[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 242 (Tuesday, December 17, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76278-76279]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-29904]


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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: Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current 
Population Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0354.
    Form Number(s): CPS-580 (ASEC), CPS-580 (ASEC)SP, CPS-676, CPS-
676(SP).
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden Hours: 32,500.
    Number of Respondents: 78,000.
    Average Hours per Response: 25 minutes.
    Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau has conducted the Annual 
Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) annually as part of the Current 
Population Survey (CPS) for over 60 years. The Census Bureau and the 
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) sponsor this supplement. The Census 
Bureau will conduct the ASEC in conjunction with the February, March, 
and April CPS.
    The ASEC data collection instrument has undergone substantive 
revisions from the previous collection in 2013. A summary of the 
revisions include:
     Tailoring the order of income questions to match those 
sources most likely received given certain known characteristics of the 
household: (1) householder aged 62 and older; (2) low-income 
households; and (3) a default for all other household types.
     Use of a dual-pass approach through the income types 
first, identifying all sources of income received. Then proceed to ask 
amounts for those sources the respondent indicated receiving.
     Use of income ranges as a follow-up for ``don't know'' or 
``refused'' income amount questions.
     Change to the disability income questions to eliminate 
confusion between disability income from Social Security and 
Supplemental Security Income.
     Collecting back-payments for disability benefits.
     Use of a new strategy to collect property income by asking 
separately about income from retirement assets and other assets.
     Collecting the value of assets that generate income if the 
respondent is unsure of the income generated.
     Asking about withdrawals and distributions from retirement 
accounts.
     Total revision to Health Insurance Coverage questions, 
asking about coverage at the present time and then coverage since 
January 1 of the previous year. The questions continue to concentrate 
on the major types of health coverage, which are employer-based, 
privately-purchased, or government-sponsored. The revisions surround 
the method by which the questions are asked.
    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.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Section 182, and 
Title 29, United States Code, Sections 1-9.
    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,

[[Page 76279]]

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: December 11, 2013.
Gwellnar Banks,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-29904 Filed 12-16-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P