Notice2026-02459
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; High-Frequency Surveys Program/Household Trends and Outlook Pulse Survey (HTOPS)
Primary source
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Published
February 9, 2026
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentCensus Bureau
Full Text
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 26 (Monday, February 9, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Page 5705]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-02459]
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Notices
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Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 26 / Monday, February 9, 2026 /
Notices
[[Page 5705]]
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Census Bureau
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; High-Frequency Surveys Program/Household Trends and Outlook
Pulse Survey (HTOPS)
On January 15, 2025, the Department of Commerce (Department)
received clearance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 to conduct the
Household Trends and Outlook Pulse Survey (HTOPS) recruitment
operation, January topical operation and February topical operation
(0607-1029). We received approval for the March, April, and May HTOPS
collections on April 11, 2025. On June 16, 2025, we were approved for
the June and August 2025 topical collections. On September 24, 2025, we
were approved for the September, October, and December 2025 topical
collections. The HTOPS is designed to ensure availability of frequent
data collection for nationwide estimates on a variety of topics for a
variety of subgroups of the population. This notice serves to inform of
the Department's intent to request clearance from OMB to conduct the
HTOPS 2026 March and May data collections. The March and May surveys
will include content from the Household Pulse Survey. Household Pulse
Survey content continues to serve as an experimental endeavor in
cooperation with other federal agencies to produce near real-time data
to understand the effects of current events, including health events,
and other social or economic events facing the nation or a significant
portion of the nation.
Data collected in the HTOPS demonstrates the ability to quickly
collect and disseminate high-frequency data products that inform the
public in urgent circumstances. Data products will include public-use
data files and detailed data tables, which can be used by federal,
state, and local agencies; academics and non-government organizations;
the media; and the public.
It is the Department's intention to commence data collection using
the revised instruments on or about March 3, 2026 and May 5, 2026. We
invite the general public and other federal agencies to comment on
proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess
the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the
public's reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested
via publication to the Federal Register on December 9, 2024 (89 FR
97582), February 28, 2025 (90 FR 10879), May 13, 2025 (90 FR 20272),
and August 20, 2025 (90 FR 40560) during a 30-day comment period. This
notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
Agency: U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Commerce.
Title: High Frequency Surveys Program/Household Trends and Outlook
Pulse Survey.
OMB Control Number: 0607-1029.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular submission, Request for a Revision of a
Currently Approved Collection.
Number of Respondents: 13,564 (162,768 annually).
Average Hours per Response: .333 (20 minutes).
Burden Hours: 4,517 (54,202 annually).
Needs and Uses: The High-Frequency Surveys Program was established
as a natural progression from the creation of the Household Pulse
Survey. The Household Trends and Outlook Pulse Survey is a probability-
based, nationwide, nationally-representative survey designed to test
methods to collect data on a variety of topics of interest, and for
conducting experimentation on alternative question wording and
methodological approaches. The goal of the HTOPS is to ensure
availability of frequent data collection for nationwide estimates on a
variety of topics and a variety of subgroups of the population, meeting
standards for transparent quality reporting of the federal statistical
agencies and the Office of Management and Budget.
Households selected for the HTOPS are recruited from the Census
Bureau's gold standard Master Address File. This ensures that the HTOPS
is rooted in this rigorously developed and maintained frame and
available for linkage to administrative records securely maintained and
curated by the Census Bureau. Invitations to complete the monthly
surveys will be sent via mailed letters. Questionnaires will be mainly
internet self-response. The HTOPS will maintain representativeness by
allowing respondents who do not use the internet to respond via
computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI). Each HTOPS monthly
data collection will rely on an independent, cross-sectional sample to
maintain representativeness.
Affected Public: Households.
Frequency: Monthly.
Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Sections 141, 182
and 193.
This information collection request may be viewed at
<a href="http://www.reginfo.gov">www.reginfo.gov</a>. Follow the instructions to view the Department of
Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of
this notice on the following website <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>.
Find this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently
under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search
function and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB
Control Number 0607-1029.
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of
this notice on the following website <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>.
Find this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently
under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search
function and entering the title of the collection.
Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental PRA Compliance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2026-02459 Filed 2-6-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P
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