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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 21, 2021 / Notices

not refund any incurred charges.
Individuals who are deaf, deafblind and
hard of hearing. may also follow the
proceedings by first calling the Federal
Relay Service at 1–800–877–8339 and
providing the Service with the call-in
number found through registering at the
web link provided for these meetings.
Members of the public are entitled to
make comments during the open period
at the end of the meetings. Members of
the public may also submit written
comments; the comments must be
received in the Regional Programs Unit
within 30 days following the meeting.
Written comments may be emailed to
Mallory Trachtenberg at
mtrachtenberg@usccr.gov. Persons who
desire additional information may
contact the Regional Programs Unit at
(202) 539–8246. Records and documents
discussed during the meetings will be
available for public viewing as they
become available at
www.facadatabase.gov. Persons
interested in the work of this advisory
committee are advised to go to the
Commission’s website, www.usccr.gov,
or to contact the Regional Programs Unit
at the above phone number or email
address.
Agenda
Thursday, January 20, 2022, at
12:00 p.m. (ET)
I. Roll Call
II. Transition of Designated Federal
Official
III. Planning Meeting
IV. Open Comment
V. Adjourn
Dated: December 16, 2021.
David Mussatt,
Supervisory Chief, Regional Programs Unit.
[FR Doc. 2021–27591 Filed 12–20–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6335–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Census Bureau

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Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Small Business Pulse Survey
The Department of Commerce will
submit the following information
collection request to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and clearance in accordance
with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, on or after the date of publication
of this notice. We invite the general
public and other Federal agencies to
comment on proposed, and continuing

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information collections, which helps us
assess the impact of our information
collection requirements and minimize
the public’s reporting burden. Public
comments were previously requested
via the Federal Register on May 19,
2020 during a 60-day comment period.
This notice allows for an additional 30
days for public comments.
Agency: U. S. Census Bureau,
Commerce.
Title: Small Business Pulse Survey.
OMB Control Number: 0607–1014.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular Submission,
Request for a Revision of a Currently
Approved Collection.
Number of Respondents: 810,000
(22,500 responses per week for up to a
maximum of 36 weeks of collection).
Average Hours per Response: 6
minutes.
Burden Hours: 81,000.
Needs and Uses: Phase 1 of the Small
Business Pulse Survey was launched on
April 26, 2020 as an effort to produce
and disseminate high-frequency,
geographic- and industry-detailed
experimental data about the economic
conditions of small businesses as they
experience the coronavirus pandemic. It
is a rapid response endeavor that
leverages the resources of the federal
statistical system to address emergent
data needs. Given the rapidly changing
dynamics of this situation for American
small businesses, the Small Business
Pulse Survey has been successful in
meeting an acute need for information
on changes in revenues, business
closings, employment and hours
worked, disruptions to supply chains,
and expectations for future operations.
In addition, the Small Business Pulse
Survey provided important estimates of
federal program uptake to key survey
stakeholders.
Due to the ongoing nature of the
pandemic, the Census Bureau
subsequently conducted Phases 2
through 7 of the Small Business Pulse
Survey. The Census Bureau now seeks
approval to conduct Phase 8 of the
Small Business Pulse Survey which will
occur over 9 weeks starting February 14,
2022.
The continuation of the Small
Business Pulse Survey is responsive to
stakeholder requests for high frequency
data that measure the effect of changing
business conditions during the
Coronavirus pandemic on small
businesses. While the ongoing monthly
and quarterly economic indicator
programs provide estimates of dollar
volume outputs for employer businesses
of all size, the Small Business Pulse
Survey captures the effects of the
pandemic on operations and finances of

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small, single location employer
businesses. As the pandemic continues,
the Census Bureau is best poised to
collect this information from a large and
diverse sample of small businesses.
It is hard to predict when a shock will
result in economic activity changing at
a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly
frequency. Early in the pandemic,
federal, state, and local policies were
moving quickly so it made sense to have
a weekly collection. The problem is that
while we are in the moment, we cannot
accurately forecast the likelihood of
policy action. In addition, we are not
able to forecast a change in the
underlying cause of policy actions: the
effect of the Coronavirus pandemic on
the economy. We cannot predict
changes in the severity of the pandemic
(e.g., will it worsen in flu season?) nor
future developments that will alleviate
the pandemic (e.g., vaccines or
treatments). In a period of such high
uncertainty, the impossibility of
forecasting these inflection points
underscores the benefits of having a
weekly survey. For these reasons, the
Census Bureau will proceed with a
weekly collection.
SBPS Phase 8 content continues the
inclusion of core concepts plus relevant
topics to gauge the impact of the
Coronavirus pandemic on small
businesses. There are 20 questions in
total for phase 8. A Phase 4/Phase 5
question inquiring about a businesses’
plans for capital expenditures was
updated to reference period 2021 and
added to the questionnaire. The
business norms questions 14 –17 were
updated to inquire about the last six
months rather than the March 2020
timeframe. The received assistance
question was removed as it referenced
legislature dates greater than a year ago
in December 2020. The remarks field at
the end of the survey still present.
The Census Bureau is seeking formal
approval for Phase 8 one week prior to
starting data collection, by Friday,
February 4, 2022.
Based on the SBPS success, the
Census Bureau is pursuing a permanent
program, the Business Pulse Survey.
The Business Pulse Survey will be an
ongoing collection that will allow the
Census Bureau to continuously provide
high frequency, timely, and granular
information about current economic
conditions and trends as well as the
impact of national, subnational, or
sector-level shocks and their impact on
business activity. The proposed
Business Pulse Survey would also allow
the Census Bureau to provide more
detailed, timely data during times of
economic or other emergencies. The
Census Bureau is pursuing parallel

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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 21, 2021 / Notices
approval tracks for SBPS phase 8 and
the new Business Pulse Survey. In the
event that a postponement is required
for the Business Pulse Survey, we will
run data collection for phase 8 of the
SBPS.
All results from the Small Business
Pulse Survey will continue to be
disseminated as U.S. Census Bureau
Experimental Data Products (https://
portal.census.gov/pulse/data/). This and
additional information on the Small
Business Pulse Survey are available to
the public on census.gov.
Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations.
Frequency: Small business will be
selected once to participate in a 6minute survey.
Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary.
Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C.,
Sections 131 and 182.
This information collection request
may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov.
Follow the instructions to view the
Department of Commerce collections
currently under review by OMB.
Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be
submitted within 30 days of the
publication of this notice on the
following website www.reginfo.gov/
public/do/PRAMain. Find this
particular information collection by
selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day
Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or
by using the search function and
entering either the title of the collection
or the OMB Control Number 0607–1014.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of
the Chief Information Officer, Commerce
Department.
[FR Doc. 2021–27601 Filed 12–20–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–07–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Foreign-Trade Zone
Applications
International Trade
Administration, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of information collection,
request for comment.

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AGENCY:

The Department of
Commerce, in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), invites the general public and
other Federal agencies to comment on

SUMMARY:

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proposed, and continuing information
collections, which helps us assess the
impact of our information collection
requirements and minimize the public’s
reporting burden. The purpose of this
notice is to allow for 60 days of public
comment preceding submission of the
collection to OMB.
DATES: To ensure consideration,
comments regarding this proposed
information collection must be received
on or before February 22, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are
invited to submit written comments by
email to Juanita Chen, Senior Foreign
Trade Zones Analyst, International
Trade Administration, or by email to
juanita.chen@trade.gov or
PRAcomments@doc.gov. Please
reference OMB Control Number 0625–
0139 in the subject line of your
comments. Do not submit Confidential
Business Information or otherwise
sensitive or protected information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information or
specific questions related to collection
activities should be directed to
Christopher Kemp, Office of ForeignTrade Zones, (202)482–0862 or
Christopher.Kemp@trade.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
The Foreign-Trade Zone Application
is the vehicle by which individual firms
or organizations apply for foreign-trade
zone (FTZ) status, for subzone status,
production authority, modifications of
existing zones, or for waivers. The FTZ
Act and Regulations (19 U.S.C. 81b and
81f; 15 CFR 400.21–25, 43(f)) set forth
the requirements for applications and
other requests to the FTZ Board. The
Act and Regulations require that
applications for new or modified zones
contain information on facilities,
financing, operational plans, proposed
production operations, need for FTZ
authority, and economic impact, where
applicable. Any request involving
production authority requires specific
information on the foreign status
components and finished products
involved. Applications for production
activity can involve issues related to
domestic industry and trade policy
impact. Such applications must include
specific information on the customstariff related savings that result from
zone procedures and the economic
consequences of permitting such
savings. The FTZ Board needs complete
and accurate information on the
proposed operation and its economic
effects because the Act and Regulations
authorize the Board to restrict or
prohibit operations that are detrimental

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to the public interest. The Regulations
(15 CFR 400.43(f)) also require specific
information for applications requesting
waivers by parties impacted by
400.43(d). This information is necessary
to assess the likelihood of the proposed
activity resulting in a violation of the
uniform treatment provisions of the FTZ
Act and Regulations.
II. Method of Collection
U.S. firms or organizations submit
applications by email to the office of
Foreign-Trade Zones.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0625–0139.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Regular submission.
Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal
government, or not-for-profit
institutions applying for foreign-trade
zone status, subzone status,
modification of existing zones,
production authority, or waivers.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
288.
Estimated Time per Response: 3.5 to
131.0 hours (dependent on the type of
application).
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours: 2,521.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to
Public: $123,000.
Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: The Foreign-Trade
Zones Act of 1934, as amended (19
U.S.C. 81a–81u), administered through
the FTZ Regulations (15 CFR part 400)
and CBP Regulations (19 CFR part 146).
IV. Request for Comments
We are soliciting public comments to
permit the Department/Bureau to: (a)
Evaluate whether the proposed
information collection is necessary for
the proper functions of the Department,
including whether the information will
have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the
accuracy of our estimate of the time and
cost burden for this proposed collection,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (c)
Evaluate ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and (d) Minimize the
reporting burden on those who are to
respond, including the use of automated
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Comments that you submit in
response to this notice are a matter of
public record. We will include or
summarize each comment in our request
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before
including your address, phone number,
email address, or other personal
identifying information in your
comment, you should be aware that

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