Congressional Research Service Reports - 175 Matching Results

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Clean Air Act Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: This report discusses major decisions on clean air issues facing the courts and the executive branch in 2006. One focus will be EPA's recent proposal to strengthen air quality standards for fine particles. Other issues of continuing interest are EPA's 2005 decisions limiting interstate transport of air pollution and establishing cap-and-trade systems for emissions from coal fired power plants, and the agency's proposed changes to New Source Review.
Date: March 21, 2006
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies: FY2007 Appropriations

Description: This report is a guide to one of the regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year. It summarizes the status of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related congressional activity.
Date: December 1, 2006
Creator: Vincent, Carol H.; Bearden, David M.; Corn, M. L.; Gorte, Ross W.; Humphries, Marc; Sheikh, Pervaze A. et al.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Membership of the 109th Congress: A Profile

Description: This report presents a profile of the membership of the 109th Congress. Statistical information is included on selected characteristics of Members, including data on party affiliation, average age and length of service, occupation, religious affiliation, female and minority Members, foreign-born Members, and military service.
Date: November 29, 2006
Creator: Amer, Mildred
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Budget Resolution Enforcement

Description: This report briefly discusses the annual budget resolution, which sets forth Congress's budget plan for a period of at least five fiscal years. It includes total levels of new budget authority, outlays, revenues, the deficit, and the public debt for each of the fiscal years covered. Once a budget resolution is adopted, Congress may enforce its provisions, through points of order, at several levels: the total levels of spending and revenues, the level of resources allocated to committees, and th… more
Date: November 22, 2006
Creator: Heniff, Bill, Jr.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Hearings in the House of Representatives: A Guide for Preparation and Procedure

Description: The report describes provisions of House rules that pertain to hearings; citations to these rules are included for reference. While House rules generally apply to committees and subcommittees, it is House Rule XI that contains many provisions specific to hearings. House rules set the general framework in which committees hold hearings.
Date: June 13, 2006
Creator: Carr, Thomas P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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House Committee Markup: Vehicle for Consideration and Amendment

Description: This report discusses aspects of the process by which House committees mark up and report legislation. The markup begins with the chair calling up a particular measure for consideration by the committee. The next action depends on the nature of the "markup vehicle" (i.e., the text that the chair intends for the committee to amend and report), which may be different from the measure laid before the panel for consideration. The vehicle can come before the committee in several different forms, eac… more
Date: June 1, 2006
Creator: Schneider, Judy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congressional Record: Its Production, Distribution, and Accessibility

Description: This report briefly discusses how the Congressional Record is created and distributed. The Congressional Record is the most widely recognized published account of the debates and activities in Congress and it often reflects the intent of Congress in enacting legislation.
Date: October 27, 2006
Creator: Amer, Mildred
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Committee Assignment Process in the U.S. Senate: Democratic and Republican Party Procedures

Description: This report focuses primarily on how Senators are elected to standing committees. It includes information about how standing committee sizes and ratios are set; the classification of committees for assignment purposes, and the chamber limitations on committee service; procedures that each party uses to recommend Senators and how the full chamber approves these recommendations; and the processes used to appoint Senators to non-standing committees.
Date: November 3, 2006
Creator: Schneider, Judy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Sponsorship and Cosponsorship of House Bills

Description: This report briefly discusses the processes of sponsoring, cosponsoring, and gaining cosponsors for bills in the House of Representatives.
Date: July 18, 2006
Creator: Palmer, Betsy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Congressional Appropriations Process: An Introduction

Description: Congress annually considers 11 or more appropriation measures, which provide funding for a variety of activities such as national defense, education, disaster assistance, crime programs, and general government operations, such as the administration of most federal agencies. This report details the rules and practices for the consideration of appropriations measures, referred to as the congressional appropriations process.
Date: December 8, 2006
Creator: Streeter, Sandy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Fishery, Aquaculture, and Marine Mammal Legislation in the 109th Congress

Description: Fish and marine mammals are important resources in open ocean and nearshore coastal areas. Many laws and regulations guide the management of these resources by federal agencies. This report contains information on commercial and sport fisheries, aquaculture, and marine mammals and issues related to the 109th Congress.
Date: March 16, 2006
Creator: Buck, Eugene H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Compensatory Time vs. Cash Wages: Amending the Fair Labor Standards Act?

Description: Since the mid-1980s, certain employer-oriented groups and individuals have urged amendment of the Fair Labor Standards Act to alter current overtime pay requirements. This report contains information on the structure of the issue, compensatory time proposals of the 108th Congress, issues in the debate, and more relating to the issue.
Date: July 17, 2006
Creator: Whittaker, William G.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Party Leaders in the House: Election, Duties, and Responsibilities

Description: Each major party in the House has a leadership hierarchy. This fact sheet summarizes the election, duties, and responsibilities of the Speaker of the House, the majority and minority leaders, and the whips and whip system.
Date: December 8, 2006
Creator: Heitshusen, Valerie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Child Nutrition and WIC Legislation in the 108th and 109th Congresses

Description: Child nutrition programs and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children are typically subject to periodic comprehensive reviews, when several appropriations and other authorities expire and have to be reauthorized.
Date: March 6, 2006
Creator: Richardson, Joe
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Water Act: A Review of Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: Legislative initiatives to comprehensively amend the Clean Water Act had stalled for some time as interested parties debated whether and exactly how to change the law. Congress had instead focused legislative attention on narrow bills to extend or modify selected Clean Water Act programs, rather than taking up comprehensive proposals. This report contains information on the most recent developments on related issues as it its writing, background and analysis, and legislative issues with the 109… more
Date: December 15, 2006
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Obtaining a Record Vote on the House Floor

Description: The House of Representatives uses two kinds of votes in which the names and positions of individual Members are recorded: (1) the recorded vote, used chiefly in Committee of the Whole, though also in order in the House, and (2) the yea and nay vote, in order only in the House proper. Both kinds together are referred to as record votes or, more informally, as “roll call votes,” and both are normally taken by electronic device. This report illustrates forms commonly used for obtaining each kind o… more
Date: December 8, 2006
Creator: Beth, Richard S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Export-Import Bank: Reauthorization

Description: This report discusses the ongoing debate regarding the Export-Import Bank of the United States, a federal government corporation which is the the official export credit agency (ECA) of the U.S. Government.
Date: July 28, 2006
Creator: Jackson, James K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Points of Order, Rulings, and Appeals in the Senate

Description: The Senate’s presiding officer typically does not have responsibility for pro-actively ensuring that matters under consideration comply with the rules. Instead, Senators may enforce the Senate’s legislative rules and precedents by making points of order whenever they believe that one of those rules or precedents is, or is about to be, violated. This report briefly discusses the process by which a point of order is raised and ruled upon.
Date: September 29, 2006
Creator: Heitshusen, Valerie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Ad Hoc Select Committees: Use in the House of Representatives

Description: This report explains what a select committee is in the House of Representatives, and how it is used. The report explains that the recent usage of the select committee has been for fragmented or largely overlapping areas of jurisdiction for multiple committees.
Date: February 21, 2006
Creator: Schneider, Judy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2007 Appropriations

Description: This report considers the Agriculture and Related Agencies appropriations bill. The report compares and contrasts the Senate and House versions of the bill in terms of budgeting. Moreover, both bills reject the termination of the Commodity Supplemental Food Program.
Date: November 24, 2006
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.; Hanrahan, Charles E.; Chite, Ralph M.; Cowan, Tadlock; Rawson, Jean M.; Zinn, Jeffrey A. et al.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Emergency Management Preparedness Standards: Overview and Options for Congress

Description: This report provides Emergency an Overview and Options for Congress on Emergency Management Preparedness Standards which includes major recommendations like adoption and use of emergency response standards, mutual aid provisions, private sector preparedness.
Date: August 30, 2006
Creator: Bea, Keith
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Water Act Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: Legislative initiatives to comprehensively amend the Clean Water Act have talked for some time as interested parties have debated whether and exactly how to change the law. Congress has recently focused legislative attention on narrow bills to extend or modify selected Clean Water Act programs, rather than taking up comprehensive proposals. This report contains information on the recent developments as of its writing, background and analysis as related to the Clean Water Act legislative actions… more
Date: May 24, 2006
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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