[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 132 (Monday, September 28, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H9162-H9163]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




EXTENDING QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORT PROGRAM ADMINISTERED BY SECRETARY 
                              OF COMMERCE

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take 
from

[[Page H9163]]

the Speaker's table the Senate bill (S. 2071) to extend a quarterly 
financial report program administered by the Secretary of Commerce, and 
ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, 
and I will not object, but I would like very much for the gentleman to 
explain the bill.
  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman yield?
  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. I yield to the gentleman from Florida.
  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, S. 2071 extends for 7 years the 
Quarterly Financial Report Program administered by the Secretary of 
Commerce. Current authorization for the program expires at the end of 
the fiscal year.
  I want to thank the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney), the 
ranking member of the committee, for her support of this bill.
  The Quarterly Financial Report Program is a survey of businesses 
conducted by the Census Bureau that documents the financial conditions 
for manufacturing, mining, wholesale, and retail corporations each 
calendar quarter. The program has been in place continuously for more 
than 50 years, since 1947.
  It is a closely-watched principal economic indicator that provides 
critical data that are used in quarterly Gross Domestic Product 
estimates, as well as in the Flow of Funds account of the Federal 
Reserve and other official estimates. It also provides a performance 
benchmark that businesses use to assess their performance.
  The Quarterly Financial Report does not duplicate any other data. It 
differs from the data collected by the Securities and Exchange 
Commission, since it measures only domestic operations of publicly held 
corporations and includes data on privately held companies that 
otherwise would not be available.
  Since the program was last reauthorized in 1993, significant progress 
has been made in reducing the reporting burden. The total number of 
firms sampled has been cut. Moreover, to target the reduction in the 
reporting burden on small business and medium-sized business, limits 
have been placed on their reporting frequency. For example, firms with 
assets of less than $50 million may now be selected to report for one 
2-year period only once a decade. Plans are under way to further reduce 
the reporting burden by allowing businesses to report electronically.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to pass S. 2071 to avoid a gap in 
critical data that measure our Nation's economy.
  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I also 
rise in support of S. 2071.
  Extension of the authority of the Department of Commerce to conduct 
the Quarterly Financial Report is critical to the U.S. statistical 
system. This program provides financial data essential to the 
calculation of key government measures of the economy and has been 
designated by the Office of Management and Budget as one of the 
Nation's principal economic indicators.
  The Quarterly Financial Report Program provides the most current and 
comprehensive quarterly financial data on business conditions and 
financial activity of U.S. corporations. It is the primary source of 
current estimates of the corporate profits used to derive the quarterly 
estimates of the Gross Domestic Product. These corporate profits 
estimates are also included with those select series prepared monthly 
by the Council of Economic Advisors for the Joint Economic Committee to 
provide quick picture data of the domestic economy.
  Quarterly Financial Report data are a major building block for the 
Federal Reserve Board's Flow of Funds accounts and are the Federal 
Reserve Board's sole source of unconsolidated, nonfinancial data. 
Quarterly Financial Report data are also used by a host of private 
sector analysts to evaluate investment opportunities, compare their 
financial condition with industry trends, and analyze the performance 
of the small business sector.
  Mr. Speaker, the extension of the authority is needed to continue 
this important program without interruption. I strongly urge passage of 
this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.

                              {time}  1915

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Peterson of Pennsylvania). Is there 
objection to the request of the gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the Senate bill, as follows:

                                S. 2071

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORT PROGRAM.

       Section 4(b) of the Act entitled ``An Act to amend title 
     13, United States Code, to transfer responsibility for the 
     quarterly financial report from the Federal Trade Commission 
     to the Secretary of Commerce, and for other purposes'', 
     approved January 12, 1983 (Public Law 97-454; 13 U.S.C. 91 
     note), is amended by striking ``September 30, 1998'' and 
     inserting ``September 30, 2005''.

  The Senate bill was ordered to be read a third time, was read the 
third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.

                          ____________________