Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 211 / Thursday, November 2, 2023 / Notices 75331 

the public of the availability of its FY 

2021 Service Contracts Inventory and 

Inventory Supplement. 

ADDRESSES: https://www.justice.gov/ 

jmd/service-contract-inventory. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tara 

M. Jamison, Office of Acquisition 

Management, Justice Management 

Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 

Washington, DC 20530; Phone: 202– 

616–3754; Email: Tara.Jamison@

usdoj.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

inventory includes service contract 

actions over $25,000 that were awarded 

in fiscal year (FY) 2020. Additionally, 

the inventory supplement includes 

information collected from contractors 

on the amount invoiced and direct labor 

hours expended for covered service 

contracts. The Department of Justice 

analyzes this data for the purpose of 

determining whether its contract labor 

is being used in an effective and 

appropriate manner and if the mix of 

federal employees and contractors in the 

agency is effectively balanced. The 

inventory and supplement do not 

include contractor proprietary or 

sensitive information. 

Authority: Section 743 of Division C 

of the FY 2010 Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, Pub. L. 111–117. 

Dated: October 27, 2023. 

Darwin Arceo, 

Department Clearance Officer for PRA, U.S. 

Department of Justice. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24164 Filed 11–1–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Bureau of Labor Statistics 

Information Collection Activities; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 

Department of Labor. 

ACTION: Notice of information collection; 

request for comment. 

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. 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 extension 

without change of a currently approved 

collection for the ‘‘Producer Price 

Index’’ survey. 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 January 2, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Nora 

Kincaid, BLS Clearance Officer, 

Division of Management Systems, 

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Room G225, 

2 Massachusetts Avenue NE, 

Washington, DC 20212. Written 

comments also may be transmitted by 

email to BLS_PRA_Public@bls.gov. 

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 Producer Price Index (PPI) is a 

Principal Federal Economic Indicator 

consisting of a family of indexes that 

measures the average change over time 

in the selling prices received by 

domestic producers of goods and 

services. PPIs measure price change 

from the perspective of the seller. This 

contrasts with other measures, such as 

the Consumer Price Index (CPI), that 

measure price change from the 

purchaser’s perspective. About 10,000 

PPIs for individual products and groups 

of products are released each month. 

The PPI data are widely used by the 

business community as well as by 

government and academia. In particular, 

the data are used as an economic 

indicator playing a crucial role in 

market analysis, as a deflator of other 

economic series, the basis for the 

calculation of price adjustments for 

contracts and purchase agreements, and 

as an input to economic research. These 

uses highlight the necessity of the PPI 

in order to understand the economy. 

PPI data meets a wide range of 

government needs by providing a 

description of the magnitude and 

composition of price changes within the 

economy. Government agencies view 

these indexes as sensitive indicators of 

the economic environment and closely 

follow each monthly release of statistics. 

PPI data are vital in helping the 

President and Congress set fiscal 

spending targets. The Federal Reserve 

Board Open Market Committee monitors 

producer prices to help determine 

monetary policy. Federal policy makers 

at the Department of the Treasury and 

the Council of Economic Advisors 

utilize these statistics to help interpret 

the economic environment and make 

decisions based upon these 

interpretations. Many dollardenominated measurements of 

economic performance, such as the 

Gross Domestic Product (GDP), require 

accurate price data for the conversion of 

nominal dollars into real dollars. 

National income accounting figures 

must also be inflation free in order to 

remain relevant to fiscal and monetary 

policy makers setting objectives. Price 

adjustment clauses in government 

purchasing contracts commonly use one 

or more PPIs. According to a 

conservative estimate, hundreds-ofbillions of dollars’ worth of contracts 

and purchase agreements employ PPIs 

as part of price adjustment clauses. 

Failure to calculate these price data 

would prolong the time frame needed 

for accurate recognition of and 

appropriate adaptation to economic 

events. 

The private sector also makes 

extensive use of PPI data. Researchers 

commonly use producer prices to probe 

and measure the interaction of market 

forces. Private firms use PPIs for 

contract escalation and price 

adjustment. The Internal Revenue 

Service (IRS) recommends using PPI 

data for certain kinds of tax related 

inventory accounting, such as Last-InFirst-Out (LIFO). Private businesses 

extensively use PPIs for planning and 

operations. Firms often compare the 

prices they pay and receive with 

changes in appropriate PPIs. 

Economic researchers and forecasters 

also put PPIs to regular use. They use 

PPI data to better understand market 

forces. Research topics requiring 

producer price data include studying 

elasticities, potential lead and lag 

structures within price changes, and the 

identification of prices that cause major 

influence throughout the economy. 

Policy-makers, businesses, and 

researchers all require complete 

descriptions of price change trends if 

they are to perform effectively. 

The expansive coverage of PPIs makes 

them very valuable to the users 

described above as well as many others. 

II. Current Action 

Office of Management and Budget 

clearance is being sought for the 

extension of the PPI survey. 

The PPI collection is not a one-time 

project with an end date. The purpose 

of the PPI collection is to accumulate 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
75332 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 211 / Thursday, November 2, 2023 / Notices 

data for the ongoing, monthly 

publication of the PPI family of indexes. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics must 

continue collecting data for the PPI 

since both policy and business planning 

benefit from accurate, timely, and 

relevant description of price trends. 

Legislators and government agencies use 

the PPI to assist them with developing 

policy and evaluating the markets. 

Dollar-denominated measures of 

economic performance, such as Gross 

Domestic Product, require accurate 

price data in order to convert nominal 

to constant-dollar values. Inflation-free 

national income accounting figures are 

vital to fiscal and monetary policymakers when setting objectives and 

targets. The price adjustment clauses of 

purchase agreements use monthly PPIs. 

It is conservatively estimated that 

hundreds-of-billions of dollars’ worth of 

contracts and purchase agreements 

employ PPIs as part of price-adjustment 

clauses. Failure to provide current 

accurate monthly statistics would 

necessitate more complex clauses in 

contracts and prolong the time required 

to determine price changes for purposes 

of contract adjustments. 

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. 

Title of Collection: Producer Price 

Index Survey. 

OMB Number: 1220–0008. 

Type of Review: Extension without 

change of a currently approved 

collection. 

Affected Public: Private Sector. 

Data collection Number of respondents Frequency 

Number of 

responses 

(per year) 

Average time 

per response 

(minutes) 

Estimated total 

burden 

(hours) 

Initiation BLS Forms 1810A, C, C1, 

and E.

4,305 .............................................. Once .................. 4,305 120 8,610 

Data Quality Verification Calls ........ Subset of 4,305 initiation respondents (Approximately 8%).Once .................. 340 15 85 

BLS IDCF ........................................ 11,107 ............................................ Monthly .............. 660,537 5 55,045 

Totals ....................................... 15,412 ............................................ ............................ 665,182 ........................ 63,740 

* For monthly repricing, PPI requests repricing of 55,045 items each month. 

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 30th day of 

October 2023. 

Eric Molina, 

Chief, Division of Management Systems, 

Branch of Policy Analysis. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24223 Filed 11–1–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–24–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Mine Safety and Health Administration 

Fee Adjustment for Testing, 

Evaluation, and Approval of Mining 

Products 

AGENCY: Mine Safety and Health 

Administration (MSHA), Labor. 

ACTION: Notice of fee adjustment. 

SUMMARY: The Mine Safety and Health 

Administration (MSHA) is announcing a 

revised hourly rate for the fees charged 

to applicants and approval holders for 

testing, evaluating, and approving 

products for use in mines. MSHA 

charges a fee to cover the costs (direct 

and indirect) of its services associated 

with the approval program. The new 

hourly rate will be $166. 

DATES: MSHA will charge the new 

hourly rate for new approval services 

starting January 1, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Juliette E. Hill, Chief, Approval and 

Certification Center (A&CC), 304–547– 

2029 or 304–547–0400 (these are not 

toll-free numbers). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Federal Mine Safety and Health 

Act of 1977 (Mine Act), as amended, 

authorizes MSHA to approve 

equipment, materials, and explosives for 

use in mines to ensure that the products 

are designed, constructed, and 

maintained so as not to cause a fire, 

explosion, or other accident. Under 30 

CFR part 5—Fees for Testing, 

Evaluation, and Approval of Mining 

Products, MSHA establishes the method 

the Agency uses to calculate the fees 

needed to recover costs for approval 

services. Under 30 U.S.C. 966, MSHA 

may collect and retain up to $2,499,000 

of fees collected for the approval and 

certification of equipment, materials, 

and explosives for use in mines. 

On December 21, 2018, MSHA 

published a notice of fee adjustment in 

the Federal Register (83 FR 65747) that 

adjusted the Agency’s fees for testing, 

evaluation, and approval of products 

manufactured for use in mines. Since 

January 1, 2019, MSHA has charged an 

hourly rate of $137. 

II. Applicable Fee 

Under 30 CFR 5.50, a new hourly rate 

must remain in effect for at least 1 year 

and the rate will be subject to revision 

at least once every 3 years. MSHA 

determines a new hourly rate by 

dividing the total of approval program 

costs (direct and indirect costs) for a 

previous fiscal year by the number of 

total direct hours spent on approval 

program activities for that fiscal year. 

For this update, MSHA calculated the 

FY 2024 hourly rate using FY 2021 

costs. MSHA has determined that as of 

January 1, 2024, the hourly rate will be 

$166 per hour for services on new 

applications and post-approval 

activities (changes to approvals and 

post-approval product audits). This rate 

increase is consistent with cumulative 

inflation between January 2019, when 


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