[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 180 (Tuesday, September 16, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 53441]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-21644]



[[Page 53441]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


American Indian Population and Labor Force Report

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of proposed renewal of a current information collection; 
comment request.

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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs (AS-IA) is seeking 
comments on the American Indian Population and Labor Force Report as we 
prepare to reinstate the collection as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995. The Indian Employment, Training and Related 
Services Demonstration Act (Act) of 1992 requires the Secretary to 
develop, maintain and publish, not less than biennially, a report on 
the population by gender, income level, age, and availability for work.

DATES: Submit comments on or before November 17, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Your comments and suggestions on the requirements should be 
made directly to Lynn Forcia, Division Chief, Division of Workforce 
Development, Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, Office 
of the Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, 
1951 Constitution Avenue, Mail Stop 20-SIB, NW., Washington, DC 20245; 
Telephone (202) 219-0740, Facsimile (202) 208-4564, E-mail 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: You may request further information or 
obtain copies of the proposed information collection request from Lynn 
Forcia, as identified in the ADDRESSES section.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The collection of this information is 
mandated by Congress by Public Law 102-477 Indian Employment, Training 
and Related Services Demonstration Act (Act) of 1992, Section 17a. The 
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs (AS-IA) is submitting the 
information collection for reinstatement. The information is used by 
interested parties such as tribal governments for the purpose of 
designing, planning and developing programs, for American Indians. This 
information is used to predict and identify the level of need for 
American Indians and Alaska Natives. This survey is the only 
accumulation of data on tribal enrollments, service population, 
workforce, and unemployment of tribal entities in the U.S.
    Request for Comments: AS-IA requests your comments on this 
collection concerning:
    (a) The validity of the methodology used;
    (b) The validity of the assumptions used, including but not limited 
to, the definition of ``service population'' with its inclusions and 
exclusion, population not available for work exclusions, and inclusion 
of short term, part time or season employment characteristics.
    (c) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden (hours and 
cost) of the collection of information;
    (d) The use of a computerized, automated collection technique by 
means of the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development's Web 
site.
    Please note that an agency may not sponsor or request and an 
individual need not respond to, a collection of information unless it 
has a valid OMB Control Number.
    It is our policy to make all comments available to the public for 
review at the location listed in the ADDRESSES section, room 20-SIB, 
during the hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., e.s.t., Monday through Friday, 
except for legal holidays. Please note that all comments received will 
be available for public review for two weeks after the comment period 
closes. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address or 
other personally identifiable information, be advised that your entire 
comment--including your personally identifiable information--may be 
made public at any time. While you may request that we withhold your 
personally identifiable information, we cannot guarantee that we will 
be able to do so. All comments from organizations or representatives 
will be available for review. We may withhold comment from review for 
other reasons.
    OMB Control Number: 1076-0147.
    Type of Review: Reinstatement.
    Title: Department of the Interior, Office of the Assistant 
Secretary--Indian Affairs, American Indian Population and Labor Force 
Report.
    Brief Description of Collection: Public Law 102-477, the Indian 
Employment, Training, and Related Services Demonstration Act of 1992, 
mandates the Secretary to publish, not less than biennially, a report 
on the American Indian and Alaska Native population eligible for 
services by gender, income level, age, and availability for work. The 
process for collecting data has included the use of a paper data 
submission form with written instructions to be filled out by tribes 
and then certified at the tribal, agency, and regional level. The BIA 
believes that many of the reporting issues may be the result of 
misunderstanding of how to fill out this data submission form. The 
Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development has examined the data 
collection process and is hoping to address a truer depiction of tribal 
enrollment and BIA service population in Indian Country.
    The Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development consulted with 
5 of the 562 federally recognized tribal entities, ranging in 
membership less than 5,000 members to more than 250,000 members. The 
estimated time it took each tribe to respond to the biennial report was 
between one hour and four days, depending on the resources of the 
tribal government. It will take tribal representatives an estimated 
eight hours to complete the survey.
    Number of Respondents: 562.
    Estimated Time per Response: 8 hours.
    Frequency of Reponses: Biennially.
    Total Annual Burden to Respondents: 5,000 hours biennially.
    Total Annual Cost to Respondents: N/A.

    Dated: September 5, 2008.
Sanjeev Bhagowalia.
Chief Information Officer--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. E8-21644 Filed 9-15-08; 8:45 am]
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