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Agency Information Collection Activities; Notice and Request for Comment; Crash Report Sampling System (CRSS), Non-Traffic Surveillance (NTS) and Special Studies Data Collection Publication: Federal Register Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Byline: Chou Lin Chen Date: 20 December 2022 Subjects: American Government  , Safety
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 243 (Tuesday, December 20, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77948-77952]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-27561]
[[Page 77948]]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. DOT-NHTSA-2922-0049]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Notice and Request for
Comment; Crash Report Sampling System (CRSS), Non-Traffic Surveillance
(NTS) and Special Studies Data Collection
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice and request for comments on a request for extension with
modification of a currently approved information collection.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA),
this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR)
abstracted below will be submitted to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The ICR describes the nature of
the information collection and its expected burden. This document
describes a currently approved collection of information for which
NHTSA intends to seek approval from OMB for extension with modification
on NHTSA's Records-Based Crash Data Studies: Crash Report Sampling
System (CRSS), Non-Traffic Surveillance (NTS), and special studies. A
Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting
comments on the following information collection was published on
September 28, 2022. One supporting comment was received.
DATES: Written comments should be submitted by January 19, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection, including suggestions for reducing burden,
should be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget at
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. To find this particular information
on, select ``Currently under Review--Open for Public Comment'' or use
the search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
For additional information or access to background documents,
contact Jonae S. Anderson, State Data Reporting Systems Division (NSA-
120), (202) 366-1028, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,
U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE,
Washington, DC 20590. Please identify the relevant collection of
information by referring to its OMB Control Number.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), a
Federal agency must receive approval from the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) before it collects certain information from the public and
a person is not required to respond to a collection of information by a
Federal agency unless the collection displays a valid OMB control
number. In compliance with these requirements, this notice announces
that the following information collection request will be submitted to
OMB.
A Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting
public comments on the following information collection was published
on September 28, 2022 (87 FR 58905).
Title: Crash Report Sampling System (CRSS), Non-Traffic
Surveillance System (NTS), and Special Studies.
OMB Control Number: 2127-0714.
Form Number(s): 1696.
Type of Request: Request for extension with modification of a
currently approved information collection.
Type of Review Requested: Regular.
Requested Expiration Date of Approval: Three years from date of
approval.
Summary of the Collection of Information:
NHTSA is authorized by 49 U.S.C. 30182 and 23 U.S.C. 403 to collect
data on motor vehicle traffic crashes to aid in the identification of
issues and the development, implementation, and evaluation of motor
vehicle and highway safety countermeasures to reduce fatalities and the
property damage associated with motor vehicle crashes. Using this
authority, NHTSA established the Crash Report Sampling System (CRSS),
CRSS related Special Studies and the Non-Traffic Surveillance (NTS).
Through these efforts, NHTSA collects data on motor vehicle crashes,
including crashes involving injuries and fatalities, property damage
only crashes, as well as non-traffic crashes that involve injuries and
fatalities. NHTSA uses information from these data collections to
support NHTSA's mission to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce
economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes.
Since late 1970s, NHTSA's National Center for Statistics and
Analysis (NCSA) has utilized a multidisciplinary approach to meet the
data needs of our end users that leverages an efficient combination of
census, sample-based, and existing State files to provide information
on traffic crashes on a timely basis. Beginning in 2016, the CRSS has
been used to identify highway safety problem areas and provide general
data trends. The Non-Traffic Surveillance System (NTS) provides data
regarding fatalities and injuries that occur in non-traffic crashes and
non-crash incidents.
CRSS obtains data from a nationally representative probability
sample selected from police reported motor vehicle traffic crashes.
Specifically, CRSS collects data on crashes involving at least one
motor vehicle in transport on a trafficway that resulted in property
damage, injury or a fatality will be included in the CRSS sample. The
crash reports sampled will be chosen from selected areas that reflect
the geography, population, miles driven, and the number of crashes in
the United States. No additional data beyond the selected crash reports
will be collected. Once the crash reports are received, they will be
coded and the data will be entered into the CRSS Records Based
Information Solution (RBIS), the repository for CRSS cases and
reporting tools.
CRSS will acquire nationally representative information on
fatalities, injuries and property damage directly from existing State
police crash reports. The user population includes Federal and State
agencies, automobile manufacturers, insurance companies, and the
private sector. Annual changes in the sample parameters are minor in
terms of operation and method of data collection, and do not affect the
reporting burden on respondents.
The Non-Traffic Surveillance (NTS) is a data collection effort for
collecting information about counts and details regarding fatalities
and injuries that occur in non-traffic crashes and non-crash incidents.
Non-traffic crashes are crashes that occur off a public trafficway
(e.g., private roads, parking lots, or driveways), and non-crash
incidents are incidents involving motor vehicles but do not involve a
crash scenario, such as carbon monoxide poisoning and hypo/
hyperthermia. NTS non-traffic crash data are obtained through NHTSA's
data collection efforts for the Crash Report Sampling System (CRSS),
the Crash Investigation Sampling System (CISS),\1\ and the Fatality
Analysis Reporting System (FARS).\2\ NTS also includes data outside of
NHTSA's own data collections. NTS' non-crash injury data is based upon
emergency department records from a special study conducted by the
Consumer Product Safety Commission's National Electronic Injury
[[Page 77949]]
Surveillance System (NEISS) All Injury Program. NTS non-crash fatality
data is derived from death certificate information from the Centers for
Disease Control's National Vital Statistics System.
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\1\ NHTSA's information collection for CISS is covered by the
ICR with OMB Control No. 2127-0706.
\2\ NHTSA's information collection for FARS is covered by the
ICR with OMB Control No. 2127-0006.
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For the NTS data collection this notice only discusses for the non-
traffic crash portion that is collected using methods for the CRSS data
collection. The non-traffic crash data that feed into NTS from the FARS
and CISS data collection efforts are covered under information
collection clearances for those data collection efforts. This is done
because the data is collected differently under each of NHTSA's three
data collection efforts. During the CRSS and CISS sampling process, NTS
applicable crashes will be chosen from the same sample sites. The FARS
data collection effort uncovers NTS applicable reports received from
the State during their normal data collection activities for FARS.
Therefore, the burden for NTS is included in each study's calculation.
No additional data will be collected beyond the NTS applicable reports.
Once the crash reports are received, each case will be coded into the
NTS RBIS application. NHTSA uses NTS data to estimate fatalities and
injuries in non-traffic crashes, which are crashes which occur off the
trafficways such as nonpublic roads, driveways, and parking lots.
In addition to CRSS data collection, NHTSA may require special
studies to further analyze motor vehicle crashes in the CRSS
jurisdictions. One type of special study is the collection of data from
the non-sampled crashes from CRSS Police Jurisdictions (PJs) by the
crash report Strata, NTS applicable, or out of scope, to help assess
the accuracy of the PJ frame. Non-sample PJs are defined as PJs that
investigate motor vehicle crashes within the CRSS PSU boundaries but
are not sampled through the CRSS study.
Another special study NHTSA may require is the CRSS PJ frame
evaluation. The PJ frame is constantly changing: new PJs start
operating, existing PJs are closed, multiple PJs are merged into one
PJ, or one PJ splits into multiple PJs. The current CRSS PJ sample was
selected from the 2016 PJ frame and the PJ weights were calculated
accordingly. If the PJ frame has changed dramatically from the 2016 PJ
frame, the CRSS PJ weights are no longer correct and the CRSS estimates
may be biased. To prevent this, NHTSA needs to evaluate the current PJ
frame to identify all PJs that currently generate PCRs for the sampled
non-Electronic Data Transfer (EDT) PSUs and collect 6 crash counts
(total crashes, fatal crashes, injury crashes, pedestrian crashes,
motorcycle crashes, and commercial motor vehicle crashes). The EDT is
the nightly transfer of crash data. EDT PSUs have been collapsed into
one PJ and sample crash reports throughout the county. Thus, the
concern of completeness of the PJ frame in EDT PSUs, isn't an issue.
Additionally, this study is different from the non-sample count special
study, because the six crash counts are unrelated to CRSS or NTS
applicability. These crash counts will be used as PJ measurement of
size for PJ sample selection or PJ weight adjustment if needed.
NHTSA is seeking approval to modify the existing information
collection to (a) reduce the burden hour estimates for CRSS information
collection to account for previous inflated estimates and current
efficiencies and (b) add the non-sampled Special Study into this
package. The combined impact is an increase of 6,998 burden hours to
NHTSA's overall total.
Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the
Information: NHTSA's mission is to save lives, prevent injuries, and
reduce economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes. To
accomplish this mission, NHTSA needs high-quality data on motor vehicle
crashes. The CRSS supports this mission by providing the agency with
vital information about a nationally representative sample involving
motor vehicle traffic crashes that occur on our nation's roadways.
CRSS data is used extensively by all the NHTSA program and research
offices, other DOT modes, States, and local jurisdictions. The highway
research community uses the CRSS data for trend analysis, problem
identification, and program evaluation. Congress uses the CRSS data for
making decisions concerning safety programs. The CRSS data is made
publicly available to anyone interested in highway safety.
The NTS is a Congressionally mandated data collection effort, which
provides counts and details regarding injuries and fatalities that
occur in non-traffic crashes and in non-crash incidents. NTS annual
data is used to produce estimates for injuries and fatalities in non-
traffic crashes. The NTS data is also made publicly available for
highway safety research purposes.
The special studies such as the non-sample count and PJ frame
evaluation are critical to assessing the quality of the PJ frame of the
CRSS PSUs to determine PJ weights and measure of size for the CRSS PJ
sample selection. Without the special studies, NHTSA may fail to
accurately assess the national crash picture by missing pertinent crash
data.
60-Day Notice: NHTSA published a 60-day notice in the Federal
Register on September 28, 2022 (87 FR 58905). NHTSA received one
supporting comment from the National Association of Mutual Insurance
Companies (NAMIC), emphasizing the proposed data collection is critical
for the proper performance of the functions of NHTSA and the proposed
collection will have great practical utility. Furthermore, NAMIC
asserts NHTSA should propose more widespread, extensive, and granular
auto safety and crash data recording and reporting. NAMIC also offered
assistance with providing specific metrics, key performance indicators
(KPIs), and measures of success.
Burden to Respondents: NHTSA has provided a description of the
affected public, estimated number of respondents, description of
frequency, and estimates of the total burden hours and costs for the
CRSS, NTS and Special Studies (CRSS, NTS and Special Studies) below. In
aggregate, NHTSA estimates that the total annual burden is 42,680 hours
and $0.
Program: CRSS, NTS and Special Studies.
Affected Public: Various police jurisdictions and State agencies.
Local police jurisdictions (PJs) and State agencies that collect
and maintain central databases of motor vehicle crashes partner with
NHTSA to provide access to crash reports for the CRSS sample sites on a
routine basis. CRSS collects data from sampled police jurisdictions in
order to collect a nationally representative sample. However, because
CRSS only collects information from police crash reports for many
jurisdictions, NHTSA is able to collect the data directly from the
States. This is because States have been moving toward more electronic
and centralized data collection systems.
Estimated Number of Respondents: NHTSA estimates that approximately
28 States and 44 police jurisdictions will provide crash data to
support CRSS in each of the next three years. Because the portion of
NTS data that comes from the CRSS data collection relies on the CRSS
data collection methodologies, NHTSA estimates that the same 72
respondents will also provide data to NHTSA through the CRSS data
collection effort. The estimated number of respondents for the non-
sample count special study is approximately 136 PJs. The estimated
number of respondents for the PJ frame evaluation is approximately
1,248 PJs.
Frequency: Varies.
[[Page 77950]]
The frequency of providing crash reports is established by the
local PJs and State agencies. Typically, weekly, or bi-weekly access to
crash reports is provided.
Estimated Number of Responses Annually: NHTSA estimates 677,005
crash reports, which includes both the CRSS and NTS crashes from the
sample PJs. However, of the 677,005 crashes, it is estimated that 3,000
of those will be NTS applicable crashes and thus remainder could be
CRSS applicable crashes is 674,005. Additionally, it is estimated that
the non-sample special studies will generate 247,110 crashes from the
non-sample PJs. The number of crashes for the PJ frame evaluation will
be estimated at the total of crash reports generated from combining the
sample and non-sample PJs to derive the six crash counts. Thus, the
number of generated crash reports estimated is
677,005+247,110=1,410,551 crashes.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated
Study number of
crashes
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CRSS.................................................... 674,005
NTS..................................................... 3,000
Non-Sample Special Study................................ 247,100
PJ Frame Evaluation Special Study....................... 1,410,551
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Grand Total........................................... 1,410,551
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Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 42,680 hours.
Within the 30 States or 60 CRSS Primary Sampling Units (PSUs) there
are Police Jurisdictions (PJs), from which a CRSS sampler must obtain
crash reports for listing, categorization, and sampling. Currently, 50
PSUs provide NHTSA data electronically--through EDT, State website
access, or web service portal. For one State, the crash reports are
obtained through EDT and manually since not all crashes are reported
through EDT. Therefore, NHTSA counted that state more than once due to
the crash report acquisition method. However, there is a total of 10
PSUs, or 21 local PJs, where crash reports collection is conducted in
the field using a combination of electronic and manual methods as
dictated by the sample PJ's crash report collection methods. These PJs
required field samplers which incur an increased burden due to the
labor-intensive administrative practices and privacy protections
associated with manually accessing the crash reports. The total
respondents doesn't equal to 30 States or 60 PSUs, due to the variation
in accessing crash reports throughout the sample.
The annual burden estimate detailed in Table 1 is produced by
identifying the crash report access method for each PSU and PJ and
assigning the appropriate burden hours for that method as outlined
below.
EDT Maintenance--For PSUs providing crash report through
EDT, the burden is estimated at 5 hours annually. This accounts for
yearly updates to programming needed to successfully transmit data,
such as updating data structures if new data elements are added or any
changes to the state made to their crash report and/or databases.
State website--User Access Only: For PSUs providing crash
reports via a state repository/website or database, the burden is
estimated at 10 hours annually. This represents time to process user
account requests, establish credentials, and routine maintenance of the
State's data repositories.
State website--User Access and Additional Administrative
Functions: For PSUs providing crash reports directly to NHTSA via web
service or where the State employees provide user access accounts in
addition to regularly searches for crash reports, compiles the lists of
crashes to send to NHTSA monthly, the burden is estimated at 60 hours
annually. This represents implementation, data transfer monitoring, and
communications with NHTSA and its contractors.
For PSUs providing crash reports to NHTSA via manual crash
report access methods (i.e., weekly physical visits to a PJ, copying
crash reports and mailing them, and searching for recently completed
crash reports and uploading crash reports to secure email links), the
burden is estimated at 470 hours annually. This represents--but is not
limited to--maintaining a law enforcement presence while the crash
reports are being reviewed, and/or providing resources to the CRSS
sampler in order to access the crash reports. This is the most labor
extensive access type due to the administrative burden and the
additional processes required to protect PII. Other local police
jurisdictions may photocopy crash reports and FedEx to the contractors
or download electronic crash reports to submit electronically via
secure email or thumb drive monthly.
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Number of
Hours per respondents--police
Access method jurisdiction jurisdiction (PJ) Total hours
or states
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EDT (Maintenance).......................................... 5 14 70
State Website (user access only)........................... 10 11 110
State Website (user access and additional administrative 60 2 120
functions)................................................
Web Service (user access and States query and compile info) 60 1 60
Mixed Manual............................................... 470 44 20,680
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Grand Total............................................ .............. 72 21,040
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On an ad-hoc basis, NHTSA requests a non-sample count special study
to assess the Police Jurisdiction (PJ) frame. The non-sample count and
the PJ Frame evaluation studies are critical to assessing the quality
of the PJ frame of the CRSS PSUs to determine PJ weights and measure of
size for the CRSS PJ sample selection. Without the special studies,
NHTSA may fail to accurately assess the national crash picture by
missing pertinent crash data.
Number of Respondents: 136 (Non-Sample Count Special Study).
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 21,307 (Non-Sample Count
Special Study).
The burden calculation for the non-sample count special study is
difficult to determine. Each burden calculation is associated with the
agreed upon crash report access method for sample sites. For non-sample
PJs we have no established relationship nor is it known which type of
access to crash report is feasible. Most importantly, non-sample count
special studies are conducted on an ad-hoc basis and not implemented
every year. Table 2 illustrates non-sample counts by access method in
the state for sample sites.
[[Page 77951]]
EDT has been removed from the table because CRSS samples from the
entire county, there is no distinction between the non-sample and
sample PJs. This is an added benefit to EDT implementation as we get an
accurate assessment of the PSU frame by CRSS strata. State websites
with user access have non-sample PJs however, there is no added burden
because the initial access granted is at the state level. State website
with user access and additional administrative functions provide NHTSA
data at the county level, which includes both sample and non-sample
PJs, thus there is no additional burden to the state. Webservice
agreements also provide data at the county level, thus there is no
additional burden to the state. States noted as having manual methods
only account for the sample PJs. Without established cooperation, NHTSA
can't forecast individual PJs access methods for the purposes of the
burden calculation. Thus, the maximum burden for the non-sample count
special study's estimated burden is 21,307 with the possibility of
reduction with cooperative agreements finalized.
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Number of
respondents-
Access method Hours per police Total hours
jurisdiction jurisdiction
(PJ) or states
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State Website (user access only)................................ 10 0 0
State Website (user access and additional administrative 60 0 0
functions).....................................................
Web Service (user access and States query and compile info)..... 60 0 0
Manual.......................................................... 470 136 21,307
(470*136/3)
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Grand Total................................................. .............. 136 21,307
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Number of Respondents: 1,248 (PJ Frame Evaluation Special Study).
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 333 (PJ Frame Evaluation
Special Study).
The activities associated with PJ frame evaluation special study
include identifying the in-scope PJs and contacting the in-scope PJs
for the 6 crash counts. NHTSA estimates there are total 40 non-EDT PSUs
and about 1,248 PJs in those non-EDT PSUs. NHTSA estimates it would
about 1 minute per PJ to confirm if any changes to the PJ since the
2016. NHTSA anticipates approximately 15 minutes (0.25 hours) for each
PJ to prepare the 6 crash counts. NHTSA estimates the total number of
hours of response burden is about 333 hours.
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Number of
respondents
PJ frame evaluation Hours per jurisdiction jurisdiction Total hours
(PJ)
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Manual........................................ 16 Minutes...................... 1,248 333
(16/60*1,248)
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Grand Total............................... ................................ 1,248 333
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This hourly burden was calculated using the Bureau of Labor
Statistics' mean hourly wage estimate for Court, Municipal, and License
Clerks (Standard Occupational Classification #43-4031) \3\ from May
2021 of $21.57. Therefore, NHTSA estimates the hourly wage associated
with the estimated 21,040 burden hours to be $453,832.80 (21,040 hours
x $21.57 per hour). This is a reduction of the previously reported
burden of 35,680 labor hours and estimated costs of $705,036.80. The
efficiencies with the increased implementation of the EDT and better
understanding of local and state crash repositories contribute to the
reduction in burden labor hours and subsequent costs. The Bureau of
Labor Statistics estimates that for State and local government workers,
wages represent 54.96% of total compensation.\4\ Therefore, the total
cost of burden associated with this collection is estimated to be
$825,751.09 ($453,832.80/.5496).
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\3\ See May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational
Employment and Wage Estimates, 43-4031--Court, Municipal, and
License Clerks, available at https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes434031.htm (accessed May 18, 2022).
\4\ See Table 1. Employer Costs for Employee Compensation by
ownership (Dec. 2021), available at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecec.t01.htm (accessed May 18, 2022).
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The total burden hours are presented in the table below but
described for each study.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total burden
Study hours
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CRSS.................................................... 21,040
NTS..................................................... 0
Non-Sample Special Study................................ 21,307
PJ Frame Evaluation Special Study....................... 333
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Grand Total......................................... 42,680
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Estimated Total Annual Burden Cost: $0.
NHTSA estimates that there are no costs associated with this
information collection other than labor costs associated with burden
hours. This is a drastic decrease from the $1.7 M from when NHTSA last
sought approval for this information collection. The decrease in costs
is a result of removing labor costs associated with labor hours that
were included in response to question 12, but unfortunately were
incorrect.
Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of
this information collection, including (a) 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; (b) 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; (c) ways to enhance
the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be
[[Page 77952]]
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of
information on respondents, including 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.
Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. chapter
35, as amended; 49 CFR 1.49; and DOT Order 1351.29.
Chou Lin Chen,
Associate Administrator, National Center for Statistics and Analysis.
[FR Doc. 2022-27561 Filed 12-19-22; 8:45 am]
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