WASHINGTON, DC UPDATE: FEBRUARY 25, 2022

Written by mark@esca.org on February 25, 2022. Posted in News and Updates

WASHINGTON, DC UPDATE: FEBRUARY 25, 2022 

•  On February 23, Republicans on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services held a virtual roundtable on future pandemic risk
  • ECA submitted a statement for the record highlighting the importance of restoring communicable disease coverage within event cancellation insurance.
  • The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) testified at the event, and the Business Continuity Coalition, of which ECA and ASAE are members, also submitted a statement for the record
• MarketWatch recently highlighted ECA in an article on the ongoing return of business events and need for communicable disease coverage going forward

• Last week, Congress passed a continuing resolution to extend the deadline fund the federal government for fiscal year 2022 until March 11
  •  Sens. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) continue to push to attach a $48 billion small business relief bill, including the MUSIC Act, onto government funding legislation, though there are emerging priorities that may also require additional funds
    • President Biden has requested $30 billion in additional COVID-19 funding
    • It is anticipated Congress will also need to appropriate billions of dollars in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine
•  ECA continues to work with its Congressional champions to ensure the MUSIC Act is part of any supplemental small business relief package taken up by Congress in the coming weeks
  • ECA would like to thank Trade Show Executive for its recent article highlighting our recent Small Business Advocacy Week and MUSIC Act advocacy efforts
  •  In addition, ECA board member Chris Griffin and Tommy Goodwin were featured on The Don & Mike Show podcast to talk about the latest regarding industry advocacy

• On February 15, ECA joined the Consumer Technology Association and others in responding to the FTC’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking on business impersonation fraud
  • The business events industry continues to be targeted by various fraudulent scam efforts including hotel reservation scams and attendee list sale scams
  • ECA called on the FTC to (1) establish a rule prohibiting the deceptive impersonation of a business or non-profit and (2) increase education to consumers, businesses, and other stakeholders on the dangers of business impersonation fraud