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Congress's Contempt Power and the Enforcement of Congressional Subpoenas: Law, History, Practice, and Procedure

Description: This report examines the source of the contempt power, reviews the historical development of the early case law, outlines the statutory and common law basis for Congress's contempt power, and analyzes the procedures associated with inherent contempt, criminal contempt, and the civil enforcement of subpoenas. It also includes a detailed discussion of two recent information access disputes that led to the approval of contempt citations in the House against then-White House Chief of Staff Joshua B… more
Date: May 8, 2014
Creator: Garvey, Todd & Dolan, Alissa M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Congress's Contempt Power and the Enforcement of Congressional Subpoenas: Law, History, Practice, and Procedure

Description: This report examines the source of the contempt power, reviews the historical development of the early case law, outlines the statutory and common law basis for Congress's contempt power, and analyzes the procedures associated with inherent contempt, criminal contempt, and the civil enforcement of subpoenas. In addition, the report discusses both non-constitutional and constitutionally based limitations on the power. Finally, the report includes a discussion of the significance of the House Jud… more
Date: May 8, 2012
Creator: Garvey, Todd & Dolan, Alissa M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Offices of Inspectors General and Law Enforcement Authority: In Brief

Description: This report identifies the laws and regulations that vest certain offices of inspector general (OIGs) with law enforcement authority, which permits the use of guns and ammunition. This report also describes some of the requirements and expectations of OIGs that have law enforcement authority, and includes some reasons that OIGs have expressed a need for law enforcement authority.
Date: September 8, 2014
Creator: Ginsberg, Wendy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Same-Sex Marriages: Legal Issues

Description: This report discusses Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and legal challenges to it. It reviews legal principles applied to determine the validity of a marriage contracted in another state and surveys the various approaches employed by states to enable or to prevent same-sex marriage. The report also examines House and Senate resolutions introduced in previous Congresses proposing a constitutional amendment and limiting federal courts' jurisdiction to hear or determine any question pertaining to th… more
Date: June 8, 2012
Creator: Smith, Alison M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Broadband Data Privacy and Security: What's Net Neutrality Got to Do With It?

Description: This report is the third in a series discussing the potential impact of the Federal Communications Commission's proposal to reclassify broadband Internet access services (BIAS). This report focuses on the proposal's possible effect on the regulation of BIAS providers' privacy practices.
Date: June 8, 2017
Creator: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Federal Circuit Rules on Trademarks Considered Offensive: May Affect Redskins Trademark Dispute

Description: This legal sidebar examines cases involving the revocation of the Washington Redskins' federally-registered trademarks (Pro-Football, Inc. v. Blackhorse) and the refusal to grant registration for a rock band's name (In re Tam). These cases raise questions about the constitutionality of Section 2(a) of the Trademark Act of 1946 (conventionally known as the Lanham Act), which denies trademark registration to certain offensive content.
Date: August 8, 2016
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Abortion Services and Military Medical Facilities

Description: The purpose of this report is to describe and discuss the provisions for providing abortion services to military personnel, their dependents and other military health care beneficiaries at military medical facilities. The report describes the history of these provisions, with particular emphasis on legislative actions. Finally, this report discusses a number of proposals to modify the law as well as other related legislative and administrative actions.
Date: July 8, 2010
Creator: Burrelli, David F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Financial CHOICE Act in the 115th Congress: Selected Policy Issues

Description: This report highlights major proposals included in the Financial CHOICE Act (FCA) but is not a comprehensive summary. In general, the bill proposes changes that can be divided into two categories: (1) changes to financial policies and regulations and (2) changes to the regulatory structure and rulemaking process. Major policy-related changes proposed by the FCA include the following: Leverage Ratio, Regulatory Relief, To Big To Fail, Funding, Rulemaking, Judicial Review, Enforcement, the Consum… more
Date: September 8, 2017
Creator: Labonte, Marc; Carpenter, David H.; Davis, Christopher M.; Perkins, David W.; Shorter, Gary & Webel, Baird
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Impact Aid, Title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act: A Primer

Description: This report begins with a general overview of the various payments made under the Impact Aid program, followed by a detailed discussion of each section of Title VIII. This discussion is followed by information about recent appropriations for Impact Aid. The report concludes with an overview of programs administered by the U.S. Departments of Defense (DOD) that are often referred to as the "DOD Impact Aid" programs.
Date: October 8, 2015
Creator: Skinner, Rebecca R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Patentable Subject Matter Reform

Description: This report reviews the current law governing patentable subject matter and recent proposals for legislative reform. It begins by providing a basic overview of the patent system and introducing the principles of patentable subject matter. It then considers the leading Supreme Court decisions construing section 101 of the Patent Act. The report then considers the implications of these decisions within the information technology and life sciences industries. The report closes with a review of leg… more
Date: September 8, 2017
Creator: Thomas, John R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The President's Immigration Accountability Executive Action of November 20, 2014: Overview and Issues

Description: This report discusses President Obama's Immigration Accountability Executive Action which revises some U.S. immigration policies and initiates several programs, including a revised border security policy for the Southwest border.
Date: January 8, 2015
Creator: Kandel, William A.; Bjelopera, Jerome P.; Bruno, Andorra & Siskin, Alison
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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UPDATE: Termination of Temporary Protected Status for Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, and El Salvador: Key Takeaways and Analysis

Description: This report is an update to a February 2, 2018 report discussing Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations and answering questions regarding the recent termination of TPS for El Salvador, Nicaragua, Haiti, and Sudan. The update discusses the termination of TPS for Nepal and Honduras.
Date: June 8, 2018
Creator: Smith, Hillel R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrant

Description: This report analyzes the special immigrant visas (SIVs) classifications for Iraqis and Afghans within the context of both the larger special immigrant category and selected other permanent admissions categories. It discusses the legislative changes to the individual Iraqi and Afghan special immigrant programs since their initial authorization, provides statistics on visa issuances, and considers challenges that have faced the programs.
Date: February 8, 2017
Creator: Bruno, Andorra
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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