[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 146 (Friday, July 29, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45506-45507]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-19257]


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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 11 Topical Module.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0944.
    Form Number(s): SIPP-281105(L) Director's Letter; SIPP/CAPI 
Automated Instrument; SIPP28003 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 a topical module 
during the Wave 11 interview for the 2008 Panel of the Survey of Income 
and Program Participation (SIPP). The core SIPP and reinterview 
instruments were cleared under Authorization No. 0607-0944.
    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 module planned for the 2008 Panel Wave 11 is Retirement 
and Pension Plan Coverage. This topical module was previously conducted 
in the SIPP 2004 Panel Wave 7 and the SIPP 2008 Panel Wave 3 
instruments. Wave 11 interviews will be conducted from January 1, 2012 
through April 30, 2012.
    No topical modules are planned for Waves 12 through 17 of the 2008 
Panel. We plan to continue fielding the core and reinterview 
instruments through

[[Page 45507]]

April 2014, which is the last rotation of Wave 17. Consequently, we do 
not anticipate any future OMB submissions for the 2008 Panel.
    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 6 years. The 2008 Panel is 
scheduled for approximately 6 years and includes seventeen 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 9 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 U.S.C., 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 6616, 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]).

    Dated: July 26, 2011.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011-19257 Filed 7-28-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P?>