Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 96 / Wednesday, May 20, 2009 / Notices 23681 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

U.S. Census Bureau 

Proposed Information Collection; 

Comment Request; Survey of Income 

and Program Participation (SIPP) Wave 

5 of the 2008 Panel 

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, 

Department of Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

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: To ensure consideration, written 

comments must be submitted on or 

before July 20, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to Diana Hynek, Departmental 

Paperwork Clearance Officer, 

Department of Commerce, Room 7845, 

14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., 

Washington, DC 20230 (or via the 

Internet at dHynek@doc.gov). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the information collection 

instrument(s) and instructions should 

be directed to Patrick J. Benton, Census 

Bureau, Room HQ–6H045, Washington, 

DC 20233–8400, (301) 763–4618. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

The Census Bureau conducts the 

SIPP, which is a household-based 

survey designed as a continuous series 

of national panels. New panels are 

introduced every few years, with each 

panel usually having durations of one to 

four years. Respondents are interviewed 

at 4-month intervals or ‘‘waves’’ over 

the life of the panel. The survey is 

molded around a central ‘‘core’’ of 

laborforce and income questions that 

remain fixed throughout the life of the 

panel. The core is supplemented with 

questions designed to address specific 

needs, such as obtaining information on 

household members’ participation in 

government programs as well as prior 

labor force patterns of household 

members. These supplemental questions 

are included with the core and are 

referred to as ‘‘topical modules.’’ 

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 database so that the interaction 

between tax, transfer, and other 

government and private policies can be 

examined. Government domestic-policy 

formulators depend heavily upon the 

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 1983, permitting levels of 

economic well-being and changes in 

these levels to be measured over time. 

The 2008 panel is currently scheduled 

for 4 years and will include 13 waves 

of interviewing beginning September 

2008. Approximately 65,300 households 

were selected for the 2008 panel, of 

which 42,032 households were 

interviewed. We estimate that each 

household contains 2.1 people, yielding 

88,267 person-level interviews in Wave 

1 and subsequent waves. Interviews take 

30 minutes on average. Three waves 

will occur in the 2008 SIPP Panel 

during FY 2010. The total annual 

burden for 2008 Panel SIPP interviews 

would be 132,400 hours in FY 2010. 

The topical modules for the 2008 

Panel Wave 5 collect information about: 

• Annual Income and Retirement 

Accounts. 

• Taxes. 

• Child Care. 

• Work Schedule. 

Wave 5 interviews will be conducted 

from January 1, 2010 through April 30, 

2010. 

A 10-minute reinterview of 3,100 

people is conducted at each wave to 

ensure accuracy of responses. 

Reinterviews would require an 

additional 1,553 burden hours in FY 

2010. 

II. Method of Collection 

The SIPP is designed as a continuing 

series of national panels of interviewed 

households that are introduced every 

few years, with each panel having a 

duration of 1 to 4 years. All household 

members 15 years old or over are 

interviewed using regular proxyrespondent rules. During the 2008 

panel, respondents are interviewed a 

total of 13 times (13 waves) at 4-month 

intervals, making the SIPP a 

longitudinal survey. Sample people (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 will be 

followed and interviewed at their new 

address. Individuals 15 years old or over 

who enter the household after Wave 1 

will be interviewed; however, if these 

individuals move, they are not followed 

unless they happen to move along with 

a Wave 1 sample individual. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 0607–0944. 

Form Number: SIPP/CAPI Automated 

Instrument. 

Type of Review: Regular submission. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

Households. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

88,267 people per wave. 

Estimated Time per Response: 30 

minutes per person on average. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 133,953. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost: The 

only cost to respondents is their time. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

Legal Authority: Title 13, United 

States Code, section 182. 

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 14, 2009. 

Glenna Mickelson, 

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. E9–11660 Filed 5–19–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P