[House Report 114-237]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
114th Congress { } Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session { } 114-237
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QUARTERLY FINANCIAL REPORT REAUTHORIZATION ACT
_______
July 29, 2015.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Chaffetz, from the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3116]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, to whom
was referred the bill (H.R. 3116) to extend by 15 years the
authority of the Secretary of Commerce to conduct the quarterly
financial report program, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill
do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Committee Statement and Views.................................... 1
Section-by-Section............................................... 2
Explanation of Amendments........................................ 2
Committee Consideration.......................................... 2
Roll Call Votes.................................................. 3
Application of Law to the Legislative Branch..................... 3
Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the
Committee...................................................... 3
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............ 3
Duplication of Federal Programs.................................. 3
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings.............................. 3
Federal Advisory Committee Act................................... 3
Unfunded Mandate Statement....................................... 3
Earmark Identification........................................... 4
Committee Estimate............................................... 4
Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate... 4
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 5
Committee Statement and Views
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
H.R. 3116, the Quarterly Financial Report Reauthorization
Act, extends the authority of the Census Bureau to conduct the
Quarterly Financial Report Program for an additional 15 years,
through September 30, 2030.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Current law requires the Secretary of Commerce to collect
and publish quarterly financial statistics related to
manufacturing, mining, and trade corporations.\1\ The Quarterly
Financial Report (QFR) Program has operated uninterrupted since
1947 and has been conducted by the Department of Commerce and
the Census Bureau since 1983.\2\
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\1\13 U.S.C. 91 note.
\2\H.R. Rep. No. 109-164 at 2 (2005).
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Data from the QFR program serves as a key indicator of our
nations economic health, including as ``a primary source for
current estimates of corporate profits for the Nation's Gross
Domestic Income Accounts,'' according to the Census Bureau.\3\
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\3\U.S. Census Bureau, Quarterly Financial Report, available at
www.census.gov/econ/qfr/about.html (last visited Jul. 24, 2015).
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In 2005, Congress reauthorized the QFR program for 10
years, through September 30, 2015.\4\ H.R. 3116 extends the
authorization for the QFR program through September 30, 2030.
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\4\P.L. 109-79.
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LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
H.R. 3116, the Quarterly Financial Report Reauthorization
Act, was introduced by Congressman Ted Lieu (D-CA) on July 20,
2015 and referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform. On July 22, 2015, the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform ordered H.R. 3116 favorably reported, without
amendment.
Section-by-Section
Section 1. Short title
Designates the short title of the bill as the ``Quarterly
Financial Report Reauthorization Act.''
Section 2. Extension of authority for Secretary of Commerce to conduct
quarterly financial report program
Extends by 15 years the authority of the Secretary of
Commerce to conduct the quarterly financial report program. The
bill amends P.L. 97-454, 13 U.S.C. 91 note, to strike ``2015''
and insert ``2030'' as the year in which the authorization for
the quarterly financial report program will expire.
Explanation of Amendments
No amendments were offered during Full Committee
consideration of the bill.
Committee Consideration
On July 22, 2015, the Committee met in open session and
ordered reported favorably the bill, H.R. 3116, by voice vote,
a quorum being present.
Roll Call Votes
No recorded votes were taken during Full Committee
consideration of the bill.
Application of Law to the Legislative Branch
Section 102(b)(3) of Public Law 104-1 requires a
description of the application of this bill to the legislative
branch where the bill relates to the terms and conditions of
employment or access to public services and accommodations.
This bill extends by 15 years the authority of the Secretary of
Commerce to conduct the quarterly financial report program. As
such this bill does not relate to employment or access to
public services and accommodations.
Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the Committee
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause
(2)(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of
Representatives, the Committee's oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the descriptive portions of
this report.
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives
In accordance with clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee's performance
goal or objective of the bill is to extend by 15 years the
authority of the Secretary of Commerce to conduct the quarterly
financial report program.
Duplication of Federal Programs
No provision of this bill establishes or reauthorizes a
program of the Federal Government known to be duplicative of
another Federal program, a program that was included in any
report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress
pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program
related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance.
Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings
The Committee estimates that enacting this bill does not
direct the completion of any specific rule makings within the
meaning of 5 U.S.C. 551.
Federal Advisory Committee Act
The Committee finds that the legislation does not establish
or authorize the establishment of an advisory committee within
the definition of 5 U.S.C. App., Section 5(b).
Unfunded Mandate Statement
Section 423 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment
Control Act (as amended by Section 101(a)(2) of the Unfunded
Mandates Reform Act, P.L. 104-4) requires a statement as to
whether the provisions of the reported bill include unfunded
mandates. In compliance with this requirement the Committee has
received a letter from the Congressional Budget Office included
herein.
Earmark Identification
This bill does not include any congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in
clause 9 of rule XXI.
Committee Estimate
Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the
Committee of the costs that would be incurred in carrying out
this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B) of that rule provides
that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has
included in its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the
bill prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974.
Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect
to requirements of clause (3)(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives and section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received
the following cost estimate for this bill from the Director of
Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 3116--Quarterly Financial Report Reauthorization Act
H.R. 3116 would extend the authority for the Department of
Commerce to conduct the quarterly financial report program
through 2030. Under that program, which will expire at the end
of fiscal year 2015, the Census Bureau collects and publishes
statistics on the financial condition of U.S. businesses.
Information from the Census Bureau indicates that the program
costs about $5 million a year. Therefore, CBO estimates that
implementing the bill would cost $25 million over the 2016-2020
period, assuming appropriation of the estimated amounts.
Enacting H.R. 3116 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
H.R. 3116 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined
in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would not affect
the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
The quarterly financial report program, which the bill
would extend, requires certain companies to provide survey
information on their business and financial data to the Census
Bureau. Extending this requirement would be a private-sector
mandate on those companies. Based on information from the
Census Bureau, CBO estimates that the direct cost to comply
with the mandate would fall well below the annual threshold
established by UMRA for private-sector mandates ($154 million
in 2015, adjusted annually for inflation).
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Susan Willie
(for federal costs) and Paige Piper/Bach (for private-sector
mandates). The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss,
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, and existing law in which no
change is proposed is shown in roman):
SECTION 4 OF PUBLIC LAW 97-454
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.
Sec. 4. (a) This Act shall take effect on the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(b) This Act, including the amendments made by this Act,
shall cease to have effect after September 30, [2015] 2030.
(c) Not later than 2 years after such effective date, the
Secretary of Commerce shall submit a report to the Congress
regarding the administration of the program transferred by this
Act. Such report shall describe--
(1) the estimated respondent burden, including any
changes in the estimated respondent burden after the
transfer of such program;
(2) the application made by various public and
private organizations of the information published
under such program; and
(3) technical or administration problems encountered
in carrying out such program.