[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 108 (Monday, June 8, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27088-27089]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-13197]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce 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.
    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), QSS-1A-PEO, QSS-1E-
PEO.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0907.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden Hours: 13,500.
    Number of Respondents: 15,400.
    Average Hours per Response: 13 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 truck 
transportation; couriers and messengers; warehousing and storage; 
information; credit intermediation and related activities; securities, 
commodity contracts, and other financial investments and related 
activities; rental and leasing; professional, scientific and technical 
services; administrative and support and waste management and 
remediation services; healthcare and social assistance; arts, 
entertainment, and recreation; and other services (except public 
administration). The QSS provides the most current reliable measures of 
total operating revenue and percentage of revenue by class of customer 
(for selected industries) 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.
    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. 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 June 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau will expand the QSS 
to include coverage of utilities; air transportation; water 
transportation; transit and ground passenger transportation; pipeline 
transportation; scenic and sightseeing transportation; support 
activities for transportation; monetary authorities-central bank; 
insurance carriers and related services; real estate; lessors of 
nonfinancial intangible assets (except copyrighted works); and 
educational services.
    In the year 2010, 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 these 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.

[[Page 27089]]

    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Frequency: Quarterly.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Section 182.
    OMB Desk Officer: Brian Harris-Kojetin, (202) 395-7314.
    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 7845, 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 Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB Desk Officer, either by fax (202-395-7245) 
or e-mail ([email protected]).

    Dated: June 2, 2009.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. E9-13197 Filed 6-5-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P