SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), Federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. In addition, the PRA also requires Federal agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each new proposed collection, each proposed extension of existing collection of information, and each reinstatement of previously approved information collection before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, we are publishing this notice of a proposed data collection as described below.

The OMB is particularly interested in comments that will help:

1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;

2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;

3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected;

4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submissions of responses; and

5. Assess information collection costs.

Proposed Project

Research Data Center (RDC) Proposal for Access to Confidential Data for the National Center for Health Statistics—Existing Collection in use without an OMB Control Number—National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description

Section 306(b)(4) of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act (42 U.S.C. 242k(b)(4)), as amended, authorizes that the Secretary of Health and Human Services (DHHS), acting through NCHS, receive requests for providing data and statistics to the public. NCHS receives requests ( printed page 58913) for confidential data from the public through the Research Data Center (RDC) Proposal for Access to Confidential Data. This is a request for approval from OMB to collect information via the RDC proposal over the next three years.

As part of a comprehensive data dissemination program, the Research Data Center (RDC), National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), requires prospective researchers who need access to confidential data to complete a research proposal. Researchers self-select whether they need access to confidential data to answer their research questions. The RDC requires the researcher to complete a research proposal so NCHS understands the research proposed, whether confidential data are available to address the research questions, how the confidential data will be used, and what data outputs the researcher needs to satisfy their project. The completed proposal is sent to NCHS for adjudication on whether the proposed research is possible.

To capture the information needed to adjudicate researchers' need for access to confidential NCHS data, CDC requests OMB approval for a total estimated annual burden total of 330 hours (990 hours for a three-year clearance period). The resulting information will be for NCHS internal use. There is no cost to respondents other than their time to complete the proposal.

86 FR 58912