[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 138 (Thursday, September 24, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H6198-H6199]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORT REAUTHORIZATION ACT
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 3116) to extend by 15 years the authority of the Secretary
of Commerce to conduct the quarterly financial report program.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3116
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Quarterly Financial Report
Reauthorization Act''.
SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY FOR SECRETARY OF COMMERCE TO
CONDUCT 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 ``2015'' and inserting
``2030''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Utah (Mr. Chaffetz) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Ted Lieu)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah.
General Leave
Mr. CHAFFETZ. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5
legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arkansas?
There was no objection.
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3116, the Quarterly
Financial Report Reauthorization Act, sponsored by my colleague from
the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Congressman Ted Lieu.
Mr. Speaker, since 1947, Quarterly Financial Report, often referred
to as the QFR program, has collected and published key data on American
corporate financial results. It is the primary source of data for GDP
estimates and other top-line economic estimates. Ever since its first
development, the QFR program has been one of our Nation's most
important economic indicators.
Quite simply, this survey allows us to measure how large sectors of
our economy are doing. Without the QFR, we would lose a seven-decade
economic trendline. The QFR's loss would also have significant negative
impacts on a wide variety of economic indicators.
[[Page H6199]]
Authorization for this important program expires next week at the end
of the fiscal year. Today we consider a bill introduced by Congressman
Ted Lieu that will reauthorize this key program for an additional 15
years.
The Oversight and Government Reform Committee approved this bill
without objection on July 22. It is a good bill, and I would like to
thank Congressman Ted Lieu for his good work on this and his leadership
on this issue, and I would urge my colleagues to support and pass this
bill.
Further, I would also urge my colleagues in the Senate to take quick
action on the legislation as well. The QFR program is vital for
understanding our economy, and we cannot and should not let it expire.
Again, I urge passage of this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. TED LIEU of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as
I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, I introduced the Quarterly Financial
Report Reauthorization Act, a bill that would reauthorize a vital and
commonsense program for 15 years. The Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform ordered the bill reported by voice vote in July of
2015.
I want to thank Chairman Chaffetz and Ranking Member Cummings for
working to quickly move this bill forward prior to the program's
expiration this year.
Since the end of World War II, the QFR has been a closely watched
principal economic indicator used to determine our Nation's gross
domestic product, the Federal Reserve's Flow of Funds account, and
other vital economic estimates.
It is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau based on a sample size of
12,500 companies across a variety of industry sectors, from mining, to
manufacturing, to information and professional services. The end result
is timely, accurate data on business financial conditions for over one-
third of our economy that is widely used by both government and private
sector actors.
{time} 1330
The program plans to further expand coverage to over 60 percent of
our economy, tracking additional sectors and industries, such as health
care and real estate.
The Department of Commerce has called the reauthorization of this
program a top priority, and the U.S. Census Bureau has received letters
of validation from both the public and private sectors.
The Small Business Administration supports it as do companies such as
ProQuest, a Michigan-based global information content and technology
company, and companies such as Wells Fargo, whose chief economist wrote
in support of this QFR and said: Good decisions require good
information.
At a time when our country is not that far removed from the wake of
the global financial crisis, we need all the tools at our disposal to
measure the state of our economy and to chart our progress.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I appreciate the work of Mr.
Lieu. This is a good example of our working together on both sides of
the aisle. We passed it smoothly out of committee, and I urge its
adoption here today.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Chaffetz) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 3116.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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