80_FR_23582 80 FR 23501 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

80 FR 23501 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 81 (April 28, 2015)

Page Range23501-23503
FR Document2015-09741

Federal Register, Volume 80 Issue 81 (Tuesday, April 28, 2015)
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 81 (Tuesday, April 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23501-23503]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09741]



[[Page 23501]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of 
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. chapter 35).
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: American Community Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-XXXX.
    Form Number(s): ACS-1, ACS-1(SP), ACS-1(PR), ACS-1(PR)SP, ACS-
1(GQ), ACS-1(PR)(GQ), GQFQ, ACS CATI (HU), ACS CAPI (HU), ACS RI (HU), 
and AGQ QI, AGQ RI.
    Type of Request: Regular Submission.
    Number of Respondents: 3,760,000.
    Average Hours Per Response: 40 minutes for the average household 
questionnaire.
    Burden Hours: The estimate is an annual average of 2,455,868 burden 
hours.
    Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau requests authorization from 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for revisions to the American 
Community Survey (ACS). The content of the proposed 2016 ACS 
questionnaire and data collection instruments for both Housing Unit and 
Group Quarters operations reflect changes to content and instructions 
that were proposed as a result of the 2014 ACS Content Review.
    The American Community Survey (ACS) is one of the Department of 
Commerce's most valuable data products, used extensively by businesses, 
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), local governments, and many 
federal agencies. In conducting this survey, the Census Bureau's top 
priority is respecting the time and privacy of the people providing 
information while preserving its value to the public. The 2016 survey 
content changes are the initial step in a multi-faceted approach to 
reducing respondent burden. The Census Bureau is currently carrying out 
this program of research, which includes several components as 
discussed briefly below.
    One of the areas with strong potential to reduce respondent burden 
is to reuse information already supplied to the federal government in 
lieu of directly collecting it again through particular questions on 
the ACS. The Census Bureau is conducting groundbreaking work aimed at 
understanding the extent to which existing government data can reduce 
redundancy and improve efficiency. The tests we are conducting in the 
next two years will tell us whether existing government records can 
provide substitute data for households that have not responded to the 
ACS.
    In addition, we continue to look into the possibility of asking 
questions less often beginning initial efforts on the martial history 
series of questions. For example, asking a question every other year, 
every third year, or asking a question of a subset of the respondents 
each year. We also want to examine ways we can better phrase our 
questions to reduce respondent concern, especially for those who may be 
sensitive to providing information.
    The outcome of these future steps will be a more efficient survey 
that minimizes respondent burden while continuing to provide quality 
data products for the nation. We expect to make great progress during 
fiscal 2015 on this front, and will be reporting our progress to the 
Secretary of Commerce at the end of the fiscal year.
    Since the founding of the nation, the U.S. Census has mediated 
between the demands of a growing country for information about its 
economy and people, and the people's privacy and respondent burden. 
Beginning with the 1810 Census, Congress added questions to support a 
range of public concerns and uses, and over the course of a century 
questions were added about agriculture, industry, and commerce, as well 
as occupation, ancestry, marital status, disabilities, and other 
topics. In 1940, the U.S. Census Bureau introduced the long form and 
since then only the more detailed questions were asked of a sample of 
the public.
    The ACS, launched in 2005, is the current embodiment of the long 
form of the census, and is asked each year of a sample of the U.S. 
population in order to provide current data needed more often than once 
every ten years. In December of 2010, five years after its launch, the 
ACS program accomplished its primary objective with the release of its 
first set of estimates for every area of the United States. The Census 
Bureau concluded it was an appropriate time to conduct a comprehensive 
assessment of the ACS program. This program assessment focused on 
strengthening programmatic, technical, and methodological aspects of 
the survey to assure that the Census Bureau conducts the ACS 
efficiently and effectively.
    In August 2012, the OMB and the Census Bureau chartered the 
Interagency Council on Statistical Policy (ICSP) Subcommittee for the 
ACS to ``provide advice to the Director of the Census Bureau and the 
Chief Statistician at OMB on how the ACS can best fulfill its role in 
the portfolio of Federal household surveys and provide the most useful 
information with the least amount of burden.'' The Subcommittee charter 
also states that the Subcommittee would be expected to ``conduct 
regular, periodic reviews of the ACS content . . . designed to ensure 
that there is clear and specific authority and justification for each 
question to be on the ACS, the ACS is the appropriate vehicle for 
collecting the information, respondent burden is being minimized, and 
the quality of the data from ACS is appropriate for its intended use.''
    The formation of the ICSP Subcommittee on the ACS and the 
aforementioned assessment of the ACS program also provided an 
opportunity to examine and confirm the value of each question on the 
ACS, which resulted in the 2014 ACS Content Review. This review, which 
was an initial step in a multi-faceted approach of a much larger 
content review process, included examination of all 72 questions 
contained on the 2014 ACS questionnaire, including 24 housing-related 
questions and 48 person-related questions.
    The Census Bureau proposed the two analysis factors--benefit as 
defined by the level of usefulness and cost as defined by the level of 
respondent burden or difficulty in obtaining the data, which was 
accepted by the ICSP Subcommittee. Based on a methodology pre-defined 
by the Census Bureau with the input and concurrence of the ICSP 
Subcommittee on the ACS, each question received a total number of 
points between 0 and 100 based on its benefits, and 0 and 100 points 
based on its costs. These points were then used as the basis for 
creating four categories: High Benefit and Low Cost; High Benefit and 
High Cost; Low Benefit and Low Cost; or Low Benefit and High Cost. For 
this analysis, any question that was designated as either Low Benefit 
and Low Cost or Low Benefit and High Cost and was NOT designated as 
Mandatory (i.e., statutory) by the Department of Commerce Office of 
General Counsel (OGC) or NOT Required (i.e., regulatory) with a sub-
state use, was identified as a potential candidate for removal. The 
Department of Commerce OGC worked with its counterparts across the 
federal government to determine mandatory, required, or programmatic 
status, as defined below:

 Mandatory--a federal law explicitly calls for use of decennial 
census or ACS data on that question
 Required--a federal law (or implementing regulation) 
explicitly

[[Page 23502]]

requires the use of data and the decennial census or the ACS is the 
historical source; or the data are needed for case law requirements 
imposed by the U.S. federal court system
 Programmatic--the data are needed for program planning, 
implementation, or evaluation and there is no explicit mandate or 
requirement.

Based on the analysis, the following questions were initially proposed 
for removal:

 Housing Question No. 6--Business/Medical Office on Property
 Person Question No. 12--Undergraduate Field of Degree
 Person Question No. 21--(In the Past 12 mos, did this person) 
Get Married, Widowed, Divorced
 Person Question No. 22--Times Married
 Person Question No. 23--Year Last Married

    For reports that provide a full description of the overall 2014 ACS 
Content Review methods and results, see ``Final Report--American 
Community Survey FY14 Content Review Results'' (Attachment V); 
additional reports about the 2014 ACS Content Review are also available 
at http://www.census.gov/acs/www/about_the_survey/methods_and_results_report/.
    Regarding the business/medical office on property question, the 
Census Bureau received 41 comments from researchers, and individuals. 
Most of these comments came from researchers who felt that the Census 
Bureau should keep all of the proposed questions in order to keep the 
survey content consistent over time, or felt that modifications to the 
question could potentially make it more useful. Housing Question No. 
6--Business/Medical Office on Property is currently not published by 
the Census Bureau in any data tables. The only known use of the 
question is to produce a variable for the Public Use Microdata Sample 
(PUMS), a recode for the Specified Owner (SVAL) variable that allows 
users to compare other datasets. The Content Review did not reveal any 
uses by federal agencies, and the comments to the Federal Register 
notice did not reveal any non-federal uses. Additionally, there were no 
uses uncovered in meetings with stakeholders, data user feedback forms, 
or other methods employed to understand the uses of ACS data. Lastly, 
independent research conducted on behalf of the Census Bureau did not 
uncover any further uses. Though the question has a low cost, it has no 
benefit to federal agencies, the federal statistical system, or the 
nation. The Census Bureau plans to remove this question, beginning with 
the 2016 ACS content.
    Regarding the field of degree question, the Census Bureau received 
625 comments from researchers, professors and administrators at many 
universities, professional associations that represent science, 
technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers and industries, 
members of Congress, the National Science Foundation, and many 
individuals interested in retaining this question. A number of 
commenters (92) cited the importance of these estimates for research 
that analyzes the effect of field of degree choice on economic 
outcomes, including earnings, education, occupation, industry, and 
employment. University administrators (37) commented that this 
information allows for analysis of postsecondary outcomes, and allows 
them to benchmark their graduates' relative success in different fields 
as well as to plan degree offerings. While some commenters used the 
estimates to understand fields such as humanities or philosophy (56), 
the majority of these comments (125) addressed the value of knowing 
about the outcomes of people who pursued degrees in science, 
technology, engineering and mathematics. These commenters felt that 
knowing more about the people currently earning STEM degrees and the 
people currently working in STEM fields would enable universities, 
advocacy groups, and policy makers to encourage more people to pursue 
STEM careers, and to encourage diversity within STEM careers.
    The initial analysis of Person Question No. 12--Undergraduate Field 
of Degree did not uncover any evidence that the question was Mandatory 
or Required. However, comments to the Federal Register notice uncovered 
the existence of a relationship between the Census Bureau and the 
National Science Foundation, dating back to 1960. Over the course of 
this established relationship, long-form decennial census data was used 
as a sampling frame for surveys that provided important information 
about scientists and engineers. These comments demonstrated that the 
Field of Degree question on the ACS continues this historical use of 
decennial long-form and ACS data for this purpose, and makes this 
process more efficient. Many commenters (58) also cited the necessity 
of the National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG), and recommended 
retaining the question because it is needed as a sampling frame for the 
NSCG. Though commenters theorized that the NSCG might still be able to 
produce STEM estimates without the ACS, a number of commenters (16) 
thought that doing so would be very expensive, costing as much as $17 
million more (1).
    Additionally, many comments also indicated uses of this question to 
understand the economic outcomes of college graduates at local 
geographic levels, especially those with STEM degrees. These commenters 
included professional, academic, congressional, and policy-making 
stakeholders who expressed concerns that the absence of statistical 
information about STEM degrees would harm the ability to understand 
characteristics of small populations attaining STEM degrees. Given the 
importance of this small population group to the economy, the federal 
statistical system and the nation, bolstered by the new knowledge of 
historical precedent brought to light by commenters to the Federal 
Register notice, the Census Bureau therefore plans to retain this 
question on the 2016 ACS.
    Regarding the marital history questions, the Census Bureau received 
1,361 comments from researchers and professors, professional 
associations that represent marriage and family therapists, the Social 
Security Administration (SSA), and many individuals interested in 
retaining these questions. SSA commented that it uses the marital 
history questions to estimate future populations by marital status as 
part of the Board of Trustees annual report on the actuarial status 
(including future income and disbursements) of the Old-Age and 
Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Funds. 
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also uses these 
questions to distinguish households in which a grandparent has primary 
responsibility for a grandchild or grandchildren, as well as to provide 
family formation and stability measures for the Temporary Assistance 
for Needy Families (TANF) program.
    The focus of the proposed elimination is on the marital history 
questions only with no change to collection of marital status. Over 400 
additional comments to the Federal Register notice cited concerns that 
the proposed elimination of the marital history questions was an 
indication of whether the government views information about marriage 
as somehow less valuable than other ACS question topics that were not 
proposed for removal. While the Census Bureau had always planned to 
continue collecting information about the ``marital status'' for each 
person in a

[[Page 23503]]

household (Person Question No. 20) and their relationships to each 
other (Person Question No. 2), the Census Bureau remains sensitive to 
these criticisms
    More than 100 supporters of retaining the marital history questions 
mentioned their utility for research into marital status changes over 
time and they correctly noted that there is currently no other national 
source of the marital history information. As a result, many commenters 
felt they would not be able to compare marriage characteristics and 
patterns with other nations in the same depth that is possible today. 
Similarly, without these questions, the commenters felt that the 
analysis of changes in marriage events (especially those due to 
changing societal values and pressures or policy changes) would be less 
robust. In particular, comments focused on 6 research areas that would 
be more difficult to analyze without the marital history questions:

 Family formation and stability (23)
 Patterns/trends of marriage and divorce (168)
 Marital effects on earnings, education and employment (45)
 Marital effects on child wellbeing (6)
 Same-sex marriages, civil unions and partnerships (70)
 New government policy effects on marriage (9)

    Because the initial analysis of Person Question Nos. 21-23 on 
marital history did not uncover any evidence that data from these 
questions were ``Required'' for federal use at sub-state geographies, 
those questions received a lower benefit score than many other ACS 
questions. However, in deference to the very large number (1,367) of 
comments received on the Census Bureau proposal to eliminate those 
questions, the Census Bureau plans to retain those questions on the 
2016 ACS.
    The Census Bureau takes very seriously respondent concerns and 
recognizes that the Content Review and the resulting, proposed question 
changes discussed above are only initial steps to addressing them. The 
Census Bureau has implemented an extensive action plan on addressing 
respondent burden and concerns. The work completed, and the comments 
received, on the 2014 Content Review provide a foundation for ongoing 
and future efforts to reduce burden and concerns. In addition to the 
immediate content changes (proposed above), the Census Bureau is also 
currently testing the language on the survey materials that may cause 
concern such as reminding people that their responses are required by 
law. In order to be responsive to these concerns about the prominence 
of the mandatory message on the envelopes, we are conducting research 
with a subset of ACS respondents in May 2015. Over the summer, we will 
work with external methodological experts to test other revisions of 
the ACS mail materials to check respondent perceptions of the softened 
references to the mandatory nature of participation in the ACS. The 
preliminary results of those tests will be available in the fall, and 
the Census Bureau will make changes to the 2016 ACS mail materials 
based on those results.
    Concurrently we also are identifying additional questions that we 
may only need to ask intermittently, rather than each month or year. 
The current ACS sample design asks all of the survey questions from all 
selected households in order to produce estimates each year for small 
geographies and small populations. However, during the Content Review 
we learned about over 300 data needs that federal agencies require to 
implement their missions. We see several potential opportunities to 
either include some questions periodically, or ask a smaller subset of 
ACS respondents in cases where those agencies do not need certain data 
annually. The Census Bureau plans to engage the federal agencies and 
external experts on this topic during 2015. In addition, we need to 
assess the operational and statistical issues associated with alternate 
designs. The alternate designs will result in a reduction in the number 
of questions asked of individual households.
    We are also conducting research on substituting the direct 
collection of information with the use of information already provided 
to the government. It is possible that the Census Bureau could use 
administrative records from federal and commercial sources in lieu of 
asking particular questions on the ACS.
    Lastly, we are examining our approaches to field collection to 
reduce the number of in-person contact attempts while preserving data 
quality. For example, based on research conducted in 2012, we 
implemented changes in 2013 which led to an estimated reduction of 
approximately 1.2 million call attempts per year, while sustaining the 
97 percent response rate for the survey overall. For the person visit 
operation, we are researching a reduction in the number of contact 
attempts. We plan to field test this change in August 2015. If 
successful we would implement nationwide in spring 2016.
    We will continue to look for other opportunities to reduce 
respondent burden while maintaining survey quality. Taken together, 
these measures will make a significant impact on reducing respondent 
burden in the ACS.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Frequency: Response to the ACS is on a one-time basis.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Sections 141, 193, 
and 221.
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of 
Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to [email protected] or fax to (202)395-5806.

    Dated: April 22, 2015.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-09741 Filed 4-27-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-07-P



                                                                                   Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 81 / Tuesday, April 28, 2015 / Notices                                           23501

                                                    DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE                                  efficiency. The tests we are conducting               Statistician at OMB on how the ACS can
                                                                                                            in the next two years will tell us                    best fulfill its role in the portfolio of
                                                    Submission for OMB Review;                              whether existing government records                   Federal household surveys and provide
                                                    Comment Request                                         can provide substitute data for                       the most useful information with the
                                                                                                            households that have not responded to                 least amount of burden.’’ The
                                                       The Department of Commerce will
                                                                                                            the ACS.                                              Subcommittee charter also states that
                                                    submit to the Office of Management and                     In addition, we continue to look into              the Subcommittee would be expected to
                                                    Budget (OMB) for clearance the                          the possibility of asking questions less              ‘‘conduct regular, periodic reviews of
                                                    following proposal for collection of                    often beginning initial efforts on the                the ACS content . . . designed to ensure
                                                    information under the provisions of the                 martial history series of questions. For              that there is clear and specific authority
                                                    Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.                      example, asking a question every other                and justification for each question to be
                                                    chapter 35).                                            year, every third year, or asking a
                                                       Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.                                                                                on the ACS, the ACS is the appropriate
                                                                                                            question of a subset of the respondents               vehicle for collecting the information,
                                                       Title: American Community Survey.                    each year. We also want to examine
                                                       OMB Control Number: 0607–XXXX.                                                                             respondent burden is being minimized,
                                                                                                            ways we can better phrase our questions               and the quality of the data from ACS is
                                                       Form Number(s): ACS–1, ACS–1(SP),                    to reduce respondent concern,
                                                    ACS–1(PR), ACS–1(PR)SP, ACS–1(GQ),                                                                            appropriate for its intended use.’’
                                                                                                            especially for those who may be                          The formation of the ICSP
                                                    ACS–1(PR)(GQ), GQFQ, ACS CATI                           sensitive to providing information.
                                                    (HU), ACS CAPI (HU), ACS RI (HU), and                                                                         Subcommittee on the ACS and the
                                                                                                               The outcome of these future steps will             aforementioned assessment of the ACS
                                                    AGQ QI, AGQ RI.                                         be a more efficient survey that
                                                       Type of Request: Regular Submission.                                                                       program also provided an opportunity
                                                                                                            minimizes respondent burden while                     to examine and confirm the value of
                                                       Number of Respondents: 3,760,000.                    continuing to provide quality data
                                                       Average Hours Per Response: 40                                                                             each question on the ACS, which
                                                                                                            products for the nation. We expect to                 resulted in the 2014 ACS Content
                                                    minutes for the average household                       make great progress during fiscal 2015
                                                    questionnaire.                                                                                                Review. This review, which was an
                                                                                                            on this front, and will be reporting our              initial step in a multi-faceted approach
                                                       Burden Hours: The estimate is an                     progress to the Secretary of Commerce
                                                    annual average of 2,455,868 burden                                                                            of a much larger content review process,
                                                                                                            at the end of the fiscal year.                        included examination of all 72
                                                    hours.                                                     Since the founding of the nation, the
                                                       Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census                                                                            questions contained on the 2014 ACS
                                                                                                            U.S. Census has mediated between the
                                                    Bureau requests authorization from the                                                                        questionnaire, including 24 housing-
                                                                                                            demands of a growing country for
                                                    Office of Management and Budget                                                                               related questions and 48 person-related
                                                                                                            information about its economy and
                                                    (OMB) for revisions to the American                                                                           questions.
                                                                                                            people, and the people’s privacy and
                                                    Community Survey (ACS). The content                                                                              The Census Bureau proposed the two
                                                                                                            respondent burden. Beginning with the
                                                    of the proposed 2016 ACS questionnaire                                                                        analysis factors—benefit as defined by
                                                                                                            1810 Census, Congress added questions
                                                    and data collection instruments for both                                                                      the level of usefulness and cost as
                                                                                                            to support a range of public concerns
                                                    Housing Unit and Group Quarters                         and uses, and over the course of a                    defined by the level of respondent
                                                    operations reflect changes to content                   century questions were added about                    burden or difficulty in obtaining the
                                                    and instructions that were proposed as                  agriculture, industry, and commerce, as               data, which was accepted by the ICSP
                                                    a result of the 2014 ACS Content                        well as occupation, ancestry, marital                 Subcommittee. Based on a methodology
                                                    Review.                                                 status, disabilities, and other topics. In            pre-defined by the Census Bureau with
                                                       The American Community Survey                        1940, the U.S. Census Bureau                          the input and concurrence of the ICSP
                                                    (ACS) is one of the Department of                       introduced the long form and since then               Subcommittee on the ACS, each
                                                    Commerce’s most valuable data                           only the more detailed questions were                 question received a total number of
                                                    products, used extensively by                           asked of a sample of the public.                      points between 0 and 100 based on its
                                                    businesses, non-governmental                               The ACS, launched in 2005, is the                  benefits, and 0 and 100 points based on
                                                    organizations (NGOs), local                             current embodiment of the long form of                its costs. These points were then used
                                                    governments, and many federal                           the census, and is asked each year of a               as the basis for creating four categories:
                                                    agencies. In conducting this survey, the                sample of the U.S. population in order                High Benefit and Low Cost; High Benefit
                                                    Census Bureau’s top priority is                         to provide current data needed more                   and High Cost; Low Benefit and Low
                                                    respecting the time and privacy of the                  often than once every ten years. In                   Cost; or Low Benefit and High Cost. For
                                                    people providing information while                      December of 2010, five years after its                this analysis, any question that was
                                                    preserving its value to the public. The                 launch, the ACS program accomplished                  designated as either Low Benefit and
                                                    2016 survey content changes are the                     its primary objective with the release of             Low Cost or Low Benefit and High Cost
                                                    initial step in a multi-faceted approach                its first set of estimates for every area of          and was NOT designated as Mandatory
                                                    to reducing respondent burden. The                      the United States. The Census Bureau                  (i.e., statutory) by the Department of
                                                    Census Bureau is currently carrying out                 concluded it was an appropriate time to               Commerce Office of General Counsel
                                                    this program of research, which                         conduct a comprehensive assessment of                 (OGC) or NOT Required (i.e., regulatory)
                                                    includes several components as                          the ACS program. This program                         with a sub-state use, was identified as
                                                    discussed briefly below.                                assessment focused on strengthening                   a potential candidate for removal. The
                                                       One of the areas with strong potential               programmatic, technical, and                          Department of Commerce OGC worked
                                                    to reduce respondent burden is to reuse                 methodological aspects of the survey to               with its counterparts across the federal
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                    information already supplied to the                     assure that the Census Bureau conducts                government to determine mandatory,
                                                    federal government in lieu of directly                  the ACS efficiently and effectively.                  required, or programmatic status, as
                                                    collecting it again through particular                     In August 2012, the OMB and the                    defined below:
                                                    questions on the ACS. The Census                        Census Bureau chartered the                           • Mandatory—a federal law explicitly
                                                    Bureau is conducting groundbreaking                     Interagency Council on Statistical Policy                calls for use of decennial census or
                                                    work aimed at understanding the extent                  (ICSP) Subcommittee for the ACS to                       ACS data on that question
                                                    to which existing government data can                   ‘‘provide advice to the Director of the               • Required—a federal law (or
                                                    reduce redundancy and improve                           Census Bureau and the Chief                              implementing regulation) explicitly


                                               VerDate Sep<11>2014   18:18 Apr 27, 2015   Jkt 235001   PO 00000   Frm 00006   Fmt 4703   Sfmt 4703   E:\FR\FM\28APN1.SGM   28APN1


                                                    23502                          Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 81 / Tuesday, April 28, 2015 / Notices

                                                      requires the use of data and the                      question has a low cost, it has no benefit            NSCG. Though commenters theorized
                                                      decennial census or the ACS is the                    to federal agencies, the federal statistical          that the NSCG might still be able to
                                                      historical source; or the data are                    system, or the nation. The Census                     produce STEM estimates without the
                                                      needed for case law requirements                      Bureau plans to remove this question,                 ACS, a number of commenters (16)
                                                      imposed by the U.S. federal court                     beginning with the 2016 ACS content.                  thought that doing so would be very
                                                      system                                                   Regarding the field of degree question,            expensive, costing as much as $17
                                                    • Programmatic—the data are needed                      the Census Bureau received 625                        million more (1).
                                                      for program planning,                                 comments from researchers, professors                    Additionally, many comments also
                                                      implementation, or evaluation and                     and administrators at many universities,              indicated uses of this question to
                                                      there is no explicit mandate or                       professional associations that represent              understand the economic outcomes of
                                                      requirement.                                          science, technology, engineering and                  college graduates at local geographic
                                                    Based on the analysis, the following                    mathematics (STEM) careers and                        levels, especially those with STEM
                                                    questions were initially proposed for                   industries, members of Congress, the                  degrees. These commenters included
                                                    removal:                                                National Science Foundation, and many                 professional, academic, congressional,
                                                                                                            individuals interested in retaining this              and policy-making stakeholders who
                                                    • Housing Question No. 6—Business/
                                                                                                            question. A number of commenters (92)                 expressed concerns that the absence of
                                                      Medical Office on Property
                                                    • Person Question No. 12—                               cited the importance of these estimates               statistical information about STEM
                                                      Undergraduate Field of Degree                         for research that analyzes the effect of              degrees would harm the ability to
                                                    • Person Question No. 21—(In the Past                   field of degree choice on economic                    understand characteristics of small
                                                      12 mos, did this person) Get Married,                 outcomes, including earnings,                         populations attaining STEM degrees.
                                                      Widowed, Divorced                                     education, occupation, industry, and                  Given the importance of this small
                                                    • Person Question No. 22—Times                          employment. University administrators                 population group to the economy, the
                                                      Married                                               (37) commented that this information                  federal statistical system and the nation,
                                                    • Person Question No. 23—Year Last                      allows for analysis of postsecondary                  bolstered by the new knowledge of
                                                      Married                                               outcomes, and allows them to                          historical precedent brought to light by
                                                                                                            benchmark their graduates’ relative                   commenters to the Federal Register
                                                      For reports that provide a full                       success in different fields as well as to             notice, the Census Bureau therefore
                                                    description of the overall 2014 ACS                     plan degree offerings. While some                     plans to retain this question on the 2016
                                                    Content Review methods and results,                     commenters used the estimates to                      ACS.
                                                    see ‘‘Final Report—American                             understand fields such as humanities or                  Regarding the marital history
                                                    Community Survey FY14 Content                           philosophy (56), the majority of these                questions, the Census Bureau received
                                                    Review Results’’ (Attachment V);                        comments (125) addressed the value of                 1,361 comments from researchers and
                                                    additional reports about the 2014 ACS                   knowing about the outcomes of people                  professors, professional associations
                                                    Content Review are also available at                    who pursued degrees in science,                       that represent marriage and family
                                                    http://www.census.gov/acs/www/about_                    technology, engineering and                           therapists, the Social Security
                                                    the_survey/methods_and_results_                         mathematics. These commenters felt                    Administration (SSA), and many
                                                    report/.                                                that knowing more about the people                    individuals interested in retaining these
                                                      Regarding the business/medical office                 currently earning STEM degrees and the                questions. SSA commented that it uses
                                                    on property question, the Census                        people currently working in STEM                      the marital history questions to estimate
                                                    Bureau received 41 comments from                        fields would enable universities,                     future populations by marital status as
                                                    researchers, and individuals. Most of                   advocacy groups, and policy makers to                 part of the Board of Trustees annual
                                                    these comments came from researchers                    encourage more people to pursue STEM                  report on the actuarial status (including
                                                    who felt that the Census Bureau should                  careers, and to encourage diversity                   future income and disbursements) of the
                                                    keep all of the proposed questions in                   within STEM careers.                                  Old-Age and Survivors Insurance
                                                    order to keep the survey content                           The initial analysis of Person                     (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI)
                                                    consistent over time, or felt that                      Question No. 12—Undergraduate Field                   Trust Funds. The Department of Health
                                                    modifications to the question could                     of Degree did not uncover any evidence                and Human Services (HHS) also uses
                                                    potentially make it more useful.                        that the question was Mandatory or                    these questions to distinguish
                                                    Housing Question No. 6—Business/                        Required. However, comments to the                    households in which a grandparent has
                                                    Medical Office on Property is currently                 Federal Register notice uncovered the                 primary responsibility for a grandchild
                                                    not published by the Census Bureau in                   existence of a relationship between the               or grandchildren, as well as to provide
                                                    any data tables. The only known use of                  Census Bureau and the National Science                family formation and stability measures
                                                    the question is to produce a variable for               Foundation, dating back to 1960. Over                 for the Temporary Assistance for Needy
                                                    the Public Use Microdata Sample                         the course of this established                        Families (TANF) program.
                                                    (PUMS), a recode for the Specified                      relationship, long-form decennial                        The focus of the proposed elimination
                                                    Owner (SVAL) variable that allows                       census data was used as a sampling                    is on the marital history questions only
                                                    users to compare other datasets. The                    frame for surveys that provided                       with no change to collection of marital
                                                    Content Review did not reveal any uses                  important information about scientists                status. Over 400 additional comments to
                                                    by federal agencies, and the comments                   and engineers. These comments                         the Federal Register notice cited
                                                    to the Federal Register notice did not                  demonstrated that the Field of Degree                 concerns that the proposed elimination
                                                    reveal any non-federal uses.                            question on the ACS continues this                    of the marital history questions was an
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                    Additionally, there were no uses                        historical use of decennial long-form                 indication of whether the government
                                                    uncovered in meetings with                              and ACS data for this purpose, and                    views information about marriage as
                                                    stakeholders, data user feedback forms,                 makes this process more efficient. Many               somehow less valuable than other ACS
                                                    or other methods employed to                            commenters (58) also cited the necessity              question topics that were not proposed
                                                    understand the uses of ACS data. Lastly,                of the National Survey of College                     for removal. While the Census Bureau
                                                    independent research conducted on                       Graduates (NSCG), and recommended                     had always planned to continue
                                                    behalf of the Census Bureau did not                     retaining the question because it is                  collecting information about the
                                                    uncover any further uses. Though the                    needed as a sampling frame for the                    ‘‘marital status’’ for each person in a


                                               VerDate Sep<11>2014   18:18 Apr 27, 2015   Jkt 235001   PO 00000   Frm 00007   Fmt 4703   Sfmt 4703   E:\FR\FM\28APN1.SGM   28APN1


                                                                                   Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 81 / Tuesday, April 28, 2015 / Notices                                                 23503

                                                    household (Person Question No. 20) and                  the mandatory message on the                          will make a significant impact on
                                                    their relationships to each other (Person               envelopes, we are conducting research                 reducing respondent burden in the ACS.
                                                    Question No. 2), the Census Bureau                      with a subset of ACS respondents in                     Affected Public: Individuals or
                                                    remains sensitive to these criticisms                   May 2015. Over the summer, we will                    households.
                                                       More than 100 supporters of retaining                work with external methodological                       Frequency: Response to the ACS is on
                                                    the marital history questions mentioned                 experts to test other revisions of the                a one-time basis.
                                                    their utility for research into marital                 ACS mail materials to check respondent                  Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory.
                                                    status changes over time and they                       perceptions of the softened references to               Legal Authority: Title 13, United
                                                    correctly noted that there is currently no              the mandatory nature of participation in              States Code, Sections 141, 193, and 221.
                                                    other national source of the marital                    the ACS. The preliminary results of                     This information collection request
                                                    history information. As a result, many                  those tests will be available in the fall,            may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov.
                                                    commenters felt they would not be able                  and the Census Bureau will make                       Follow the instructions to view the
                                                    to compare marriage characteristics and                 changes to the 2016 ACS mail materials                Department of Commerce collections
                                                    patterns with other nations in the same                 based on those results.                               currently under review by OMB.
                                                                                                               Concurrently we also are identifying                 Written comments and
                                                    depth that is possible today. Similarly,
                                                                                                            additional questions that we may only                 recommendations for the proposed
                                                    without these questions, the
                                                                                                            need to ask intermittently, rather than               information collection should be sent
                                                    commenters felt that the analysis of
                                                                                                            each month or year. The current ACS                   within 30 days of publication of this
                                                    changes in marriage events (especially
                                                                                                            sample design asks all of the survey                  notice to OIRA_Submission@
                                                    those due to changing societal values
                                                                                                            questions from all selected households                omb.eop.gov or fax to (202)395–5806.
                                                    and pressures or policy changes) would
                                                    be less robust. In particular, comments                 in order to produce estimates each year                 Dated: April 22, 2015.
                                                    focused on 6 research areas that would                  for small geographies and small                       Glenna Mickelson,
                                                    be more difficult to analyze without the                populations. However, during the                      Management Analyst, Office of the Chief
                                                    marital history questions:                              Content Review we learned about over                  Information Officer.
                                                                                                            300 data needs that federal agencies
                                                    • Family formation and stability (23)                                                                         [FR Doc. 2015–09741 Filed 4–27–15; 8:45 am]
                                                    • Patterns/trends of marriage and                       require to implement their missions. We               BILLING CODE 3510–07–P
                                                                                                            see several potential opportunities to
                                                       divorce (168)
                                                    • Marital effects on earnings, education                either include some questions
                                                                                                            periodically, or ask a smaller subset of              DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
                                                       and employment (45)
                                                    • Marital effects on child wellbeing (6)                ACS respondents in cases where those
                                                    • Same-sex marriages, civil unions and                  agencies do not need certain data                     Submission for OMB Review;
                                                       partnerships (70)                                    annually. The Census Bureau plans to                  Comment Request
                                                    • New government policy effects on                      engage the federal agencies and external
                                                                                                            experts on this topic during 2015. In                    The Department of Commerce will
                                                       marriage (9)                                                                                               submit to the Office of Management and
                                                                                                            addition, we need to assess the
                                                       Because the initial analysis of Person               operational and statistical issues                    Budget (OMB) for clearance the
                                                    Question Nos. 21–23 on marital history                  associated with alternate designs. The                following proposal for collection of
                                                    did not uncover any evidence that data                  alternate designs will result in a                    information under the provisions of the
                                                    from these questions were ‘‘Required’’                  reduction in the number of questions                  Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.
                                                    for federal use at sub-state geographies,               asked of individual households.                       chapter 35).
                                                    those questions received a lower benefit                   We are also conducting research on                    Agency: Bureau of Industry and
                                                    score than many other ACS questions.                    substituting the direct collection of                 Security.
                                                    However, in deference to the very large                 information with the use of information                  Title: Miscellaneous Short Supply
                                                    number (1,367) of comments received                     already provided to the government. It                Activities.
                                                    on the Census Bureau proposal to                                                                                 Form Number(s): N/A.
                                                                                                            is possible that the Census Bureau could                 OMB Control Number: 0694–0102.
                                                    eliminate those questions, the Census                   use administrative records from federal                  Type of Request: Regular.
                                                    Bureau plans to retain those questions                  and commercial sources in lieu of                        Burden Hours: 201 hours.
                                                    on the 2016 ACS.                                        asking particular questions on the ACS.                  Number of Respondents: 1
                                                       The Census Bureau takes very                            Lastly, we are examining our                       respondent.
                                                    seriously respondent concerns and                       approaches to field collection to reduce                 Average Hours Per Response: 201
                                                    recognizes that the Content Review and                  the number of in-person contact                       hours per response.
                                                    the resulting, proposed question                        attempts while preserving data quality.                  Needs and Uses: This information
                                                    changes discussed above are only initial                For example, based on research                        collection is comprised of two rarely
                                                    steps to addressing them. The Census                    conducted in 2012, we implemented                     used short supply activities:
                                                    Bureau has implemented an extensive                     changes in 2013 which led to an                       ‘‘Registration Of U.S. Agricultural
                                                    action plan on addressing respondent                    estimated reduction of approximately                  Commodities For Exemption From
                                                    burden and concerns. The work                           1.2 million call attempts per year, while             Short Supply Limitations On Export’’,
                                                    completed, and the comments received,                   sustaining the 97 percent response rate               and ‘‘Petitions For The Imposition Of
                                                    on the 2014 Content Review provide a                    for the survey overall. For the person                Monitoring Or Controls On Recyclable
                                                    foundation for ongoing and future                       visit operation, we are researching a                 Metallic materials; Public Hearings.’’
                                                    efforts to reduce burden and concerns.                  reduction in the number of contact
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                                                                                                                                  These activities are statutory in nature
                                                    In addition to the immediate content                    attempts. We plan to field test this                  and, therefore, must remain a part of
                                                    changes (proposed above), the Census                    change in August 2015. If successful we               BIS’s information collection budget
                                                    Bureau is also currently testing the                    would implement nationwide in spring                  authorization.
                                                    language on the survey materials that                   2016.                                                    Affected Public: Businesses and other
                                                    may cause concern such as reminding                        We will continue to look for other                 for-profit institutions.
                                                    people that their responses are required                opportunities to reduce respondent                       Frequency: On occasion.
                                                    by law. In order to be responsive to                    burden while maintaining survey                          Respondent’s Obligation: Required to
                                                    these concerns about the prominence of                  quality. Taken together, these measures               obtain benefits.


                                               VerDate Sep<11>2014   18:18 Apr 27, 2015   Jkt 235001   PO 00000   Frm 00008   Fmt 4703   Sfmt 4703   E:\FR\FM\28APN1.SGM   28APN1



Document Created: 2015-12-16 08:35:14
Document Modified: 2015-12-16 08:35:14
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionNotices
FR Citation80 FR 23501 

2025 Federal Register | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy
USC | CFR | eCFR