Congressional Research Service Reports - 34 Matching Results

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Health Benefits for Members of Congress

Description: Report that covers health benefits made available to Members of Congress through federal government employment, including Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), dental and vision insurance, flexible spending accounts, long-term care insurance, services at the Office of the Attending Physician and military hospitals, and Medicare. It also offers a comparison of FEHBP to health benefits offered by the private sector and state and local governments and a discussion of the effect of the… more
Date: November 30, 2012
Creator: Cornell, Ada S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Retirement Benefits for Members of Congress

Description: Report that covers the logistics and background of the Congressional Pension program.
Date: November 30, 2012
Creator: Isaacs, Katelin P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Members' Representational Allowance: History and Usage

Description: This report provides a history and overview of the Members' Representational Allowance (MRA) and examines spending patterns in recent years.
Date: January 30, 2017
Creator: Brudnick, Ida A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies: FY2011 Appropriations

Description: This report discusses the President's Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 budget request for the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, which provides funding for the planning, design, construction, alteration, and improvement of facilities used by active and reserve military components worldwide.
Date: July 30, 2010
Creator: Else, Daniel H.; Scott, Christine & Panangala, Sidath V.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congressional Lawmaking: A Perspective On Secrecy and Transparency

Description: The objectives of this report are four-fold: first, to outline briefly the historical and inherent tension between secrecy and transparency in the congressional process; second, to review several common and recurring secrecy/transparency issues that emerged again with the 2011 formation of the Joint Select Deficit Reduction Committee; third, to identify various lawmaking stages typically imbued with closed door activities; and fourth, to close with several summary observations.
Date: November 30, 2011
Creator: Oleszek, Walter J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Pages of the United States Congress: History, Background Information, and Program Administration

Description: For more than 180 years, messengers known as pages have served the United States Congress. Several incumbent and former Members of Congress as well as other prominent Americans have served as congressional pages. This report takes a look at the history and current status of Congressional pages. It also details how a student can apply to be a page, and what factors lead to a successful application.
Date: August 30, 2011
Creator: Petersen, R. Eric
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Statutes: What They Are and Where to Find Them

Description: This report provides a brief overview of federal statutes and where to find them, both in print and on the Internet.
Date: January 30, 2009
Creator: Foley, Cassandra L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Medal of Honor: History and Issues

Description: This report discusses the responsibility of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) for inspecting most meat, poultry, and processed egg products for safety, wholesomeness, and proper labeling.
Date: March 30, 2006
Creator: Burrelli, David F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Introduction to the Legislative Process in the U.S. Congress

Description: Report that introduces the main steps through which a bill (or other item of business) may travel in the legislative process, from introduction to committee and floor consideration to possible presidential consideration.
Date: November 30, 2012
Creator: Heitshusen, Valerie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congressional Redistricting and the Voting Rights Act: A Legal Overview

Description: This report provides a legal overview of Section 2 of the VRA, a key provision affecting congressional redistricting, and selected Supreme Court case law. It discusses Sections 4 and 5, and the recent Supreme Court decision holding Section 4(b) unconstitutional, Shelby County v. Holder. Section 4 contained a coverage formula that identified states and jurisdictions that were required to gain federal approval or "preclearance" to proposed redistricting plans under Section 5. The report also prov… more
Date: August 30, 2013
Creator: Whitaker, L. Paige
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Casework in a Congressional Office: Background, Rules, Laws, and Resources

Description: Report that discusses House and Senate rules and guidelines, laws, and regulations affecting congressional casework, as well as the role of caseworkers. It also provides sample outlines and document templates for implementing and managing congressional casework.
Date: November 30, 2012
Creator: Petersen, R. Eric
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Lame Duck Sessions of Congress, 1935-2010 (74th-111th Congresses)

Description: This report discusses how lame duck sessions occur, and the background of the lame duck sessions between 1940 and 2010. A “lame duck” session of Congress occurs whenever one Congress meets after its successor is elected, but before the term of the current Congress ends.
Date: August 30, 2011
Creator: Beth, Richard S. & Tollestrup, Jessica
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Senate Rule XIV Procedures for Placing Measures Directly on the Senate Calendar

Description: When a Senator introduces a bill or joint resolution, the measure is usually referred to committee, pursuant to provisions of Senate Rules XIV, XVII, and XXV. This report describes the Senate Rule XIV, para. 2, which requires that bills and resolutions have three readings before passage, and that they be read twice before being referred to committee.
Date: November 30, 2009
Creator: Koempel, Michael L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Secret Sessions of the House and Senate: Authority, Confidentiality, and Frequency

Description: This report discusses secret, or closed, sessions of the House and Senate, which exclude the press and the public. They may be held for matters deemed to require confidentiality and secrecy--such as national security, sensitive communications received from the President, and Senate deliberations during impeachment trials. Although Members usually seek advance agreement for going into secret session, any Member of Congress may request a secret session without notice.
Date: December 30, 2014
Creator: Davis, Christopher M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congressional Salaries and Allowances: In Brief

Description: This report provides basic information on congressional salaries and allowances and recent developments. First, the report briefly summarizes the current salary of Members of Congress; limits or prohibitions on their outside earned income, honoraria, and tax deductions; options for life and health insurance; and retirement benefits. Second, the report provides information on allowances available to Representatives and Senators to support them in their official and representational duties.
Date: December 30, 2014
Creator: Brudnick, Ida A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Senate Vacancies: Contemporary Developments and Perspectives

Description: This report discusses senate vacancies created by a member resigning, dying, or transferring to another position as well as the the procedures to fill them.
Date: November 30, 2017
Creator: Neale, Thomas H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Discharge Rule in the House: Principal Features and Uses

Description: This report discusses the "discharge rule" of the House of Representatives, which allows a measure to come to the floor for consideration, even if the committee of referral does not report it and the leadership does not schedule it. The rule permits either (1) the committee of referral to be discharged from the measure itself; or (2) the Committee on Rules to be discharged from a special rule for considering the measure.
Date: January 30, 2003
Creator: Beth, Richard S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Party Leaders in the United States Congress, 1789-2015

Description: This report briefly describes current responsibilities and selection mechanisms for 15 House and Senate party leadership posts and provides tables with historical data, including service dates, party affiliation, and other information for each.
Date: October 30, 2015
Creator: Heitshusen, Valerie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Legislative Process on the House Floor: An Introduction

Description: This report discusses the complicated body of rules, precedents, and practices that governs the legislative process on the floor of the House of Representatives.
Date: July 30, 1996
Creator: Bach, Stanley
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill: Fact Sheet on Structure, Content, and Process

Description: This report discusses the legislative branch appropriations bill, which is one of the regular appropriations bills that Congress normally enacts each year for the fiscal year beginning on October 1. The report provides budget authority, which is statutory authority to spend specified amounts of money, for expenditures of the legislative branch for the fiscal year, including salaries.
Date: December 30, 1999
Creator: Tong, Lorraine H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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