[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 158 (Thursday, August 17, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55998-56000]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17681]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Census Bureau


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; High-Frequency Surveys Program/Household Pulse Survey

AGENCY: Census Bureau, Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information 
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information 
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The 
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment on the 
proposed data collection for the Household Pulse Survey under the High-
Frequency Surveys Program, prior to the submission of the information 
collection request (ICR) to OMB for approval. The Household Pulse 
Survey was launched on April 23, 2020 with approval from the Office of 
Management and Budget to continue data collection through October 31, 
2023 (OMB No. 0607-1013). The Department of Commerce has decided to 
continue the Household Pulse Survey after October 31, 2023.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding the continued 
Household Pulse Survey information collection must be received on or 
before October 16, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by 
email to Cassandra Logan, Survey Director, U.S. Census Bureau, by email 
to [email protected] or [email protected]. Please reference 
High-Frequency and Rapid Response Surveys/Household Pulse Survey. You 
may also submit comments, identified by Docket Number USBC-2023-0006, 
to the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. All 
comments

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received are part of the public record. No comments will be posted to 
http://www.regulations.gov for public viewing until after the comment 
period has closed. Comments will generally be posted without change. 
All Personally Identifiable Information (for example, name and address) 
voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do 
not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or 
protected information. You may submit attachments to electronic 
comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed 
to Cassandra Logan, Survey Director, U.S. Census Bureau, 4600 Silver 
Hill Road, HQ-7H157, Washington, DC 20233, (301) 763-1087, and 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    The High-Frequency Surveys Program was established as a natural 
progression from the creation of the Household Pulse Survey. High-
frequency surveys are designed to develop and deploy data collection 
instruments quickly and for data to be released in near real-time. The 
Census Bureau developed the Household Pulse Survey as an experimental 
endeavor in cooperation with five other federal agencies. The survey 
was designed to produce near real-time data in a time of urgent and 
acute need to inform federal and state action. Changes in the measures 
over time provided insight into individuals' experiences on social and 
economic dimensions during the period of the Covid-19 pandemic. It has 
evolved to include content on other emergent social and economic issues 
facing households. This survey, conducted under the auspices of the 
Census Bureau's Experimental Data Series (https://www.census.gov/data/experimental-data-products.html), is designed to supplement the federal 
statistical system's traditional benchmark data products with a new 
data source that provides relevant and timely information based on a 
high-quality sample frame, data integration, and cooperative expertise.
    To date, question domains contributed by the Census Bureau 
(Census), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB); the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Economic Research Service (ERS) and 
Food and Nutrition Service (FNS); the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS); 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National 
Center for Health Statistics (NCHS); the Health Resources and Services 
Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau (HRSA/MCHB); the 
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES); the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development (HUD); the Bureau of Transportation 
Statistics (BTS); the Department of Defense (DOD); the National 
Institute on Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH); the National 
Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD); the U.S. 
Energy Information Administration (EIA); the White House Council of 
Economic Advisors (CEA) and Domestic Policy Council (DPC); the Consumer 
Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB); the Department of Health and Human 
Services, Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (HHS/ASPE); 
and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have sought to measure 
employment status, spending, food security, housing, health, natural 
disasters, vaccine receipt, COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment, shortage 
of critical products, disability, income, and childcare arrangements.
    In the future, the HPS platform will be used to measure social and 
economic effects of current events, whether they be health events, 
natural disaster events, or other social or economic events facing the 
nation or a significant portion of the nation.

II. Method of Collection

    The Census Bureau will conduct this information collection online 
using Qualtrics as the data collection platform. Qualtrics provides the 
necessary agility to deploy the Household Pulse Survey quickly and 
securely. It operates in the Gov Cloud, is FedRAMP authorized at the 
moderate level, and has an Authority to Operate from the Census Bureau 
to collect personally identifiable and Title-protected data.
    The Census Bureau will sample approximately 1,100,000 housing units 
for each period of data collection. If approved, the survey will be 
administered starting on or around November 15, 2023. Households will 
be contacted via email and SMS message (with the possibility of mailed 
invitations) and asked to complete approximately 50 questions on topics 
such as employment status, spending, food security, housing, health, 
natural disasters, vaccine receipt, COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment, 
shortage of critical products, disability, income, and childcare 
arrangements. The time for survey participants to complete the survey 
is approximately 20 minutes. As methods develop and questionnaire 
topics change, the Census Bureau will notify the public via Federal 
Register notices.
    Survey estimates will be produced by weighting the results to 
various demographic controls from auxiliary sources like the Census 
Bureau official population estimates and the American Community Survey. 
Source and accuracy documentation will provide details about the 
methods and quality of the survey estimates for each data collection 
cycle.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-XXXX.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission, New Information Collection 
Request.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: The total number of respondents is 
estimated at 64,510 per data collection period for 12 data collection 
periods each year for a total estimate of 774,120 respondents.
    Estimated Time per Response: 20 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 257,782.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Sections 8(b), 182 
and 193.

IV. Request for Comments

    We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau 
to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is 
necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether 
the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy 
of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed 
collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden 
on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include, or summarize, each comment in our 
request to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, 
phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information 
in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--
including your

[[Page 56000]]

personal identifying information--may be made publicly available at any 
time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your personal 
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we 
will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for 
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2023-17681 Filed 8-16-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P