Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 93 / Monday, May 13, 1996 / Notices 22019

1997 Economic Census Covering

Transportation of Commodities

ACTION: Proposed agency information

collection activity; comment request.

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,

Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C.

3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Written comments must be

submitted on or before July 12, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments

to Linda Engelmeier, Acting

Departmental Forms Clearance Officer,

Department of Commerce, Room 5327,

14th and Constitution Avenue, NW.,

Washington, DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or

copies of the information collection

instrument(s) and instructions should

be directed to John Fowler, Bureau of

the Census, Room 2724, Building 3,

Washington, DC 20230 on (301) 457–

2108.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

The Census Bureau is the preeminent

collector and provider of timely,

relevant, and quality data about the

people and economy of the United

States. Economic data are the Census

Bureau’s primary program commitment

during nondecennial census years. The

economic census, conducted under

authority of Title 13, U.S.C., is the

primary source of facts about the

structure and functioning of the

Nation’s economy and features unique

industry and geographic detail.

Economic census statistics serve as part

of the framework for the national

accounts and provide essential

information for government, business

and the general public. The 1997

Economic Census will cover virtually

every sector of the U.S. Economy.

The 1997 Commodity Flow Survey, a

component of the Economic Census,

will produce key statistics on the

movement of freight in the United

States. In the past, these types of data

were used primarily by governmental

agencies in planning for transportation

infrastructure. Now these types of data

are becoming increasingly important to

the business sector for making decisions

related to marketing and transportation

strategies. The Commodity Flow Survey

will be conducted with the guidance

and co-sponsorship of the Bureau of

Transportation Statistics, Department of

Transportation. This survey will

provide a range of transportation

statistics including value of shipments,

weight of shipments, commodities

shipped, mode(s) of transportation used,

origin and destination of shipments,

ton-miles and average miles per

shipment. The Census Bureau will

publish shipment characteristics at the

national, state, and National

Transportation Analysis Region levels.

Primary strategies for reducing

respondent burden in the Commodity

Flow Survey include:

• Employing a stratified random

sample to use the least number of

establishments required to produce

reliable statistics;

• Accepting estimates;

• Requesting data on a limited sample

of shipments.

We will introduce additional

strategies for reducing overall

respondent burden for the 1997

Commodity Flow Survey, based on

experience gained from the 1993 survey.

These include:

• Decreasing the total sample size by

nearly one half;

• Reducing the reporting period from

two weeks to one week each quarter;

• Offering electronic reporting

options.

II. Method of Collection

The Commodity Flow Survey will

survey a sample of business

establishments in mining,

manufacturing, wholesale, and selected

retail industries. Each selected

establishment will receive, by mail, four

questionnaires—one during each quarter

of 1997. On each form, an establishment

will be asked to report data for an

average of 25 shipments, selected during

a designated one-week reporting period.

III. Data

OMB Number: Not Available.

Form Number: CFS–1000.

Type of Review: Regular review.

Affected Public: Businesses and Other

For-profit, Small Businesses or

Organizations.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

100,000.

Estimated Time per Response: 2

hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden

Hours: 800,000.

Estimated Total Annual Cost: The

cost to the government for this work, to

be shared between the Department of

Transportation and the Census Bureau

is estimated to be $22.5 million.

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 utility of the

information to businesses/private

industry for marketing/cost evaluation/

planning; (c) the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of burden (including

hours and cost) of the proposed

collection of information; (d) ways to

enhance the quality, utility, and clarity

of the information to be collected; and

(e) 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: May 7, 1996.

Linda Engelmeier,

Acting Departmental Forms Clearance

Officer, Office of Management and

Organization.

[FR Doc. 96–11827 Filed 5–10–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P

Wave 3 of the 1996 Panel Survey of

Income and Program Participation

(SIPP)

ACTION: Proposed agency information

collection activity; comment request.

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,

Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C.

3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Written comments must be

submitted on or before July 12, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments

to Linda Engelmeier, Acting

Departmental Forms Clearance Officer,

Department of Commerce, Room 5327,

14th and Constitution Avenue, NW.,

Washington, DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or

copies of the information collection

instrument(s) and instructions should

be directed to Michael McMahon, Room

3319–3, Washington DC 20233–8400, or

telephone 301/457–3819.
22020 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 93 / Monday, May 13, 1996 / Notices

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

The SIPP represents a source of

information for a wide variety of topics

and allows information for separate

topics to be integrated to form a single,

unified data base so that the interaction

between tax, transfer, and other

government and private policies can be

examined. Government domestic policy

formulators depend heavily upon SIPP

information concerning the distribution

of income received directly as money or

indirectly as in-kind benefits, and the

effect of tax and transfer programs on

this distribution. They also need

improved and expanded data on the

income and general economic and

financial situation of the U.S.

population. The SIPP has provided

these kinds of data on a continuing basis

since late 1983, permitting levels of

economic well-being and changes in

these levels to be measured over time.

The survey is molded around a

central ‘‘core’’ of labor force and income

questions that will remain fixed

throughout the life of a panel. The core

is supplemented with questions

designed to answer specific needs such

as estimating eligibility for government

programs, examining pension and

health care coverage, and analyzing

individual net worth. These

supplemental questions are included

with the core and are referred to as

‘‘topical modules.’’

The topical modules for the 1996

Panel Wave 3 are the following: (1)

Assets and Liabilities; (2) Medical

Expenses and Work Disability, and (3)

Real Estate, Shelter Costs, Dependent

Care, and Vehicles; and (4) the Poverty

Module. Also, additional topical

module items will be asked at the end

of the core instrument concerning

Earnings and Employment, General

Income Amounts, Stocks and Mutual

Fund Shares, Rental Income, Mortgages,

Royalties, and Other Financial

Investments. Wave 3 interviews will be

conducted from December 1996 through

March 1997.

II. Method of Collection

The SIPP is designed as a continuing

series of national panels of interviewed

households that are introduced every 4

years, with each panel having a duration

of about 4 years in the survey. All

household members 15 years old or

older are interviewed using regular

proxy-respondent rules. They are

interviewed a total of 12 times (12

waves) at 4-month intervals, making the

SIPP a longitudinal survey. Sample

persons (all household members present

at the time of the first interview) who

move within the country and reasonably

close to a SIPP Primary Sampling Unit

(PSU) will be followed and interviewed

at their new address. Persons 15 years

old or older who enter the household

after Wave 1 will be interviewed;

however, if these persons move, they are

not followed unless they happen to

move along with a Wave 1 sample

person. A reinterview with a sample of

participants is also conducted to ensure

quality in responses.

III. Data

OMB Number: 0607–0813.

Form Number: SIPP–16303 Reminder

Card; SIPP/CAPI Automated Instrument.

Type of Review: Regular.

Affected Public: Individuals or

Households.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

77,700 (interview), 2,500 (reinterview).

Estimated Time Per Response: 30

minutes (interview), 10 minutes

(reinterview).

Estimated Total Annual Burden

Hours: 116,550*

Interview .................................... * 116,500

Reinterview ............................... * 1,250

Total ................................... 117,800

* Estimates based on conducting 3 waves in

a year.

Estimated Total Annual Cost:

$28,000,000.

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: May 7, 1996.

Linda Engelmeier,

Acting Departmental Forms Clearance

Officer, Office of Management and

Organization.

[FR Doc. 96–11828 Filed 5–10–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P

Economics and Statistics

Administration

Bureau of the Census

Census Advisory Committee on

Agriculture Statistics; Notice of

Renewal

In accordance with the provisions of

the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5

U.S.C. app. 2, (1973), and after

consultation with the General Services

Administration, the Secretary of

Commerce has determined that the

renewal of the Census Advisory

Committee on Agriculture Statistics is

in the public interest in connection with

the performance of duties imposed on

the Department by law.

The Committee was established July

16, 1962. It was initially chartered

under the Federal Advisory Committee

Act in January 1973. The Committee’s

purpose is to advise the Director,

Bureau of the Census, on the conduct of

the periodic censuses and surveys of

agriculture and related surveys and the

kind of information to obtain from

respondents associated with agriculture

production. The Committee also

prepares recommendations regarding

the content of agriculture reports, and

presents the views and needs for data of

major suppliers and users of agriculture

statistics. The Committee draws on the

experience and expertise of its members

to form a collective judgment

concerning agriculture data collected

and the statistics the Census Bureau

issues.

The committee will function solely as

an advisory body and will comply fully

with the provisions of the Federal

Advisory Committee Act. The advisory

committee shall consist of 21 member

organizations. Each of the member

organizations shall appoint a

representative to the committee, subject

to the concurrence of the Director,

Bureau of the Census.

The committee shall report to the

Director, Bureau of the Census.

The Department of Commerce will file

copies of the committees’ renewal

charters with appropriate committees in

Congress.

You may address inquires or

comments to Maxine Anderson-Brown,

Committee Liaison Officer, Bureau of

the Census, Room 3039, FB 3,

Washington, D.C. 20233, telephone

(301) 457–2308, TDD (301) 457–2540.

Dated: May 7, 1996.

Martha Farnsworth Riche,

Director, Bureau of the Census.

[FR Doc. 96–11888 Filed 5–10–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–BS–P