[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 42 (Friday, March 2, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12795-12796]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-5109]


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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 and Program 
Participation, Wave 13 Topical Module.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0944.
    Form Number(s): SIPP 281305(L), Director's Letter: SIPP 
281305(L)SP, Director's Letter (Spanish); SIPP/CAPI Automated 
Instrument.
    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 13 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.

[[Page 12796]]

    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 13 is 
Professional Certificates and Certifications. This topical module has 
not been previously conducted in the SIPP. Wave 13 interviews will be 
conducted from September 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012.
    No topical modules were used in Wave 12 and none are planned in 
Waves 14 through 16 of the 2008 Panel. We plan to continue fielding the 
core and reinterview instruments through December 2013, which is the 
last rotation of Wave 16. Consequently, we did not submit an OMB 
package for Wave 12 and do not anticipate future OMB submissions for 
the 2008 Panel after Wave 13.
    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 four months and includes 
sixteen 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.
    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 Jennifer Jessup, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-0336, 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 email ([email protected]).

    Dated: February 28, 2012.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-5109 Filed 3-1-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P