[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 224 (Tuesday, November 21, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67327-67328]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-19670]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

U.S. Census Bureau


Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) Waves 10, 11, 
and 12 of the 2004 Panel

ACTION: Proposed Collection; Comment Request.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 January 22, 
2007.

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 Patrick J. Benton, Census Bureau, Room HQ-6H045, 
Washington, DC 20233-8400, (301) 763-4618.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

I. Abstract

    The U.S. Census Bureau requests authorization from the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) to extend the expiration date for the 2004 
Panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to 
February 28, 2008. This will provide the time necessary to conduct the 
Wave 10, 11, and 12 interviews for the 2004 Panel of the SIPP. The 
interviews will include the core SIPP, which has already been approved 
by OMB under Authorization No. 0607-0905. Due to budget constraints, 
there are no topical modules for the Wave 10, 11, and 12 interviews.
    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 five 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 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, which began in February 2004. Approximately 
62,000 households were selected for the 2004 Panel, of which, 46,500 
were interviewed, yielding approximately 97,650 interviews. Due to 
budget constraints we are limiting the sample for the 2004 Wave 10, 11, 
and 12 interviews to 21,292 households per wave. We estimate that each 
of these households will contain 2.1 people 15 years of age or older, 
yielding 44,713 interviews in each Wave. Interviews take 20 minutes on 
average. The total annual burden for 2004 Panel SIPP interviews will be 
44,266 hours through January 2008.
    Wave 10, 11, and 12 interviews will be conducted from February 2007 
through January 2008.
    A 10-minute reinterview of 1,064 people is scheduled to be 
conducted during Waves 10, 11, and 12 to ensure the accuracy of 
responses. Reinterviews will require an additional 533 burden hours 
through February 2008.

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 5 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 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 over 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: 0607-0905.
    Form Number: SIPP/CAPI Automated Instrument.
    Type of Review: Regular.
    Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 134,139 people during Waves 10, 
11, and 12.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 20 minutes per person on average.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 44,799.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: The only cost to respondents is their 
time.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Section 182.

[[Page 67328]]

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: November 16, 2007.
Madeleine Clayton,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. E6-19670 Filed 11-20-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-P