CMOR on Capitol Hill in June and July
By Howard Fienberg, Director of Government Affairs
August 2007

With CMOR's new Government Affairs office blocks away from Capitol Hill, our Government Affairs staffers have taken full advantage of the proximity to visit various congressional offices and participate in meetings on and around Capitol Hill.

For instance, CMOR Government Affairs staff met with Congressman Tom Cole, Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, about the fundraising under the guide or research (or so-called "frugging") problem.

CMOR also took board member Larry Brownell (MRA Executive Director) to meet with legislative counsel for Rep. Jason Altmire about his legislation targeting political “robocalls” (H.R. 372), and Rep. Zoe Lofgren about her legislation targeting the use of autodialers (H.R. 1383). Both staffers were eager to work with CMOR to amend their bills to protect the research profession.

CMOR has had a presence at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Spam Summit, as well as various hearings in the House and Senate on pharmaceutical gift reporting, identity theft, travel research, healthcare privacy and trans-Atlantic e-commerce.

Finally, CMOR met with legislative staff from numerous other Congressional offices in June and July, to introduce CMOR and review various issues of concern. We discussed political telemarketing, caller identification, spyware, financial privacy issues, “sugging” and “frugging,” the Do Not Call registry, “robocalls,” and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) restrictions on calling cell phones with an autodialer. See details below.

	Rep. Tom Cole (R-04-OK) Leadership Position: Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Term: 3rd First Elected: 2002 Percentage in Last Election: 65% Committees: - Armed Services - Natural Resources
	Rep. Jason Altmire (D--PA) Term: 1st First Elected: 2006 Percentage in Last Election: 52% Committees: - Education and Labor - Small Business - Transportation and Infrastructure
	Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-16-CA) Term: 7th First Elected: 1994 Percentage in Last Election: 73% Committees: - Homeland Security - House Administration - Chair of Subcommittee on Elections - Judiciary - Chair of Subcommittee on Immigration… and International Law - Joint Committee on the Library
	Rep. John Lewis (D-05-GA) Leadership Position: Democratic Deputy Whip Term: 11th First Elected: 1986 Percentage in Last Election: 100% Committees: - Ways and Means
	Rep. John Shadegg (R-03-AZ) Term: 7th First Elected: 1994 Percentage in Last Election: 59% Committees: - Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming - Energy and Commerce
	Rep. Richard Baker (R-06-LA) Term: 11th First Elected: 1986 Percentage in Last Election: 83% Committees: - Financial Services - Transportation and Infrastructure - Veterans' Affairs
	Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-06-MN) Term: 1st First Elected: 2006 Percentage in Last Election: 50% Committees: - Financial Services