[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 128 (Thursday, July 3, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38071-38072]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-15649]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Bureau of Labor Statistics


Proposed Collection, Comment Request

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to 
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a pre-clearance 
consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies 
with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing 
collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c) (2)(A)]. This program helps to 
ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, 
reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, 
collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of 
collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. The 
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is soliciting comments concerning the 
proposed revision of the ``The Consumer Expenditure Surveys: The 
Quarterly Interview and the Diary.'' A copy of the proposed information 
collection request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the individual 
listed below in the Addresses section of this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
Addresses section of this notice on or before September 2, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Nora Kincaid, BLS Clearance Officer, 
Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Room 4080, 
2 Massachusetts Avenue NE., Washington, DC 20212. Written comments also 
may be transmitted by fax to 202-691-5111 (this is not a toll free 
number).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nora Kincaid, BLS Clearance Officer, 
at 202-691-7628 (this is not a toll free number). (See Addresses 
section.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The Consumer Expenditure (CE) Surveys collect data on consumer 
expenditures, demographic information, and related data needed by the 
Consumer Price Index (CPI) and other public and private data users. The 
continuing surveys provide a constant measurement of changes in 
consumer expenditure patterns for economic analysis and to obtain data 
for future CPI revisions. The CE Surveys have been ongoing since 1979.
    The data from the CE Surveys are used (1) for CPI revisions, (2) to 
provide a continuous flow of data on income and expenditure patterns 
for use in economic analysis and policy formulation, and (3) to provide 
a flexible consumer survey vehicle that is available for use by other 
Federal Government agencies. Public and private users of price 
statistics, including Congress and the economic policymaking agencies 
of the Executive branch, rely on data collected in the CPI in their 
day-to-day activities. Hence, data users and policymakers widely accept 
the need to improve the process used for revising the CPI. If the CE 
Surveys were not conducted on a continuing basis, current information 
necessary for more timely, as well as more accurate, updating of the 
CPI would not be available. In addition, data would not be available to 
respond to the continuing demand from the public and private sectors 
for current information on consumer spending.
    In the Quarterly Interview Survey, each consumer unit (CU) in the 
sample is interviewed every three months over four calendar quarters. 
The sample for each quarter is divided into three panels, with CUs 
being interviewed every three months in the same panel of every 
quarter. The Quarterly Interview Survey is designed to collect data on 
the types of expenditures that respondents can be expected to recall 
for a period of three months or longer. In general the

[[Page 38072]]

expenses reported in the Interview Survey are either relatively large, 
such as property, automobiles, or major appliances, or are expenses 
which occur on a fairly regular basis, such as rent, utility bills, or 
insurance premiums.
    The Diary (or recordkeeping) Survey is completed at home by the 
respondent family for two consecutive one-week periods. The primary 
objective of the Diary Survey is to obtain expenditure data on small, 
frequently purchased items which normally are difficult to recall over 
longer periods of time.

II. Current Action

    Office of Management and Budget clearance is being sought for the 
proposed revision of the Consumer Expenditure Surveys: The Quarterly 
Interview and the Diary.
    Every ten years the CE survey updates its sample of primary 
sampling units (PSUs) based on the latest decennial census in order to 
make sure its sample accurately reflects the latest geographic shifts 
in the American population. The 2015 sample design implements new 
geography for CE. This involves dropping PSUs, adding PSUs, and 
dropping and adding counties within existing PSUs.
    Beginning in 2015, the first wave bounding interview of the 
Consumer Expenditure Quarterly Interview Survey will be phased out and 
a four wave survey will be implemented. All four waves will have a 
three month reference period and data from all waves will be used in 
the final, published data. The decision to eliminate the bounding 
interview was based on substantial research on the ineffectiveness of 
the bounding interview, and its negative impact on respondent burden 
and survey costs.
    Additionally, to keep the survey current and to fulfill the 
requirements of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), question wording of 
some items was simplified, some items were deleted, and other items 
were added. In the Interview instrument, those change are as follows: 
(1) New screeners including a business expense screener that will 
screen out households who do not have any business expenses from the 
business expense questions and a detailed phone bill screener that will 
screen out breakout questions for TV, Internet, etc., when a bill is 
not available; (2) questions added on Tricare and on health care 
exchanges; (3) questions and screeners deleted including the alcohol 
screener question, a question on if anything else is included in a 
package trip, a question on the number of trips purchased for non CU 
members, and questions on federal and state/local income taxes and 
refunds; and (4) simplified question wording.
    In the 2015 Diary CAPI instrument, questions on regular grocery 
expenses and expenses for food from places other than a grocery store 
were reworded to match Interview.
    A full list of the proposed changes to the Quarterly Interview 
Survey and Diary Survey are available upon request.
    In addition, the Consumer Expenditure program is planning several 
tests over the next several years in an effort to improve the CE 
surveys in the areas of both data quality and respondent burden.

III. Desired Focus of Comments

    The Bureau of Labor Statistics is particularly interested in 
comments that:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility.
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used.
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected.
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submissions of responses.
    Type of Review: Revision, of a currently approved collection.
    Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    Title: The Consumer Expenditure Surveys: The Quarterly Interview 
and the Diary.
    OMB Number: 1220-0050.
    Affected Public: Individuals or Households.

                       Total Response Burden for the Quarterly Interview and Diary Surveys
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                                   CEQ-interview   CEQ-interview                                   Total (after
                                       2015        (after 2015)      CED-diary     Total (2015)        2015)
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Number of responses.............          32,895          32,447          36,895          69,790          69,342
Total burden hours..............          27,708          27,332          33,599          61,307          60,931
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    Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
    Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): $0.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget 
approval of the information collection request; they also will become a 
matter of public record.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 27th day of June 2014.
Kimberley Hill,
Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
[FR Doc. 2014-15649 Filed 7-2-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P