SIPP_Attachment_M_2024 OMB_SIPP Responses_to_OMB_11.10.2022

November 10, 2022
MEMORANDUM FOR

Robert Sivinski
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Office of Management and Budget

From:

Hyon B. Shin, Assistant Division Chief
Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division
U.S. Census Bureau

Subject:

2023 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) 30-Day
Notice Responses

This memo is in response to the three public comments received regarding the 2023 SIPP 30-day
notice posted on reginfo.gov for the Information Collection Request (ICR) 0607-1000 posted on
the Federal Register Notice (FRN) on August 24, 2022.
The SIPP program understands the importance of measuring the dynamics of income,
employment, household composition, and program participation for myriad demographic groups,
including reporting program participation by racial and ethnic groups and for lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and other sexual and gender minority (LGBTQI+)
populations. We appreciate the public comments for assessing the potential impact before certain
COVID-19 federal programs expire as well as collecting information on sexual orientation and
gender identity (SOGI).
Regarding assessing the impacts of federal programs before expiring, SIPP did collect
information on the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Economic Impact Payments (EIP) in 2020
and 2021 while the programs were administered. Since the CTC and EIP programs have expired,
however, collecting information on the 2023 SIPP is untenable. Any additional questions about
discouragement from working or not pursuing opportunities due to fear of losing benefits would
require research and testing of questions, or use of previously designed questions, to ensure that
the questions are collecting the desired information accurately. SIPP does currently collect
information on reasons for beginning and ending of social welfare items, such as reasons for job
ending that could serve as a proxy for some social welfare programs.
Additionally, the SIPP is not designed to collect qualitative data. Any qualitative testing and
interviewing would have to occur outside of the yearly SIPP questionnaire.
Regarding collecting SOGI information on the SIPP, the Census Bureau is committed to
continuing the research necessary to ensure the accurate and reliable collection of SOGI data in

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its current surveys. There are several components of collecting SOGI in SIPP that still need to be
addressed before implementing, however. For instance, unlike the Household Pulse Survey
(HPS) which is a self-administered questionnaire, SIPP is an interviewer-administered survey
and there is concern about how openly respondents may or may not respond to SOGI questions
to an interviewer as opposed to a self-response survey. SIPP also collects information via proxy
reporting and continued research is needed to assess the quality of the data based on the ability or
willingness to respond to SOGI questions for other members of a household. Additionally, as
SIPP collects information on children in the household, care must also be taken to determine the
best method of collecting data for youth populations. As SIPP is a longitudinal survey, we must
determine how best to implement SOGI questions to balance accuracy and respondent burden of
sensitive questions.
We look forward to continuing engagement with the public and OMB on future SIPP collection
instruments.

cc:
David Waddington
Jason Fields