[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 176 (Friday, September 11, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54765-54766]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-22894]


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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 Financial Report.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0432.
    Form Number(s): QFR-200(MT), QFR-201(MG), QFR-300(S).
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Number of Respondents: 11,890.
    Average Hours per Response: 2 hours and 8 minutes.
    Burden Hours: 101,258.
    Needs and Uses: The Quarterly Financial Report (QFR) program has 
published up-to-date aggregate statistics on the financial results and 
position of U.S. corporations since 1947. The program currently 
collects and publishes financial data for the manufacturing, mining, 
wholesale trade, retail trade, information, and professional, 
scientific, and technical services (except legal) sectors. The survey 
is a principal economic indicator that provides financial data 
essential to calculation of key U.S. government measures of national 
economic performance. The importance of this data collection is 
reflected by the granting of specific authority to conduct the program 
in Title 13 of the United States Code, Section 91, which requires that 
financial statistics of business operations be collected and published 
quarterly. Public Law 109-79, Section 91 extended the authority of the 
Secretary of Commerce to conduct the QFR program through September 30, 
2015. Currently, QFR is in the process of reauthorizing this public 
law.
    The Census Bureau is requesting approval to continue collection of 
the QFR program. QFR's last submission for forms approval included an 
announcement of an expansion of its coverage to include four new 
service sectors. The new sectors included subsectors in Sector 53 (Real 
Estate and Rental and Leasing), excluding subsector 533 (Lessors of 
Nonfinancial Intangible Assets); Sector 56 (Administrative and Support 
and Waste Management and Remediation Services); Sector 62 (Health Care 
and Social Assistance); and Sector 72 (Accommodation and Food Services) 
based on the 2007 North American Industry Classification System 
(NAICS). However, on June 9, 2014, the QFR ceased collection of these 
additional sectors due to sample restrictions and budget constraints. 
Notification of this change was announced on the QFR Business Help Site 
(BHS) Web site and the QFR Publication. Furthermore, we are pursing 
funding to get the expansion reinstated.
    The survey forms used to conduct the QFR are: QFR-200 (MT) Long 
Form (manufacturing, mining, wholesale trade, and retail trade); QFR-
201 (MG) Short Form (manufacturing); and the QFR-300 (S) Long Form 
(services).
    The primary purpose of the QFR is to provide timely, accurate data 
on business financial conditions for use by Government and private-
sector organizations and individuals. The primary public users include 
the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Federal Reserve Board, Federal Trade 
Commission, Small Business Administration, U.S. Treasury-Office of Tax 
Analysis, and the Joint Committee on Taxation. These same organizations 
play a major role in providing guidance, advice, and support to the QFR 
program. The primary private-sector data users are a diverse group 
including universities, financial analysts, unions, trade associations, 
public libraries, banking institutions, and U.S. and foreign 
corporations.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit.
    Frequency: Quarterly.

[[Page 54766]]

    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.

    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Section 91.

    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce 
collections currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to [email protected] or fax to (202) 395-5806.

    Dated: September 8, 2015.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2015-22894 Filed 9-10-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P