[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 168 (Wednesday, August 30, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51570-51571]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-14369]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    DOC will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
clearance the following proposal for collection of information under 
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: Quarterly Services Survey (QSS).
    Form Number(s): QSS-1(A), QSS-1(E), QSS-2(A), QSS-2(E), QSS-3(A), 
QSS-3(E), QSS-4(A), QSS-4(E), QSS-5(A), QSS-5(E).
    Agency Approval Number: 0607-0907.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden: 11,922 hours.
    Number of Respondents: 13,000.
    Avg. Hours per Response: 13.75 minutes.
    Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau requests an extension with 
revision of the current OMB approval of the Quarterly Services Survey 
(QSS). The QSS currently canvasses and collects data from employer 
businesses in select service industries. These industries include 
information; professional, scientific and technical services; 
hospitals; nursing and residential care facilities; and administrative 
and support and waste management and remediation services industries. 
The QSS provides the most current reliable measures of total operating 
revenue and percentage of revenue by class of customer on a quarterly 
basis. In addition, the QSS provides the only current quarterly measure 
of total operating expenses from tax-exempt firms in industries that 
have a large not-for-profit component. All respondent data are received 
by mail, fax, telephone, or Internet reporting.
    Before the QSS economic indicator existed for the service sector, 
which accounts for nearly 55 percent of all economic activity, the only 
data available were from the Service Annual Survey (SAS) and 5-year 
economic census. The QSS was developed to address and provide more up-
to-date estimates of services output. Based on this effort, the QSS is 
a major source for the development of quarterly Gross Domestic Product 
(GDP) and an indicator of short-term economic change.
    The total operating revenue estimates produced from the QSS provide 
current trends of economic service industry activity in the United 
States from service providers with paid employees.

[[Page 51571]]

    In addition to revenue, we also collect total operating expenses 
from tax-exempt firms in industries that have a large not-for-profit 
component. Operating expenses provide a better measure of the economic 
activity of these firms. Expense estimates produced by the QSS, in 
addition to inpatient days and discharges for the hospital industry, 
are used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to 
project and study hospital regulation, Medicare payment adequacy, and 
other related projects.
    Beginning in January 2007, the Census Bureau will expand the QSS to 
include coverage of truck transportation; couriers and messengers; 
warehousing and storage; rental and leasing; ambulatory healthcare 
services; social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; 
repair and maintenance; personal and laundry services; grant making, 
civic, professional, and similar organizations from employer 
businesses.
    The QSS expansion will be based on data collection from four new 
forms: QSS-4(A); QSS-4(E); QSS-5(A); and QSS-5(E). The QSS-4(A/E) will 
only ask for quarterly revenue. The QSS-5(A/E) will ask for quarterly 
revenue and the percentage of admissions revenue.
    In year 2007, for select questionnaires, we may replace select 
questions with industry specific variable content. This questionnaire 
adjustment was proposed by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). 
According to the BEA, an implementation of such proposed changes would 
assist them in making better use of the QSS data and lead to improved 
estimates of Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) services.
    The BEA is the primary Federal user of data collected in the QSS. 
The BEA utilizes this timely data to make improvements to the national 
accounts for service industries. In the National Income and Product 
Accounts (NIPA), the quarterly data allow more accurate estimates of 
both PCE and private fixed investment. For example, recently published 
revisions to the quarterly NIPA estimates resulted from the 
incorporation of new source data from the QSS. Revenue data from the 
QSS are also used to produce estimates of gross output by industry that 
allow BEA to produce a much earlier version of the gross domestic 
product by industry estimates.
    Estimates produced from the QSS are used by the BEA as a component 
of quarterly GDP estimates. The estimates also provide the Federal 
Reserve Board (FRB) and Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) with timely 
information on current economic performance. All estimates collected 
from this survey are used extensively by various government agencies 
and departments on economic policy decisions; private businesses; trade 
organizations; professional associations; academia; and other various 
business research and analysis organizations
    The CMS uses the QSS data to develop hospital spending estimates in 
the National Accounts. In addition, the QSS data improve their ability 
to analyze hospital spending trends. They also use the data in their 
healthcare indicator analysis publication; ten-year health spending 
forecast estimates; and studies in hospital regulation and Medicare 
policy, procedures, and trends.
    The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPac) utilizes the QSS 
data to assess payment adequacy in the current Medicare program.
    The FRB and the CEA use the QSS information to better assess 
current economic performance. In addition, other government agencies, 
businesses, and investors use the QSS data for market research, 
industry growth, business planning and forecasting.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit, non-profit 
institutions.
    Frequency: Quarterly.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Section 182.
    OMB Desk Officer: Susan Schechter, (202) 395-5103.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-0266, Department of Commerce, room 6625, 14th and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at 
[email protected]).
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to Susan Schechter, OMB Desk Officer either by fax (202-395-7245) or e-
mail ([email protected]).

    Dated: August 24, 2006.
Madeleine Clayton,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
 [FR Doc. E6-14369 Filed 8-29-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P