Final - Supporting Statement-DS-5506

SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR
PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSION

LOCAL U.S. CITIZEN SKILLS/RESOURCES SURVEY
OMB Number 1405-0188
DS-5506

A. JUSTIFICATION

1. Approximately five to six million U.S. citizens reside abroad. At any given time, U.S. citizens overseas may face crises such as natural disasters (hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, etc.), war, civil unrest, transportation disasters, epidemics, and other emergencies. Given the provisions of 22 CFR 71.1 and 71.6, and recognizing that U.S. citizens overseas may possess resources useful in a crisis, Department of State policy is that U.S. embassies and consulates should solicit U.S. citizens for information on skill sets (such as foreign language abilities and specialized expertise) and resources (such as radios, food, or shelter) they could provide in case of an emergency. The Local U.S. Citizen Skills/Resources Survey would accomplish this objective through a systematic data collection that is consistent with 31 U.S.C. 1342 and 22 U.S.C. 4802(b), and which would allow for a proactive response in the event of emergencies. Posts would incorporate survey results into their emergency action plans to assist U.S. citizens in times of crisis.

2. U.S. citizens voluntarily complete the form for submission at nearby U.S. embassies or consulates. Consular officers will use the information to determine how to strategically allocate the resources and skills throughout the areas affected by the crisis. To request responses to the questionnaire, U.S. embassies or consulates will reach out to the American citizens living in their consular districts.

3. A U.S. citizen who chooses to complete the form will have two options for filling it out. The citizen may complete the form on-line and email it to the embassy or consulate, or the citizen may download the form, print it, fill it out manually, scan it, and email the form. The form is available on the following websites: https://eforms.state.gov/Forms/ds5506.PDF and http://travel.state.gov/.

4. The information in this form is not available or maintained anywhere else.

5. The information collection does not involve small businesses or other small entities.

6. The absence of a survey form would significantly hinder the ability of U.S. embassies and consulates to find U.S. citizens (near the area of a crisis) who have the critical skills and resources necessary to assist other affected U.S. citizens. Trying to collect this information during the actual time of a crisis is impractical.

7. No special circumstances exist.

8. The Department of State published a 60 day Federal Register notice for public comments, see 83 FR 62945, dated December 6, 2018. The Department of State did not receive any public comments.

9. No payment or gift is provided to respondents.

10. The form notifies respondents that the information they provide is subject to the Privacy Act. There are no assurances of confidentiality.

11. No sensitive questions are asked.

12. The number of respondents that would submit the Local U.S. Citizen Skills/Resources Survey form is estimated to be 2,400 per year. After testing the DS-5506, we found that respondents take an average of 15 minutes to gather the necessary information and complete the form. The total estimated burden is 600 hours per year (2,400 responses x 0.25 hours). The respondent voluntarily submits the Local U.S. Citizen Skills/Resources Survey form to a U.S. consulate or U.S. embassy consular section.

The annualized cost to all respondents for the hour burden for collections of information, based on appropriate wage rate categories, is $16,518. This was determined by using $27.53 as the average mean hourly civilian earnings. $27.53/hr. was then multiplied by 600 burden hours. The Department used the mean hourly wage rate from the ¹Bureau of Labor Statistics - Comparison of All Employee Average Hourly Earnings to determine the mean hourly wage rate. At the end of December 2018, the mean hourly wage rate was $27.53. The final calculation equals $16,518.

13. Some respondents may incur an additional cost to submit the form. It is assumed that of the 2,400 respondents, 1,680, or 70 percent, will submit the form by e-mail and will not incur additional costs. It is assumed that ten percent of respondents, or 240, will send the application by postage mail to the U.S. embassy or consulate handling the case. The average cost to the respondents to mail the form by postage mail is approximately 50 cents. Multiplying 240 applicants by 50 cents gives an estimated total cost for postage mail equal to $120.

It is assumed that 20 percent of respondents, or 480, will incur travel costs to a U.S. embassy or consulate. It is further assumed that all such travel will be by vehicle and that the distance driven will vary. Mileage costs for traveling by vehicle will vary based on how far the person has to travel. If the travel is ten miles, the overall total cost based on 160 respondents assumed to drive that distance is $856.00 (160 x $5.35 (53.5 cents per gallon)). If the travel is 25 miles, the overall total cost based on 160 respondents assumed to drive that distance is $2,139.20 (160 x $13.37 (53.5 cents per gallon)). If the travel is 50 miles, the overall total cost based on an assumed 160 respondents is $4,280.00 (160 x $26.75 (53.5 cents per gallon)). The grand total mileage cost is $7,275.20 based on a total of 480 respondents that may travel by vehicle.

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¹ Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Comparison of All Employee Average Hourly Earnings, Seasonally Adjusted, before and after the March 2018 Benchmark,” https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/compaehes.txt

The estimated grand total cost for all respondents is $7,395.20 ($7,275.20+$120.00).

14. The projected annual cost to the federal government is as follows: for Calendar Year (CY) 2019 - 2020, 2,400 applicants x $135 x .25 hours per form is $81,000. Based on the activity-based costing model, which is internal to the Department of State, DOS has determined that the overall burdened wage rate (including fringe and overhead costs) for Consular Officers at U.S. embassies and consulates overseas is $135.

15. There are no changes to burden. The following changes were made to the DS-5506 form:

The Privacy Act Statement on page 3 of the form has been changed to say the following:

“AUTHORITY: The information on this form is requested under the authority of 22 U.S.C. § 4802(b), 31 U.S.C. § 1342, 22 CFR § 71.1 and 22 CFR § 71.6.

PURPOSE: The purpose of gathering this information is to identify U.S. citizens residing in a particular country who may possess critical skills and resources invaluable for helping other Americans in a time of crisis.

ROUTINE USES: The information on this form may be shared with federal, state, and local government agencies; members of Congress; officials of foreign governments; U.S. and foreign courts; U.S. and foreign nongovernmental organizations, including disaster or emergency relief organizations such as the International Red Cross, Red Crescent and others. Absent your prior written consent, no information on this form may be disclosed to any persons or agency unless such a disclosure would be permitted by the Privacy Act, 5 USC552a (b) ("Conditions of disclosure"). This information collection is covered by System of Records Notice State-05, Overseas Citizens Services Records and Other Overseas Records.

DISCLOSURE: Responding to this survey is purely voluntary.”

16. There will be no statistical information published from this information collection.

17. The OMB expiration date will be displayed.

18. No exceptions are requested.

B. STATISTICAL METHODS

This collection does not employ statistical methods.