Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request for Reinstatement of an Expired Information Collection: Nonforeign Area Cost-of-Living Allowance Price and Background Surveys

Résumé

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget a request for reinstatement of the Nonforeign Area Cost-of-Living Allowance Price and Background Surveys (OMB Control No. 3206-0199), a previously-cleared information collection that was recently discontinued at OPM's discretion and for which the OMB clearance has expired. OPM uses price surveys and background surveys to gather data to be used in determining nonforeign area cost-of-living allowances (COLAs) paid to certain Federal employees in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. OPM conducts price surveys in the Washington, DC, area on an annual basis and once every 3 years in each allowance area on a rotating basis. Prior to these surveys, OPM conducts background surveys that are similar to the price surveys, but much more limited in scope. OPM uses the results of the background surveys to prepare for the price surveys. The COLA Price Survey is necessary for collecting living-cost data used to determine COLAs. OPM uses the Price Survey results to compare prices in the allow