[House Report 114-237]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


114th Congress    {                                    }           Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session      {                                    }          114-237
======================================================================
 
             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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\U.S. Census Bureau, Quarterly Financial Report, available at 
www.census.gov/econ/qfr/about.html (last visited Jul. 24, 2015).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \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.