New Hampshire Safe for Real Research as Governor Signs "Push Poll” Fix Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 4/24/2014 11:11:00 AM Governor Maggie Hassan (D) made New Hampshire safe for polling yesterday by signing a bill into law that eliminates her state’s restrictions on legitimate research. Read More
An ACS Win, for Now: Congressional Committee Pulls Bill From Agenda Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 3/12/2014 4:41:00 PM MRA and our coalition allies convinced a House Committee not to bring up legislation that would hurt the American Community Survey (ACS) by making response voluntary. Read More
Missouri to restrict government surveys - H.R. 1485 Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 1/20/2014 8:48:00 AM Missouri is considering legislation that would restrict telephone survey research by or for a state government agency. Read More
Researcher’s testimony secures crucial amendment for research profession in Washington State Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 3/1/2013 8:45:00 AM Thanks to help from researcher Vera Cooley, the Washington State House Committee on Finance amended legislation before passage on February 28, preventing a detrimental impact on the survey, opinion and marketing research profession. Read More
FTC finalizes enforcement order against Compete, Inc., a marketing research company, for privacy and data security violations Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 2/24/2013 3:51:00 PM In finalizing the Compete settlement today, the FTC appears to have accepted points made by the MRA and rejected EPIC's proposals to modify the settlement. Read More
Vera Cooley, MRA Member, Testifies Against Washington H.B. 1440 Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 2/18/2013 8:39:00 AM Independent marketing research professional Vera Cooley testified yesterday in defense of respondent incentives at a state legislative committee hearing. Read More
Respondent Incentives Would Be Extremely Difficult to Offer in Washington State Under H.B. 1440 Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 2/14/2013 8:26:00 AM Legislation in the Washington State House could cripple survey, opinion and marketing research involving respondent incentives by creating the presumption that anyone receiving remuneration for services is an employee. Read More
Coalition of Researchers and Data Users Urge White House Support for Survey Incentives Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 6/27/2012 3:20:00 PM A coalition of research associations and professional societies today called upon the Obama Administration to defend the use of respondent incentives in federal surveys. Read More
Legislation Introduced to Protect Marketing Research Companies from Unfair Labor Department Actions Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 6/10/2012 1:27:00 PM Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA-03) has introduced the Research Fairness Act (H.R. 5915) in the U.S. Congress to prevent marketing research participants from being treated as employees of research companies. Read More
The House of Representatives killed the American Community Survey (ACS)? Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 5/9/2012 7:27:00 PM Going into the House of Representatives floor debate on Census funding this week, MRA and our coalition partners in the Census Project knew we were in for trouble -- but not this much trouble. The House voted to shift some of the Census funding in the Commerce Justice State (CJS) Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2013 to other programs -- then voted to neuter, and ultimately kill, the American Community Survey (ACS).We were already concerned that the proposed funding for the Census in thi... Read More