President Signs USMCA into Law to Protect Digital Trade Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 1/29/2020 4:11:00 PM The President signed H.R. 5430 into law on January 29, 2020, implementing the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The new trade deal replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and includes protections for cross-border digital trade of benefit to the insights industry. Read More
Feds End Decade With a Fully Funded 2020 Census Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 12/20/2019 5:00:00 PM With the decennial headcount just about to start, Congress finally delivered full funding to the Census Bureau for Fiscal Year 2020. Read More
Latest Funding Resolution is a Win in the Bigger Census Funding Battle Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 11/26/2019 4:57:00 PM The latest Continuing Resolution funding the federal government contains increased funding for the 2020 Census, improving the odds of decennial preparations getting completed and setting the stage for the completion of full-year funding before the end of the year. Read More
California A.B. 1677, Vetoed by Governor, Would Have Penalized Offshoring of Call Centers Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 10/17/2019 4:20:00 PM Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed the Protect Call Center Jobs Act of 2019 (A.B. 1677), which would have penalized California companies that move their call centers out of the country or out of the state. Read More
Oregon S.B. 472 Fails - Would Have Prohibited Selling or Purchasing Telephone Research Sample Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 7/10/2019 4:08:00 PM Oregon S.B. 472 died in committee with the conclusion of Oregon's legislative session at the end of June. This legislation would have prohibited the purchase or sale of a list of telephone numbers to be used for unsolicited calls, including calls for research. Read More
SCOTUS Blocks Citizenship Question from 2020 Census Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 6/27/2019 4:52:00 PM The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Department of Commerce's attempt to add a citizenship question to the decennial questionnaire in a 5-4 decision. With the deadline for printing questionnaires about to hit, the outcome is unclear. Read More
Determining the Fate of American Business for the Next Decade: Insights Association Testifies in Congress About 2020 Census Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 5/24/2019 10:15:00 AM As the Insights Association testified in a recent Congressional hearing, "the trickle-down impact of an inaccurate 2020 Census would restrain or ruin American businesses for a whole decade." Read More
Census Bureau Gets $1 Billion Increase in Final FY2019 Funding Law Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 2/15/2019 4:48:00 PM Congress sent President Trump legislation including $3.82 billion for all Census Bureau operations in Fiscal Year 2019, a billion dollar increase over FY18, as requested by the Insights Association. Read More
Philadelphia Rejects Bill That Would Have Banned Pharmaceutical Marketing Research with Healthcare Professionals Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 2/8/2019 4:25:00 PM Legislation in the city of Philadelphia that would have cut off pharmaceutical marketing research with doctors was defeated in the city council. Read More
Mitigating Problems with Call Blocking and Labeling - Developing Best Practices in the Private Sector Howard Fienberg 10/26/2018 5:03:00 PM As much as we worry about TCPA restrictions (and class action lawsuits), an increasingly thorny impediment to research via telephone is call blocking and labeling. We are working with a broad coalition to overcome the challenge, and we need your input on the draft industry best practices. Read More