[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 172 (Thursday, September 5, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54622-54623]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-21538]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Current 
Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.

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.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted on 
or before November 4, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 
Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 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 Aaron Cantu, U.S. Census Bureau, DSD/CPS HQ-
7H108D, Washington, DC 20233-8400, (301) 763-3806 (or via the Internet 
at [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Census Bureau plans to request clearance for the collection of 
data concerning the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) to be 
conducted in conjunction with the February, March, and April Current 
Population Survey (CPS). The Census Bureau has conducted this 
supplement annually for over 50 years. The Census Bureau and the Bureau 
of Labor Statistics sponsor this supplement.
    Information on work experience, personal income, noncash benefits, 
health insurance coverage, and migration is collected. The work 
experience items in the ASEC provide a unique measure of the dynamic 
nature of the labor force as viewed over a one-year period. These items 
produce statistics that show movements in and out of the labor force by 
measuring the number of periods of unemployment experienced by people, 
the number of different employers worked for during the year, the 
principal reasons for unemployment, and part-/full-time attachment to 
the labor force. We can make indirect measurements of discouraged 
workers and others with a casual attachment to the labor market.
    The income data from the ASEC are used by social planners, 
economists, government officials, and market researchers to gauge the 
economic well-being of the country as a whole, and selected population 
groups of interest. Government planners and researchers use these data 
to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of various assistance 
programs. Market researchers use these data to identify and isolate 
potential customers. Social planners use these data to forecast 
economic conditions and to identify special groups that seem to be 
especially sensitive to economic fluctuations. Economists use ASEC data 
to determine the effects of various economic forces, such as inflation, 
recession, recovery, and so on, and their differential effects on 
various population groups.
    A prime statistic of interest is the classification of people in 
poverty and how this measurement has changed over time for various 
groups. Researchers evaluate ASEC income data not only to determine 
poverty levels but also to determine whether government programs are 
reaching eligible households.
    The ASEC also contains questions related to: (1) Medical 
expenditures; (2) Presence and cost of a mortgage on property; (3) 
Child support payments; and (4) Amount of child care assistance 
received. These questions enable analysts and policymakers to obtain 
better estimates of family and household income, and more precisely 
gauge poverty status.
    It has been more than 30 years since the last major redesign of the 
income questions of this questionnaire (1980), and the need to 
modernize this survey to take advantage of computer assisted 
interviewing (CAI) technologies has become more and more apparent. To 
this end, the redesigned 2014 ASEC questionnaire incorporates the 
following strategies:

 customization of income questions to fit specific demographic 
groups
 use of better targeted questions for certain income types that 
are currently not well reported

In addition, the CPS ASEC health insurance questions have measurement 
error due to both the reference period and timing of data collection. 
Qualitative research has shown that some respondents do not focus on 
the calendar year reference period, but rather report on their current 
insurance status. Quantitative studies have shown that those with more 
recent coverage are more likely to report accurately than those with 
coverage farther in the past. To that end, the redesigned ASEC 
questionnaire incorporates the following strategies:

 integrate questions on both current and past calendar year 
status
 ask recipiency and amounts separately

In addition to making improvements to the core set of questions on 
health insurance, in 2014 the Patient Protection and Affordable Care 
Act (PPACA) is set to go into effect. One of the main features of the 
PPACA is the ``Health Insurance Exchange.'' These are joint federal-
state partnerships designed to create a marketplace of private health 
insurance options for individuals and small businesses. While these 
Exchanges are still in development and states have broad flexibility in 
designing the programs, the redesigned ASEC questionnaire puts a viable 
methodology in place, when the PPACA goes into effect, to measure 
Exchange participation and to measure types of health coverage in 
general in the post-reform era.
    Lastly, the point-in-time health insurance questions lend 
themselves to additional questions concerning whether the current 
employer offered the respondent health insurance coverage. Although 
this set of questions is new to the CPS ASEC, it has been in CPS 
production in the Contingent Worker Supplement (CWS). The CWS was 
fielded in February of 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2005.
    The ASEC 2014 data collection instrument will have a split-design 
structure, with two separate treatments for the income-related section. 
Only the income questions will have separate treatments; other sections 
will have only one treatment. Five-eighths (\5/8\) of the sample will 
have income questions from the ``traditional'' design, while three-
eighths (\3/8\) will have income questions

[[Page 54623]]

from the ``redesigned'' ASEC. This split-design will enable Census 
Bureau analysts to create a ``cross-walk'' when analyzing the effects 
of the redesigned ASEC on income and poverty estimates.
    The U.S. Census Bureau continues to follow the 1999 mandate from 
Congress regarding passage of the State Children's Health Insurance 
Program (SCHIP), or Title XXI. The mandate increased the sample size 
for the CPS, and specifically the ASEC, to a level achieving estimates 
that are more reliable for the number of individuals participating in 
this program at the state level. Since 2000, the ASEC is conducted in 
February, March, and April, rather than only in March, to achieve the 
increase in sample size.

II. Method of Collection

    The ASEC information will be collected by both personal visit and 
telephone interviews in conjunction with the regular February, March 
and April CPS interviewing. All interviews are conducted using 
computer-assisted interviewing.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-0354.
    Form Number: There are no forms. We conduct all interviewing on 
computers.
    Type of Review: Regular submission.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 78,000.
    Estimated Time per Response: 25 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 32,500.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: There are no costs to the respondents 
other than their time to answer the CPS questions.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Section 182; and 
Title 29, United States Code, Sections 1-9.

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.

    Dated: August 29, 2013.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-21538 Filed 9-4-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P