[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 77 (Thursday, April 23, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18548-18549]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-9324]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Survey of 
Income and Program Participation (SIPP) 2010 Re-Engineered SIPP--Dress 
Rehearsal

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau.

ACTION: Notice.

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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 and/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: To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted on 
or before June 22, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Diana Hynek, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 7845, 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 Census Bureau will be conducting a dress rehearsal for the Re-
engineered SIPP from January to March of 2010. The SIPP is a household-
based survey designed as a continuous series of national panels. The 
Re-engineered SIPP design is a revision of the 2008 Panel SIPP 
Instrument, in which respondents were interviewed at 4-month intervals 
or ``waves'' over the life of the panel. The current 2008 Panel was 
molded around a central ``core'' of labor force and income questions 
that remain fixed throughout the life of the panel and then 
supplemented with questions designed to address specific needs called 
``topical modules.'' Examples of these topical modules include Medical 
Expenses, Child Care, Retirement and Pension Plan Coverage, Marital 
History, and others.
    In contrast, the new Re-engineered SIPP will interview respondents 
in one year intervals, using the previous calendar year as the 
reference period. The content of the Re-engineered SIPP will match that 
of the 2008 Panel SIPP very closely. The Re-engineered SIPP will not 
contain free-standing topical modules. However, a portion of the 2008 
Panel topical module content will be integrated into the Re-engineered 
SIPP interview. The Re-engineered SIPP will use an Event History 
Calendar (EHC), which records dates of events and spells of coverage. 
The EHC should provide increased accuracy to dates reported by 
respondents.
    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, which the SIPP has provided on a 
continuing basis since 1983. The SIPP has measured levels of economic 
well being and permitted changes in these levels to be measured over 
time.
    The 2010 Re-engineered SIPP dress rehearsal will be conducted from 
January 2010 to March 2010. Approximately 8,000 households are selected 
for the 2010 Re-engineered SIPP dress rehearsal, of which, 5,120 
households will likely be interviewed. We estimate that each household 
contains 2.0 people aged 15 and above, yielding approximately 10,240 
person-level interviews in the dress rehearsal. Interviews take 30 
minutes on average. The total annual burden for 2010 Re-engineered SIPP 
dress rehearsal interviews would be 5,120 hours in FY 2010.
    In addition, we will be conducting practice interviews for 2010 Re-
engineered SIPP Field Representatives (FR) in November and December of 
2009. These practice interviews will consist of 200 Field 
Representatives interviewing 3 households of two persons each at 30 
minutes per interview. The resulting burden hours for the practice 
interviews are 600 burden hours.

II. Method of Collection

    The 2010 Re-engineered SIPP dress rehearsal instrument will consist 
of one household interview, which will reference the calendar year 
2009. The interview is conducted in person with all household members 
15 years old or over using regular proxy-respondent rules.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: None.
    Form Number: SIPP/CAPI Automated Instrument.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 11,440 people.
    Estimated Time per Response: 30 minutes per person on average.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 5,720.
    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.

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 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.


[[Page 18549]]


    Dated: April 17, 2009.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. E9-9324 Filed 4-22-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P