60-day FRN (1220-0050) published

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information to be collected can be
enhanced; and
—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 submission of
responses.
Overview of This Information
Collection
1. Type of Information Collection:
Extension to 1121–0329.
2. The Title of the Form/Collection:
OJP Solicitation Template.
3. The agency form number, if any,
and the applicable component of the
Department sponsoring the collection:
No form number available. Office of
Justice Programs, Department of Justice.
4. Affected public who will be asked
or required to respond, as well as a brief
abstract: The primary respondents are
state agencies, tribal governments, local
governments, colleges and universities,
non-profit organizations, for-profit
organizations, and faith-based
organizations. The purpose of the
solicitation template is to provide a
framework to develop program-specific
announcements soliciting applications
for funding. A program solicitation
outlines the specifics of the funding
program; describes requirements for
eligibility; instructs an applicant on the
necessary components of an application
under a specific program (e.g., project
activities, project abstract, project
timeline, proposed budget, etc.);
outlines program evaluation and
performance measures; explains
selection criteria and the review
process; and provides registration dates,
deadlines, and instructions on how to
apply within the designated application
system. The approved solicitation
template collection also includes the
OJP Budget Detail Worksheet; the
Coordinated Tribal Assistance
Solicitation (CTAS) Tribal Narrative
Profile, Budget Detail Worksheet and
Demographic Form; and the Financial
Management and System of Internal
Controls Questionnaire (FCQ).
The extension includes a more
streamlined version of the solicitation
template collection, whereas the agency
moved static instructions and guidance
that do not frequently change from year
to year to a Grant Application Resource
Guide web page. The result is a more
concise, user-friendly solicitation
document that draws closer attention to
the program-specific details and
requirements in order to reduce
confusion for the applicant.

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Additionally, it enables the agency to
revise static guidance on the web page
as necessary, reducing the need to reissue program solicitations already
released to the public.
5. An estimate of the total number of
respondents and the amount of time
estimated for an average respondent to
respond: It is estimated that information
will be collected annually from
approximately 10,000 applicants.
Annual cost to the respondents is based
on the number of hours involved in
preparing and submitting a complete
application package. Mandatory
requirements for an application under
the OJP and CTAS Standard Solicitation
Template include a program narrative;
budget details and narrative, via the OJP
standard BDW; Applicant Disclosure of
Pending Applications; Applicant
Disclosure of High Risk Status; and the
FCQ. With the exception of the Tribal
Narrative Profile and added
Demographic form, the mandatory
requirements for an application under
the CTAS Solicitation Template are the
same as those for OJP. Optional
requirements can be made mandatory
depending on the type of program to
include, but not limited to:
Documentation related to
Administration priority areas of
consideration (e.g., Documentation of
Enhanced Public Safety in Qualified
Opportunity Zones), project abstract,
indirect cost rate agreement, tribal
authorizing resolution, timelines, logic
models, memoranda of understanding,
letters of support, resumes, and research
and evaluation independence and
integrity. The estimated public reporting
burden for this collection of information
remains at up to 32 hours per
application. The 32-hour estimate is
based on the amount of time to prepare
a research and evaluation proposal, one
of the most time intensive types of
application solicited by OJP.
6. An estimate of the total public
burden (in hours) associated with the
collection: The estimated public burden
associated with this application is
320,000 hours.
If additional information is required
contact: Melody Braswell, Department
Clearance Officer, United States
Department of Justice, Justice
Management Division, Policy and
Planning Staff, Two Constitution
Square, 145 N Street NE, 3E.405A,
Washington, DC 20530.
Dated: June 3, 2020.
Melody Braswell,
Department Clearance Officer for PRA, U.S.
Department of Justice.
[FR Doc. 2020–12589 Filed 6–10–20; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Information Collection Activities;
Comment Request
Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice of information collection,
request for comment.
AGENCY:

The Department of Labor, as
part of its continuing effort to reduce
paperwork and respondent burden,
conducts a pre-clearance consultation
program to provide the general public
and Federal agencies with an
opportunity to comment on proposed
and/or continuing collections of
information in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This
program helps to ensure that requested
data can be provided in the desired
format, reporting burden (time and
financial resources) is minimized,
collection instruments are clearly
understood, and the impact of collection
requirements on respondents can be
properly assessed. The Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) is soliciting comments
concerning the revision of the ‘‘The
Consumer Expenditure Surveys: The
Quarterly Interview and the Diary.’’ A
copy of the proposed information
collection request (ICR) can be obtained
by contacting the individual listed
below in the ADDRESSES section of this
notice.
DATES: Written comments must be
submitted to the office listed in the
Addresses section of this notice on or
before August 10, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Nora
Kincaid, BLS Clearance Officer,
Division of Management Systems,
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Room 4080,
2 Massachusetts Avenue NE,
Washington, DC 20212. Written
comments also may be transmitted by
email to [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Nora Kincaid, BLS Clearance Officer, at
202–691–7628 (this is not a toll free
number). (See ADDRESSES section.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:

I. Background
The Consumer Expenditure (CE)
Surveys collect data on consumer
expenditures, demographic information,
and related data needed by the
Consumer Price Index (CPI) and other
public and private data users. The
continuing surveys provide a constant
measurement of changes in consumer
expenditure patterns for economic
analysis and to obtain data for future

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CPI revisions. The CE Surveys have
been ongoing since 1979.
The data from the CE Surveys are
used (1) for CPI revisions, (2) to provide
a continuous flow of data on income
and expenditure patterns for use in
economic analysis and policy
formulation, and (3) to provide a
flexible consumer survey vehicle that is
available for use by other Federal
Government agencies. Public and
private users of price statistics,
including Congress and the economic
policymaking agencies of the Executive
branch, rely on data collected in the CPI
in their day-to-day activities. Hence,
data users and policymakers widely
accept the need to improve the process
used for revising the CPI. If the CE
Surveys were not conducted on a
continuing basis, current information
necessary for more timely, as well as
more accurate, updating of the CPI
would not be available. In addition, data
would not be available to respond to the
continuing demand from the public and
private sectors for current information
on consumer spending.
In the Quarterly Interview Survey,
each consumer unit (CU) in the sample
is interviewed every three months over
four calendar quarters. The sample for
each quarter is divided into three
panels, with CUs being interviewed
every three months in the same panel of
every quarter. The Quarterly Interview
Survey is designed to collect data on the
types of expenditures that respondents
can be expected to recall for a period of
three months or longer. In general the
expenses reported in the Interview
Survey are either relatively large, such
as property, automobiles, or major
appliances, or are expenses which occur
on a fairly regular basis, such as rent,
utility bills, or insurance premiums.
The Diary (or recordkeeping) Survey
is completed at home by the respondent
family for two consecutive one-week
periods. The primary objective of the
Diary Survey is to obtain expenditure
data on small, frequently purchased
items which normally are difficult to
recall over longer periods of time.
II. Current Action
Office of Management and Budget
clearance is being sought for the
revision of the Consumer Expenditure
Surveys: The Quarterly Interview and
the Diary.
The continuing CE Surveys provide a
constant measurement of changes in
consumer expenditure patterns for
economic analysis and obtain data for
future CPI revisions.

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In the CEQ, CE is seeking clearance to
make the following changes: A question
will be added on the number of
members covered by Tricare; the term
Keoghs will be removed from the
question on retirement accounts and
replaced with more commonly used
terms; Virginia will be added to the
drop down list of states on the Medicaid
questions; e-scooters will be added as an
example to bike-share; audio and video
expenditure item codes will be
consolidated; school books will be
separated from school supplies and
equipment item codes; several detailed
clothing items will be converted to
global questions and the remaining
clothing item codes will be reorganized.
The CEQ added questions regarding
stimulus payments paid by the Federal
government under OMB clearance
number 1220–0196 as an emergency
clearance request. This expiration on
this clearance expires on November 30,
2020. CE plans to continue asking these
questions through December of 2020
and seeks clearance with this request to
retain until this date. If it is determined
the questions are needed beyond
December a nonsubstantive change
request will be submitted to retain them
for a longer period. The CED uses both
a CAPI instrument and the paper Diary
CE–801, Record of Your Daily Expenses.
In the CED CAPI instruments, the term
Keoghs will be removed from the
question on retirement accounts and
replaced with more commonly used
terms. In the Diary, in order to
accommodate CPI’s need for point of
purchase collection, a column will be
added to the clothing section to collect
the store name or website where the
item was purchased. Additionally, in
order to avoid anticipated data
collection issues, minor changes will be
made to the sample.
Lastly, to limit exposure of staff and
respondents in response to the
coronavirus pandemic, procedures for
the CEQ and CED will be modified on
an as needed basis. In CED, these
modifications will include emailing a
link to a Diary form, telephone
transcription of expenditures from the
Diary, and the availability of an online
Diary. In CEQ, these modifications will
include telephone interiews in lieu of
in-person interviews.
These letters explain the nature of the
information the BLS wants to collect
and the uses of the CEQ or the CED data,
as appropriate; informs the respondents
of the confidential treatment of all
identifying information they provide;
requests the respondents’ participation

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in the survey; describes the survey’s
compliance with the relevant provisions
of the Privacy Act and the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB)
disclosure requirements; and provide a
link to the address of the respondent’s
informational web page. The advance
letters for the CEQ will be updated to
reflect changes in the estimated time to
complete the interview with the
removal of the clothing section. Each of
the advance letters and several of the
brochures in the portfolio are available
in the following languages: Arabic,
Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Russian,
Vietnamese, and Polish.
For both CEQ and CED, additional
wording will be added to the CAPI
instruments regarding receipt of the
advance letter in order to ensure
communication of the confidentiality
and Paperwork Reduction Act
statements to respondents who may not
have received the advanced letter due to
disruptions related to the coronavirus
pandemic.
A full list of the proposed changes to
the Quarterly Interview Survey and
Diary Survey are available upon request.
III. Desired Focus of Comments
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is
particularly interested in comments
that:
• 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.
• 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.
• Enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected.
• 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.
Title of Collection: The Consumer
Expenditure Surveys: The Quarterly
Interview and the Diary.
OMB Number: 1220–0050.
Type of Review: Revision.
Affected Public: Individuals or
Households.

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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 113 / Thursday, June 11, 2020 / Notices
Total
respondents

Form

Frequency

Average time
per response
(minutes)

Estimated total
burden

CEQ—Interview ...................................................................
CEQ—Reinterview ...............................................................
CED—Diary (record-keeping) ..............................................
CED—Diary (Interview) ........................................................
CED—Diary (Reinterview) ...................................................

6,015
2,887
7,535
7,535
1,507

4
1
2
2.3
1

24,060
2,887
15,070
17,332
1,507

67
10
70
19
10

26,867
481
17,582
5,488
251

Totals ............................................................................

........................

........................

60,856

........................

50,669

Comments submitted in response to
this notice will be summarized and/or
included in the request for Office of
Management and Budget approval of the
information collection request; they also
will become a matter of public record.

Division of Management Systems,
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Room 4080,
2 Massachusetts Avenue NE,
Washington, DC 20212. Written
comments also may be transmitted by
email to [email protected].

Signed at Washington, DC, this 5th day of
June 2020.
Mark Staniorski,
Chief, Division of Management Systems.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

[FR Doc. 2020–12629 Filed 6–10–20; 8:45 am]

Nora Kincaid, BLS Clearance Officer, at
202–691–7628 (this is not a toll free
number.) (See ADDRESSES section.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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I. Background
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Information Collection Activities;
Comment Request
Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Department of Labor
ACTION: Notice of information collection;
request for comment.
AGENCY:

The Department of Labor, as
part of its continuing effort to reduce
paperwork and respondent burden,
conducts a pre-clearance consultation
program to provide the general public
and Federal agencies with an
opportunity to comment on proposed
and/or continuing collections of
information in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This
program helps to ensure that requested
data can be provided in the desired
format, reporting burden (time and
financial resources) is minimized,
collection instruments are clearly
understood, and the impact of collection
requirements on respondents can be
properly assessed. The Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) is soliciting comments
concerning the proposed extension of
the ‘‘National Compensation Survey.’’ A
copy of the proposed information
collection request can be obtained by
contacting the individual listed below
in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.
DATES: Written comments must be
submitted to the office listed in the
ADDRESSES section of this notice on or
before August 10, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Nora
Kincaid, BLS Clearance Officer,
SUMMARY:

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Total
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The National Compensation Survey
(NCS) is an ongoing survey of earnings
and benefits among private firms, State,
and local government. Data from the
NCS program include estimates of
wages covering broad groups of related
occupations, and data that directly links
benefit plan costs with detailed plan
provisions. The NCS is used to produce
the Employment Cost Trends, including
the Employment Cost Index (ECI) and
Employer Costs for Employee
Compensation (ECEC), employee
benefits data (on coverage, cost, and
provisions), and data used by the
President’s Pay Agent. This data is used
by compensation administrators and
researchers in the public and private
sectors. Data from the NCS are used to
help in determining monetary policy (as
a Principal Federal Economic Indicator.)
The integrated program’s single sample
produces both time-series indexes and
cost levels for industry and
occupational groups, thereby increasing
the analytical potential of the data.
The NCS employs probability
methods for selection of occupations.
This ensures that sampled occupations
represent all occupations in the
workforce, while minimizing the
reporting burden on respondents. The
survey collects data from a sample of
employers. These data will consist of
information about the duties,
responsibilities, and compensation
(earnings and benefits) for a sample of
occupations for each sampled
employer.Data will be updated on a
quarterly basis. The updates will allow
for production of data on change in
earnings and total compensation.

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II. Current Action
Office of Management and Budget
clearance is being sought for a extension
of the National Compensation Survey.
This survey was revised to temporarily
add questions to the National
Compensation Survey to cover sick
leave policy changes due to the
coronavirus pandemic. These questions
will be collected primarily through
email in June and July of 2020. These
data were approved for collection under
Emergency OMB Clearance Package
1220–0195, which expires on November
30, 2020. Respondents will
electronically complete and submit
responses through a simple fillable
form. The additional sick leave policy
questions are not intended to be
collected beyond the July timeframe.
At this time, BLS has discontinued in
person data collection in response to the
coronavirus pandemic. NCS will return
to using in person interviews as a
method of collection once restrictions
are lifted. During this time, the NCS is
relying heavily on telephone, email, and
mail for current collection. Video
interview collection is also available in
response to the pandemic and is being
considered as a standard collection
method.
The NCS collects earnings and work
level data on occupations for the nation.
The NCS also collects information on
the cost, provisions, and incidence of
major employee benefits through its
benefit cost and benefit provision
programs and publications. BLS has for
a number of years been using a revised
approach to the Locality Pay Survey
(LPS) component of the NCS; this uses
data from two current BLS programs—
the Occupational Employment Statistics
(OES) survey and the ECI program. This
approach uses OES data to provide wage
data by occupation and by area, while
ECI data are used to specify grade level
effects. This approach is also being used
to extend the estimation of pay gaps to
areas that were not included in the prior
Locality Pay Survey sample, and these
data have been delivered to the Pay
Agent (in 2019, data for 95 areas were
delivered).

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