[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 13 (Thursday, January 22, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3985-3986]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-1124]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce will submit 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: 2008 Panel of the Survey of Income & Program Participation, 
Wave 3 Topical Modules.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0944.
    Form Number(s): SIPP 28305(L) Director's Letter; SIPP/CAPI 
Automated Instrument; SIPP 28003 Reminder Card.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden Hours: 143,303.
    Number of Respondents: 94,500.
    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 3 
interview for the 2008 Panel of the Survey of Income and Program 
Participation (SIPP). The core SIPP and reinterview instruments were 
previously cleared.
    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.
    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, 
such as estimating eligibility for government programs, examining 
pension and health care coverage, and analyzing individual net worth. 
These supplemental questions are included with the core and are 
referred to as ``topical modules.''
    The topical modules for the 2008 Panel Wave 3 are Welfare Reform 
and Retirement and Pension. The Welfare Reform topical module was 
previously conducted in the SIPP 2004 Panel Wave 8 instrument. The 
Retirement and Pension topical module was previously conducted in the 
SIPP 2004 Panel Wave 7 instrument. Wave 3 interviews will be conducted 
from May 1, 2009 through August 31, 2009.
    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 approximately 3 to 4 years. The 2008 Panel is 
scheduled for four years and four months and includes thirteen waves 
which began September 1, 2008. All household members 15 years old or 
over are interviewed using regular proxy-respondent rules. They are 
interviewed a total of thirteen times (thirteen 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 
(PSU) 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 people move, they are not 
followed unless they happen to move along with a Wave 1 sample 
individual.
    The OMB has established an Interagency Advisory Committee to 
provide guidance for the content and procedures for the SIPP. 
Interagency subcommittees were set up to recommend specific areas of 
inquiries for supplemental questions.
    The Census Bureau developed the 2008 Panel Wave 3 topical modules 
through consultation with the SIPP OMB Interagency Subcommittee. The 
questions for the topical modules address major policy and program 
concerns as stated by this subcommittee and the SIPP Interagency 
Advisory Committee.
    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.
    Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Frequency: Every 4 months.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Section 182.
    OMB Desk Officer: Brian Harris-Kojetin, (202) 395-7314.
    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 Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB Desk Officer either by fax (202-395-7245) 
or e-mail ([email protected]).

[[Page 3986]]


    Dated: January 14, 2009.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. E9-1124 Filed 1-21-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P