83 FR 11520 - Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 51 (March 15, 2018)

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years, without revision, the Survey of Consumer Finances (FR 3059; OMB 7100-0287).

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 51 (Thursday, March 15, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11520-11521]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-05266]


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

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Notice, request for comment.

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

SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) 
invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years, without 
revision, the Survey of Consumer Finances (FR 3059; OMB 7100-0287).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before May 14, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FR 3059, by any of 
the following methods:
     Agency Website: http://www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments at http://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx.
     Email: [email protected]. Include OMB 
number in the subject line of the message.
     FAX: (202) 452-3819 or (202) 452-3102.
     Mail: Ann E. Misback, Secretary, Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20551.
    All public comments are available from the Board's website at 
http://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx as submitted, 
unless modified for technical reasons. Accordingly, your comments will 
not be edited to remove any identifying or contact information. Public 
comments may also be viewed electronically or in paper form in Room 
3515, 1801 K Street (between 18th and 19th Streets NW) Washington, DC 
20006 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays.
    Additionally, commenters may send a copy of their comments to the 
OMB Desk Officer--Shagufta Ahmed--Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, New Executive Office 
Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503 or by 
fax to (202) 395-6974.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of the PRA OMB submission, 
including the proposed reporting form and instructions, supporting 
statement, and other documentation will be placed into OMB's public 
docket files, once approved. These documents will also be made 
available on the Federal Reserve Board's public website at: http://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/reportforms/review.aspx or may be requested 
from the agency clearance officer, whose name appears below.
    Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer--Nuha Elmaghrabi--Office of 
the Chief Data Officer, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, Washington, DC 20551 (202) 452-3829. Telecommunications Device 
for the Deaf (TDD) users may contact (202) 263-4869, Board of Governors 
of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 15, 1984, the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) delegated to the Board authority under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) to approve of and assign OMB control numbers to 
collection of information requests and requirements conducted or 
sponsored by the Board. In exercising this delegated authority, the 
Board is directed to take every reasonable step to solicit comment. In 
determining whether to approve a collection of information, the Board 
will consider all comments received from the public and other agencies.

Request for Comment on Information Collection Proposal

    The Board invites public comment on the following information 
collection, which is being reviewed under authority delegated by the 
OMB under the PRA. Comments are invited on the following:
    a. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the Federal Reserve's functions; including 
whether the information has practical utility;
    b. The accuracy of the Federal Reserve's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed information collection, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    c. Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected;
    d. Ways to minimize the burden of information collection on 
respondents,

[[Page 11521]]

including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology; and
    e. Estimates of capital or startup costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.
    At the end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations 
received will be analyzed to determine the extent to which the Federal 
Reserve should modify the proposal prior to giving final approval.

Proposal To Approve Under OMB Delegated Authority the Extension for 
Three Years, Without Revision, of the Following Report(s)

    Report title: 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF).
    Agency form number: FR 3059.
    OMB control number: 7100-0287.
    Frequency: One-time survey.
    Respondents: U.S. families.
    Estimated number of respondents: Pretest, 150; and Main survey, 
7,000.
    Estimated average hours per response: Pretest, 90 minutes; and Main 
survey, 90 minutes.
    Estimated annual burden hours: Pretest: 225 hours and Main survey: 
10,500 hours.
    General description of report: This would be the thirteenth 
triennial SCF since 1983, the beginning of the current series. This 
survey is the only source of representative information on the 
structure of U.S. families' finances. The survey would collect data on 
the assets, debts, income, work history, pension rights, use of 
financial services, and attitudes of a sample of U.S. families. Because 
the ownership of some assets is relatively concentrated in a small 
number of families, the survey would make a special effort to ensure 
proper representation of such assets by systematically oversampling 
wealthier families.
    Legal authorization and confidentiality: Section 2A of the Federal 
Reserve Act (FRA) requires that the Board and the Federal Open Market 
Committee (FOMC) maintain long run growth of the monetary and credit 
aggregates commensurate with the economy's long run potential to 
increase production, so as to promote effectively the goals of maximum 
employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates (12 
U.S.C. 225a). In addition, under section 12A of the FRA, the FOMC is 
required to implement regulations relating to the open market 
operations conducted by Federal Reserve Banks. Those transactions must 
be governed with a view to accommodating commerce and business and with 
regard to their bearing upon the general credit situation of the 
country (12 U.S.C. 263). The Board and the FOMC use the information 
obtained from the FR 3059 to help fulfill these obligations. The FR 
3059 is a voluntary survey. The information collected on the FR 3059 is 
exempt from disclosure in identifiable form under exemption 6 of the 
Freedom of Information Act, which protects information that the 
disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of 
personal privacy of individuals involved (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6)).
    Consultation outside the agency: The final survey questionnaire 
would be developed jointly by the Board and the contractor. The 
contractor would conduct the interviews for this survey. The data to 
support the part of the survey sample selected by the Board would be 
provided by the Statistics of Income Division (SOI) of the Internal 
Revenue Service under a contract that allows this use of the data as 
well as other more limited uses of the data for statistical adjustments 
to the final data and related purposes. As in past SCFs, the sample 
selection and survey administration would be managed so that the Board 
would not be given any names of survey participants; SOI would not be 
given data to link survey responses with tax records; and the 
contractor would not be given income data derived from the tax returns.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, March 12, 
2018.
Ann E. Misback,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2018-05266 Filed 3-14-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6210-01-P