03-18405. Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) Wave 1 of the 2004 Panel

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 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 September 19, 2003.

ADDRESSES:

Direct all written comments to Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6625, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at [e-mail]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions should be directed to Judith H. Eargle, U.S. Census Bureau, FOB 3, Room 3387, Washington, DC 20233-8400, [phone].

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 labor force 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 2004 panel is currently scheduled for 4 years and will include 12 waves of interviewing beginning February 2004. Approximately 62,000 households will be selected for the 2004 panel, of which, 46,000 are expected to be interviewed. We estimate that each household will contain 2.1 people, yielding 96,600 interviews in Wave 1 and subsequent waves. Interviews take 30 minutes on average. Two waves of interviewing will occur in the 2004 SIPP Panel during FY 2004. The total annual burden for 2004 Panel SIPP interviews would be 96,600 hours in FY 2004.

The topical modules for the 2004 Panel Wave 1 collect information about:

• Recipiency History
• Employment History

Wave 1 interviews will be conducted from February 2004 through May 2004.

A 10-minute reinterview of 3,100 people is conducted at each wave to ensure accuracy of responses. Reinterviews would require an additional 1,035 burden hours in FY 2004.

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 durations of 1 to 4 years. All household members 15 years old or over are interviewed using regular proxy-respondent rules. During the 2004 panel, respondents are interviewed a total of 12 times (12 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 older 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 Number: None.

Form Number: None.

Type of Review: Regular submission.

Affected Public: Individuals or households.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 96,600 people per wave.

Estimated Time Per Response: 30 minutes.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 97,635.

Estimated Annual Cost to the Public: 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 or included in the request for the Office of Management and Budget approval of this information collection. They also will become a matter of public record.

Dated: July 15, 2003.

Gwellnar Banks,

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.