Household Pulse Survey, Census to OMB Request Letter

March 22, 2021
Mr. Dominic J. Mancini
Deputy Administrator
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Office of Management and Budget
725 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20503
Dear Dr. Mancini:
Pursuant to Office of Management and Budget procedures established at 5 CFR Part 1320,
Controlling Paperwork Burdens on the Public, I request that the proposed addition of content to the
Household Pulse Survey be processed as an Emergency Revision Request in accordance with section
1320.13, Emergency Processing. The content under consideration includes demographic screener
questions from the Department of Defense (DOD) to identify Service members and military
spouses, and from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to classify respondents employed in “essential” worker
groups. The Household Pulse Survey is designed to collect and disseminate data on a near real-time
basis to inform on the social and economic impacts of the COVID‐19 Pandemic. Data from the
Household Pulse Survey will allow DOD to enhance services and target resources to help alleviate
the impact of the pandemic on Service members and their families. The CDC would benefit from
the data to respond to ongoing impacts of the pandemic and target outreach efforts to promote
vaccine access and uptake among essential worker groups.
I have determined that the inclusion of this content contributes to the U.S. Census Bureau’s mission
as the nation’s leading source of data on the nation’s people and economy. The COVID-19
pandemic is an unanticipated event that is unprecedented in the sudden and dramatic way it
continues to impact the social and economic well-being of American households.
With your emergency approval, the Census Bureau is positioned to include these new items in the
Phase 3.1 of the Household Pulse Survey questionnaire, set to be deployed on April 14, 2021. We
commit to publishing a public notice about this information collection in the Federal Register within
30 days of approval.
We appreciate your understanding of this urgent request and look forward to your response.
Sincerely,

Ron S. Jarmin
Acting Director

census.gov