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Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Descriptions

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE

17.003: Prices and Cost of Living Data

Objectives: To provide statistical data for assisting in the evaluation of consumer, producer, export and import prices and price changes, and consumer expenditures.

PROGRAM AND AWARD FINANCIAL AND INFORMATION CONTACTS

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFO.

APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS INFORMATION CONTACTS

RELATED PROGRAMS ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS

PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS

17.003 ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Applicant Eligibility: Request for information may be made by the general public.

Beneficiary Eligibility: General public.

Credentials/Documentation: None.

17.003 APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS:

Preapplication Coordination: None. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure: Requests for information and assistance may be made to the nearest regional office of the Bureau of Labor Statistics listed in Appendix IV of the Catalog.

Award Procedure: Not applicable.

Deadlines: None.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time: Not applicable.

Appeals: Not applicable.

Renewals: Not applicable.

Criteria for Selecting Proposals: Not applicable.

Examples of Funded Projects: Not applicable.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance: Not applicable.

17.003 RELATED PROGRAMS:

10.950 Agricultural Statistics Reports;
11.025 Measures and Analyses of the U.S. Economy;
17.005 Compensation and Working Conditions.

17.003 PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

In fiscal year 2000, the Consumer Price Indexes (CPI), Producer Price Indexes (PPI), International Price Indexes (IPP), and the Consumer Expenditure Surveys (CE) programs continues as will regular publication of data from these price statistics programs. In fiscal year 2000, work continues in the sixth year of a major revision program for the CPI. During 2000, work will continue on the collection and processing of data for improved quality adjustment and new goods recognition, and work will continue on the development of an electronic data collection system for the monthly pricing of the CPI commodities and services. The IPP has begun work on a project to update weights in the Export and Import Price Indexes with 2000 trade values. Coverage of the PPI will be expanded to include retail food stores, security brokers and dealers, investment advice, and miscellaneous retail stores, while some mining and manufacturing industries will be systematically re-sampled. Also a major quality improvement initiative is underway to reduce new item bias in industries characterized by the rapid introduction of new products. The CE is expanding its sample by about 50 percent in the urban areas to allow the CPI to reweigh their indices in a more timely manner. The CE has also begun a project to move the interview survey from a paper and pencil instrument to a computer assisted instrument. An extensive research endeavor is also underway in CE to improve the expenditure estimates collected from respondents. Lastly, work on the redesign of the CE computer processing systems continues.

17.003 FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFO:

Federal Agency: BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Type of Assistance: Dissemination of Technical Information.

Obligations: (Salaries and Expenses) FY 99 $119,626,000; FY 00 est $128,753,000; and FY 01 est $135,408,000.

Budget Account Number: 16-0200-0-1-505.

Authorization: Public Laws 62-426, 71-537, and 94-206, 29 U.S.C. 1-2.

Regulations, Guidelines, and Literature: "Consumer Price Index"; "Producer Price Index"; "Export Price Index"; "Import Price Index"; "Consumer Expenditure Survey," "Monthly Labor Review"; "BLS Handbook of Methods," BLS Bulletin 2414; "Major Programs of the Bureau of Labor Statistics"; "Publications of the Bureau of Labor Statistics."

17.003 INFO CONTACTS:

Regional or Local Office: Contact the nearest regional office of the Bureau of Labor Statistics listed in Appendix IV of the Catalog.

Headquarters Office: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Prices and Living Conditions, Washington, DC 20212. Phone: (202) 606-6960. Contact: Kenneth V. Dalton.

(See Appendix IV for more contact info.)

17.003 ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:

Formula and Matching Requirements: Not applicable.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance: Not applicable.

Uses and Use Restrictions: Provides for Consumer Price Indexes (CPI) which measure changes in prices of goods and services consumed by all urban households as well as urban wage earners and clerical workers. As the basis for most estimates of changes in the purchasing power of the consumer's dollar, the CPI is a major economic indicator and has widespread use in escalation adjustments in both private and public sectors. Provides for Producer Price Indexes (PPI) which measure average changes in selling prices received by domestic producers for their output and which are widely cited within price escalation clauses of long term sales contracts to protect both parties against inflation. Provides Export and Import Price Indexes to measure the effect of international trade prices on U.S. economy. The Consumer Expenditure (CE) Surveys provide periodic updates to the market basket and the weights used to calculate the CPI. In addition, the CE supplies information on consumers' spending and income by characteristics such as income, age, race, family size, and region.

17.003 POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Reports: Not applicable.

Audits: Not applicable.

Records: Not applicable.