CMOR & Research Groups Win Crucial Battle For U.S. Census Funding.

The Council for Marketing and Opinion Research (CMOR) joined with other Census advocates in celebrating their recent victory in convincing a House and Senate conference committee to approve $812.237 million in federal spending for the U.S. Census Bureau in Fiscal Year 2006, rejecting a much lower funding level adopted by the U.S. Senate in September. The victory is further emphasized by passage of the House bill that included the Census funding at this agreed upon amount by the full House of Representatives with a vote of 397-19.

“The U.S. Census Bureau provides crucial data, records, and other information to a wide array of research-related interests,” said CMOR Director of Operations Donna Gillin. “Beyond the marketing and opinion research profession, the data from the Census is critical to local, state and federal government, diverse commercial interests, academia, and many non-profit organizations.”

CMOR, the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR), and other organizations feared that budget cuts would severely hamper the Bureau’s capacity to collect and report information.

Howard Gershowitz, CMOR’s Board of Directors Co-Chair, credits the successful effort to a three-prong strategy. “We were proactive in lobbying the offices of all 26 conferees,” explains Gershowitz. “We launched a member letter-writing campaign and we had strong alliances with other groups for whom a fully funded U.S. Census is critical.”

CMOR has long supported the Census and its vital impact on the marketing and opinion research profession and was an official partner of the Census Bureau during the 2000 Census to actively educate respondents and encourage participation. During this recent effort, CMOR worked in conjunction with AAPOR, other industry associations, as well as other stakeholders who formed the U.S. Census Project.

In addition to taking a census of the population every 10 years, the Census Bureau conducts censuses of economic activity and state and local governments every five years. The next census of the population is planned for 2010, but every year the Census Bureau conducts more than 100 other surveys. This Fiscal Year 2006 funding would have an impact on all of these activities.

The Council for Marketing and Opinion Research (CMOR) is a non-profit organization that promotes, advocates and protects the integrity of the marketing research and opinion research processes. CMOR works to improve respondent cooperation in research, as well as to promote positive legislation and prevent restrictive legislation that could impact the survey research industry. CMOR is comprised of more than 150 organizations and members, including industry trade associations, research providers, end users or client companies, academic institutions and individuals.