by Meghan Maury
Study of the Week: Shaping the Future of Loan Repayment. This new Participation and Repayment Progress in Federal Student Loan Plans study is intended to help IES understand which borrowers do and do not enroll in Income Driven Repayment plans, why they do so, how long they stay in their plans, their repayment behaviors, and other household finance and life course outcomes, as feasible.
Comments due May 18.
Every time the government makes a change to a survey or a form — or introduces a new survey or form — you have the right to weigh in on that decision. The Take Action! newsletter highlights surveys or forms the government is changing, renewing, or introducing. Click the links to tell the government what you think about the changes they are making.
Note: The Take Action tab of dataindex.us provides information about even more surveys, forms, evaluations, and records notices than are listed in your weekly newsletter.
Labor/Employment
Current Population Survey (CPS) 2026 Field Test. The CPS collects labor force information for the civilian noninstitutional population including employment status, number of hours worked, job search activities, earnings, duration of unemployment, and the industry and occupation classification of the job held the previous week. The 2026 Field Test's goal is to test the use of an internet self-response method to measure its success as a possible method of contact and interviewing with the goal of review accuracy, reporting, and representativeness.
Comments due May 4.
Public Benefits
Next Steps for Tribal TANF Research and Data. Under this package, ACF will collect information from Tribal TANF program leaders, staff, and participants about (1) their challenges, successes, and support needs related to Tribal TANF data reporting requirements; and (2) their research and evidence needs related to Tribal TANF program operations. ACF will use this information to inform future changes to Tribal TANF data reporting requirements and revisions to accompanying guidance as well as improvements to data-related technical assistance provided to Tribal TANF grantees.
Comments due May 4.
Criminal Legal System
Annual Surveys of Probation and Parole. These surveys collect annual yearend counts and yearly movements of community corrections populations; characteristics of the community supervision population, such as gender, racial composition, ethnicity, conviction status, offense, and supervision status. The listing indicates that BJS is not making any changes to the surveys at this time.
Comments due May 12.
Agriculture
Agricultural Surveys Program. These surveys provide the basis for estimates of the current season's crop and livestock production and supplies of grain in storage. In this iteration of the surveys, NASS is proposing to increase the sample size for the Quarterly Agricultural Surveys, reinstate the Agricultural Coverage Evaluation Survey (ACES), and update the June Area Survey questionnaire to be fully compliant with SPD15.
Comments due April 15.
Military
Pure Power. The Department of War is fielding this new survey "to better assist Military and Family Life Counselors in addressing the unique social, emotional and behavioral needs of military-connected youth, directly aligning with the administration's focus on service member readiness, retention, and optimized quality of life for their families."
Comments due April 27.
Immigration
Request To Be Included on the List of Pro Bono Legal Service Providers for Individuals in Immigration Proceedings. Organizations, private attorneys, and referral services use this form to apply to be included on list of persons who have indicated their availability to represent individuals on a pro bono basis in immigration proceedings. In the listing, EOIR indicates they are "revising this form to implement several non-substantive changes," but they have not provided any supplemental material indicating what those changes are.
Comments due May 4.
Federal Government
Program Services Evaluation Surveys and Leadership Assessment Surveys. OPM fields several surveys under this generic clearance to collect information on Federal agency and program performance, climate, employee attitudes and leadership effectiveness, and to give OPM the ability to customize each Program Services Evaluation survey based on customer requirements. This collection package seems to include the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS).
Comments due April 27.
Housing
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (Regulation C). Under HMDA, depository institutions and for-profit, non-depository institutions are required to collect, report, and disclose data about originations and purchases of mortgage loans. Additionally, these institutions must report mortgage loan applications that do not result in originations (for example, applications that are denied or withdrawn). These data are used to identify discriminatory lending practices. When originally listed, several public commenters argued that the data collection was overly burdensome, saying the expansion of data collected over time "raises serious questions about marginal utility relative to compliance burden." However, CFPB is not making any changes to the collection at this time.
Comments due April 27.Survey of Market Absorption of New Multifamily Units. The SOMA provides the data necessary to measure the rate at which new rental apartments and new condominium apartments are absorbed; that is, taken off the market, usually by being rented or sold, over the course of the first 12 months following completion of a building. HUD is not making any changes to the survey with this renewal.
Comments due May 1.
Also of Note:
Executive Order: Promoting Access to Mortgage Credit. This EO sets a general policy of improving availability and affordability of mortgages. Overall, the EO takes the approach of deregulating the mortgage industry to further that goal, along with increasing digital mortgages and reducing enforcement of related policy. The EO includes provision that reduces HMDA reporting; HMDA data is used to identify discrimination in mortgage provision and to assess community housing needs.
Executive Order: Establishing the Task Force To Eliminate Fraud. This EO sets the general policy of using "all available resources and authorities to fight fraud, close loopholes, enforce eligibility rules, and protect benefits for eligible Americans, while ensuring States administering Federal benefits programs do the same." Structurally, the EO sets up a Task Force designed to develop improved eligibility verification and fraud indicators, facilitate data sharing, and increase fraud enforcement.