Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 210 / Monday, November 1, 2004 / Notices 63353

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

DOC has submitted 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: 2004–2006 Survey of Industrial 

Research & Development. 

Form Number(s): RD–1, RD–1A. 

Agency Approval Number: None. 

Type of Request: New collection. 

Burden: 93,500 hours. 

Number of Respondents: 32,000. 

Avg Hours Per Response: 3 hours. 

Needs and Uses: The Census Bureau 

is requesting a new collection for the 

annual Survey of Industrial Research 

and Development (the Survey) that is 

conducted jointly by the U.S. Census 

Bureau and the National Science 

Foundation (NSF). Historically, the 

Survey approval request had been 

submitted by the NSF with the Census 

Bureau acting as the collection agent. 

Under a joint project agreement between 

NSF and the Census Bureau, the Census 

Bureau plans to assume responsibility 

for obtaining clearance of the Survey. 

The Survey was previously cleared 

under OMB control number 3145–0027. 

The National Science Foundation Act 

of 1950, as amended, authorizes and 

directs NSF ‘‘* * * to provide a central 

clearinghouse for the collection, 

interpretation, and analysis of data on 

scientific and engineering resources and 

to provide a source of information for 

policy formulation by other agencies of 

the Federal government.’’ The Survey is 

the vehicle with which NSF carries out 

the industrial portion of this mandate. 

NSF together with the Census Bureau, 

the collecting and compiling agent, 

analyze the data and publish the 

resulting statistics. 

Industry is the major performer of 

research and development (R&D) in the 

United States, spending over 70 percent 

of total U.S. R&D outlays each year. A 

consistent industrial R&D information 

base is essential to government officials 

formulating public policy, industry 

personnel involved in corporate 

planning, and members of the academic 

community conducting research. To 

develop policies designed to promote 

and enhance science and technology, 

past trends and the present status of 

R&D must be known and analyzed. 

Without comprehensive industrial R&D 

statistics, it would be impossible to 

evaluate the health of science and 

technology in the United States or to 

make comparisons between the 

technological progress of our country 

and that of other nations. 

Statistics from the Survey are 

published in NSF’s annual publication 

series, Research and Development in 

Industry, available via the Internet at 

http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/indus/

start.htm. Since 1953, this survey has 

provided continuity of statistics on R&D 

expenditures by major industry groups 

and by source of funds. Over the years, 

questions on a number of additional 

areas have been added to the Survey as 

the need for this R&D information 

became necessary for policy formulation 

and research. 

Prior to the last request for OMB 

review, response to four questions (total 

net sales and total employment for the 

company; and the amount of Federal 

and total funds the company spent on 

R&D) was mandatory and fulfilled the 

Census Bureau’s data-collecting 

mandate in Title 13, U.S. Code, 131, 

182, 224 and 225. The last request asked 

for authorization to increase the number 

of annual mandatory items from 4 to 5 

by adding the item, cost of R&D 

performed within the company by state, 

to the list. Further, authorization to 

make the entire survey mandatory every 

five years to coincide with the Census 

Bureau’s Economic Census was 

requested and approved. The ‘‘allmandatory’’ requirement was first 

applied for the 2002 cycle of the Survey.

The next economic census will be 

conducted for 2007 and authorization to 

apply the requirement will be requested 

again. In the meantime, response to 

other than the five mandatory items will 

remain voluntary for the three noneconomic census years covered by this 

request. 

In addition to burden hours sufficient 

to cover the normal operation of the 

survey, we are also requesting 5,000 

hours annually to cover methodological 

and survey quality improvement efforts. 

Policy officials from many Federal 

agencies rely on statistics from this 

survey for essential information. For 

example, total U.S. R&D expenditures 

statistics have been used by the Bureau 

of Economic Analysis (BEA) to update 

the System of National Accounts and, in 

fact, the first attempt by BEA to 

establish a separate R&D satellite 

account in the System is underway. 

Results from the Survey are needed to 

develop and subsequently update this 

detailed satellite account. Also, recently 

a new data linking project has begun 

that is designed to augment the Foreign 

Direct Investment (FDI) data collected 

by BEA. This project is the first to test 

new data sharing legislation. The 

linking of the results of the 1997 cycle 

of the Survey with BEA’s 1997 FDI 

benchmark files is the first application 

of the recently enacted Confidential 

Information Protection and Statistical 

Efficiency Act (CIPSEA) that allows 

limited data sharing among selected 

Federal statistical agencies. Future FDI 

linkages are planned to begin with the 

2002 Survey file. Further, the Census 

Bureau links data collected by the 

Survey with other statistical files. At the 

Census Bureau, historical companylevel R&D data are linked to a file that 

contains information on the outputs and 

inputs of companies’ manufacturing 

plants. Researchers are able to analyze 

the relationships between R&D funding 

and other economic variables by using 

micro-level data. 

Many individuals and organizations 

access the survey statistics via the 

Internet and hundreds have asked to 

have their names placed on the mailing 

list for a paper copy of the annual SRS 

InfoBrief that announces the availability 

of statistics from each cycle of the 

Survey. Information about the kinds of 

projects that rely on statistics from the 

Survey is available from internal records 

of NSF’s Division of Science Resources 

Statistics (SRS). In addition, survey 

statistics are regularly printed in trade 

publications and many researchers use 

the survey statistics from these 

secondary sources without directly 

contacting NSF or the Census Bureau. 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit. 

Frequency: Annually. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary 

and Mandatory. 

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

Sections 131, 182, 224, and 225; The 

National Science Foundation Act of 

1950. 

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 

dhynek@doc.gov).

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 (susan_schechter@omb.eop.gov).

63354 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 210 / Monday, November 1, 2004 / Notices 

Dated: October 26, 2004. 

Madeleine Clayton, 

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer.

[FR Doc. 04–24291 Filed 10–29–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

DOC has submitted 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: Government Employment 

Forms. 

Form Number(s): E–1, E–2, E–3, E–4, 

E–5, E–6, E–7, E–9. 

Agency Approval Number: 0607–

0452. 

Type of Request: Revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Burden: 14,124 hours. 

Number of Respondents: 16,913. 

Avg Hours Per Response: 50 minutes. 

Needs and Uses: The Census Bureau 

requests continued OMB clearance for 

the questionnaires needed to conduct 

the public employment program for the 

2005 and 2006 Annual Survey of 

Government Employment and the 2007 

Census of Governments, Employment 

Phase. 

Since there are many different types 

and sizes of governments, each form is 

tailored to the unique characteristics of 

the type and size of government or 

government agency to be surveyed. The 

type of employment and pay data 

collected by the public employment 

program in the 2005 and 2006 Annual 

Survey of Government Employment and 

the 2007 Census of Governments is 

identical to data collected in recent 

annual surveys of government 

employment. 

By state, the 2005 and 2006 

Employment sample supports estimates 

of total local government employment 

and payrolls by type of government and 

government function. The 2007 Census 

of Governments will collect data for all 

of the governments in our universe by 

type of government and by government 

function. 

Statistics compiled from data gathered 

using these forms are used in several 

important Federal government 

programs. Economists at the Bureau of 

Economic Analysis (BEA) use the 

statistics in two ways for developing the 

National Income and Product Accounts. 

First, the employment data are used in 

developing price deflators for the 

government sector components of the 

gross domestic product accounts. 

Secondly, the employment and payroll 

data are used in developing the 

government sector components for the 

national and sub-national personal 

income accounts and tables. 

The Department of Housing and 

Urban Development (HUD) determines 

the allocation of operating subsidies to 

local housing authorities based on these 

survey data. The Bureau of Labor 

Statistics (BLS) used these data in its 

benchmarking procedures for state and 

local government components of the 

BLS monthly employment and earnings 

statistics. 

The employment data are used for 

three other data collection efforts 

currently conducted by the Census 

Bureau. The Medical Expenditures 

Panel Survey (MEPS) collects data for 

the Department of Health and Human 

Services (HHS) on health plans offered 

to state and local government 

employees. The MEPS sample of public 

employees is drawn from the Census of 

Governments Employment file. The 

Criminal Justice Employment and 

Expenditure Survey (CJEE) and the 

Justice Assistance Data Survey (JADS) 

use employment data to provide 

employee and payroll statistics on 

police protection and correctional 

activities. 

State and local government officials 

use these data to analyze and assess 

individual government labor force and 

wage levels. Both management and 

labor consult these data during wage 

and salary negotiations. 

Public interest groups of many types 

produce analyses of public sector 

activities using these data. User 

organizations representing state and 

local government include the Council of 

State Governments, National Conference 

of State Legislatures, Government 

Research Association, Conference of 

Mayors, National Association of 

Counties, National League of Cities, and 

the International City/County 

Management Association. A third 

category, having a more specific focus 

on government activities, includes 

organizations such as the Tax 

Foundation, Michigan Taxpayers 

Association, National Sheriffs 

Association, and the Government 

Research Association. 

A variety of other organizations and 

individuals make use of these data. 

Notable research organizations include 

the American Enterprise Institute, The 

Brookings Institution, the Rand 

Corporation, the Cato Institute, the 

Hudson Institute, and the Rockefeller 

Institute of Government. The 

instructors, researchers, and students in 

schools of public administration, 

political science, management, and 

industrial relations as well as other 

members of the public also use these 

data. 

Affected Public: Federal Government; 

State, Local or Tribal Government. 

Frequency: Annually. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. 161 

and 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 

dhynek@doc.gov).

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 (susan_schechter@omb.eop.gov).

Dated: October 26, 2004. 

Madeleine Clayton, 

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer.

[FR Doc. 04–24292 Filed 10–29–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

DOC has submitted 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: 2004–2006 Company 

Organization Survey. 

Form Number(s): NC–99001, NC–

99007. 

Agency Approval Number: 0607–

0444. 

Type of Request: Revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Burden: 135,917 hours. 

Number of Respondents: 65,000. 

Avg. Hours Per Response: NC–

99001—2 hours and 26 minutes; NC–

99007—12 minutes. 

Needs and Uses: The Census Bureau 

is requesting a revision of the currently 

approved Company Organization 

Survey (COS) data collection for the 

survey years 2004–2006. In addition to 

mailing form NC–99001 to