Frustrated customers are turning online for tech support, a survey said. Many (40%) said they prefer the phone as a means of resolving technical issues, but online chat came in 2nd (32%). Almost all respondents (95%) said they plan to use online chat for customer assistance. Top phone gripes include hold (92%), having to repeat information (62%), being told to do things already done (52%) and having to call multiple times (51%). The SupportSoft survey polled 301 people at companies of 1,000 or more people who said they use a PC daily.

On July 29, 2006, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4, the Pension Protection Act of 2006. According to a Textile Development Memo (TDM) from the U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel (USA-ITA), H.R. 4 contains Dominican Republic-Central America-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) fixes, a continuation of the Wool Trust program, a "new shipper" provision, etc. See future issues of ITT for additional details on H.R. 4. (House Ways and Means Committee press release, dated 07/29/06, available at http://waysandmeans.house.gov/news.asp?formmode=release&id=419; USA-ITA TDM, dated 07/31/06, www.usita.com.)

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued a notice reopening the comment period for its April 2006 proposed rule that would revise and reorganize the regulations pertaining to the importation of fruits and vegetables.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued a final rule, effective July 25, 2006, in order to revise an interpretive rule which advises manufacturers (including importers), distributors and retailers of consumer products on how to comply with the requirements of section 15(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (Act), which requires such parties to report potential product hazards to the CPSC, among other changes.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has issued a final rule, effective August 18, 2006, which amends the gypsy moth regulations in 7 CFR Parts 301 and 319 by, among other things, adding conditions for the importation of certain bark and bark products from Canada, etc.

An FM construction permit auction winner was fined $3,000 by the FCC for missing a deadline to file a document. Frank Neely, who bid Jan. 12 on a permit for Due West, S.C., has 30 days to pay the penalty or challenge it, said Media Bureau Chief Donna Gregg in a notice of apparent liability. Neely got a waiver of the Form 301 filing deadline, with Gregg’s order “accept[ing] his application for filing.”

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) which announces that it is considering whether there may be a need to update and strengthen its regulation of fireworks devices.

A $301 million FCC appropriation stayed in the Senate Appropriations spending bill marked up Thurs. in full committee. An appropriations subcommittee approved that amount Tues. (CD July 12 p10). The committee approved the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill for fiscal 2007, giving the FCC $11.7 million more than FY 2006. It’s also more than the $294 million the House passed 2 weeks ago. NTIA received $17.8 million, as requested. The bill provides $22 million for a program to help public telecom facilities convert from analog to digital broadcasting. NIST got $764 million, $11.9 million more than FY 2006 and $182 million above the request. The FTC received $223 million, $12.9 million above FY 2006 and the sum sought. The National Science Foundation got $5.99 billion, $410 million above FY 2006.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued a proposed rule to add a new Part 1119 (Civil Penalty Factors) to 16 CFR in order to describe the factors the CPSC and staff may consider in determining the appropriateness and amount of a civil penalty for violations of section 19(a) of the Consumer Products Safety Act (CSPA), which includes the failure to furnish information required by section 15(b) of the CPSA.

The FCC would get $301 million under a Senate appropriations bill (HR-5672) approved Tues. by the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee. The funding, $11.7 million above the budget request, exceeds the $294 million in a bill the House passed 2 weeks ago (CD June 30 p10). The Senate appropriations bill will be taken up Thurs. by the full Senate Appropriations Committee.