE is part of this testing cycle, which 
has been planned to allow us to finalize methodologies and operational 
procedures in time to conduct a Dress Rehearsal in 2008 and a 
successful census in 2010.
    The SFE is a national mail survey test. This test will be conducted 
with households that have a city-type address and that receive mail 
from the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). The population of interest 
includes those households that would be eligible for a mailout-mailback 
short form. The one exception is that households in Austin, TX will be 
excluded from the sample in order to avoid interference with the 2006 
Census Test, which is taking place in Austin.
    Like other research leading up to the 2010 Census, this test is 
designed to evaluate revised methods intended to improve accuracy and/
or contain costs.

[[Page 74764]]

In conjunction with the results of other testing (e.g., cognitive 
tests, focus groups, the 2003 National Census Test, the 2004 Census 
Test, and the 2005 National Census Test) the 2006 SFE will help us 
develop the optimal data collection methodology for the 2010 Census.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Frequency: One-time.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Sections 141 and 193.
    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: December 13, 2005.
Madeleine Clayton,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
 [FR Doc. E5-7456 Filed 12-15-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P