Emergency Review Memo

U.S. Department of Labor

Commissioner
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Washington, D.C. 20212

Dominic Mancini
Deputy Director
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Office of Management and Budget
Washington, DC
Subject: Request for Emergency Review and Clearance
Dear Mr. Mancini:
Pursuant to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) procedures established at 5 CFR Part 1320,
Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public, I request that the proposed information collection
project, “Addition of Stimulus Questions to the Consumer Expenditure Quarterly (CEQ) Survey and
Modification of Placement and Pick-up Procedures for Consumer Expenditure Diary (CED) Survey
for the COVID-19 Pandemic” be processed as an Emergency Clearance Request in accordance with
section 1320.13, Emergency Processing.
I have determined that this information must be collected and procedures modified prior to the time
periods established under Part 1320 of the PRA. This information is essential to the mission of the
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in order to determine the economic impact of the shelter in place
order and resulting stimulus payments.
BLS cannot reasonably comply with the normal clearance as an unanticipated even has occurred and
the urgent necessity to protect the American public and Field Representatives (FRs) from potential
spread of this novel health threat while continuing to collect, analyze, and disseminate essential
economic information to support public and private decision making. BLS collections are critical in
aiding policy makers in decision making regarding the mitigation of economic impacts from this
pandemic.
Therefore, BLS requests a 180-day emergency clearance to add additional questions to the CEQ and
to modify collection procedures for the CED.
Please provide an approval/disapproval determination of this request to collect information under an
emergency clearance by close of business on May 29, 2020.
Respectfully,

WILLIAM
BEACH

Digitally signed by
WILLIAM BEACH
Date: 2020.05.14
09:34:28 -04'00'

William W. Beach
Commissioner, Bureau of Labor Statistics