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Use of the Capitol Rotunda, Capitol Grounds, and Emancipation Hall: Concurrent Resolutions, 101st to 115th Congress.

Description: This report provides information on the use of the Capitol Rotunda, the Capital Grounds, and Emancipation Hall which require a concurrent resolution from the House and Senate for use at events. Statistics regarding the number and types of uses of these spaces are provided for the 101st Congress through the 115th Congress.
Date: January 26, 2018
Creator: Straus, Jacob R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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House Committee Chairs: Considerations, Decisions, and Actions as One Congress Ends and a New Congress Begins

Description: This report discusses the process of selecting House Committee chairs and covers the period from the House's early organization meetings in November to approximately March or April following the convening of a new Congress.
Date: February 2, 2018
Creator: Schneider, Judy & Koempel, Michael L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congressional Gold Medals: Background, Legislative Process, and Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses Congressional gold medals which are awarded by Congress periodically for distinguished contributions to the United States. The history, selection process, award designs and production process, and issues for Congress are discussed.
Date: February 9, 2018
Creator: Straus, Jacob R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Role of the Senate in Judicial Impeachment Proceedings: Procedure, Practice, and Data

Description: This report examines the history, practice, and procedures of the Senate in fulfilling its constitutional obligation to try and to vote whether to convict and impose judgment upon judges impeached by the House of Representatives. It includes an overview of the process, and sections that discuss rules governing Senate impeachment proceedings, organizing the Senate for trial, the role of the Presiding Officer, the use of an impeachment trial committee, deliberation and judgment by the full senate… more
Date: April 9, 2010
Creator: Smelcer, Susan Navarro
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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National Security Letters: Proposals in the 113th Congress

Description: This report reprints the text of the five National Security Letter (NSL) statutes as they now appear and as they appeared prior to amendment by the USA PATRIOT Act. A National Security Letter (NSL) is roughly comparable to an administrative subpoena, used by various intelligence agencies to demand certain customer information from communications providers, financial institutions, and consumer credit reporting agencies under the Right to Financial Privacy Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the… more
Date: January 22, 2015
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Nunn-McCurdy Act: Background, Analysis, and Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses the debate regarding the effectiveness of the Nunn-McCurdy Act, which requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to report to Congress whenever a major defense acquisition program experiences cost overruns that exceed certain thresholds. The purpose of the act was to help control cost growth in major defense systems by holding the appropriate Pentagon officials and defense contractors publicly accountable and responsible for managing costs.
Date: March 3, 2015
Creator: Schwartz, Moshe
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Protection of Classified Information by Congress: Practices and Proposals

Description: This report discusses safeguards in place to protect controlled information and proposals for change of some of the mechanisms in place. Congress uses classified national security and other controlled information to fulfill its constitutional responsibilities, particularly overseeing the executive, appropriating funds, and legislating public policy.
Date: January 27, 2010
Creator: Kaiser, Frederick M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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House Committee Reports: Required Contents

Description: This report discusses house rules and statutes that detail several substantive requirements for items to be included in reports accompanying bills reported from committees, as noted in this report.
Date: February 9, 2015
Creator: Schneider, Judy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Legislative Process on the Senate Floor: An Introduction

Description: This report provides a brief introduction to the legislative process on the Senate floor, including filibusters and cloture, restraint and delay, scheduling legislative business, unanimous consent agreements, the daily order of business, the amending process, and quorum calls and rollcall votes.
Date: August 13, 2014
Creator: Heitshusen, Valerie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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House Committees: Categories and Rules for Committee Assignments

Description: This report discusses rules for committee assignments in the House of Representatives. House rules address the election and membership of committees, especially limitations on membership. The Democratic Caucus and Republican Conference rules designate categories of committees and specify service limitations in addition to those in the House rules.
Date: October 17, 2014
Creator: Schneider, Judy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Department of Defense Energy Initiatives: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and identifies issues for Congress on Department of Defense (DOD) energy initiatives. DOD spends billions of dollars per year on fuel, and is pursuing numerous initiatives for reducing its fuel needs and changing the mix of energy sources that it uses. DOD's energy initiatives pose several potential policy and oversight issues for Congress, and have been topics of discussion and debate at hearings on DOD's proposed FY2013 budget. Congress's decisions … more
Date: February 11, 2013
Creator: Schwartz, Moshe; Blakeley, Katherine & O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Army Drawdown and Restructuring: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses the new defense strategy, which was unveiled by senior Department of Defense (DOD) leadership based on a review of potential future security challenges, current defense strategy, and budgetary constraints. This strategy will rebalance the Army's global posture and presence, emphasizing where potential problems are likely to arise, such as the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East.
Date: January 3, 2013
Creator: Feickert, Andrew
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Army Drawdown and Restructuring: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report discusses the new defense strategy, which was unveiled by senior Department of Defense (DOD) leadership based on a review of potential future security challenges, current defense strategy, and budgetary constraints. This strategy will rebalance the Army's global posture and presence, emphasizing where potential problems are likely to arise, such as the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East.
Date: March 5, 2013
Creator: Feickert, Andrew
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Amending Process in the Senate

Description: This report is intended to provide an overview of the fundamentals of the Senate amendment process. It summarizes many of the rules, precedents, and practices of the Senate affecting the consideration of amendments to measures on the floor.
Date: March 15, 2013
Creator: Davis, Christopher M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Violence Against Members of Congress and Their Staff: Selected Examples and Congressional Responses

Description: This report discusses instances of violence against Members of Congress and their staffs, and provides brief descriptions of a selected list of incidents and previous legislation passed to increase security after attacks. It also includes a list of current legislative proposals in response to the June 14, 2017 attack on Republican Members of Congress at a Congressional baseball game practice in Alexandria, Virginia.
Date: August 17, 2017
Creator: Petersen, R. Eric & Manning, Jennifer E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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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. The report 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 … more
Date: May 12, 2017
Creator: Garvey, Todd
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Salaries of Members of Congress: Recent Actions and Historical Tables

Description: This report provides historical tables on the rate of pay for Members of Congress since 1789; details on enacted legislation with language prohibiting the automatic annual pay adjustment since the most recent adjustment; the adjustments projected by the Ethics Reform Act as compared with actual adjustments in Member pay; and Member pay in constant and current dollars since 1992.
Date: February 23, 2016
Creator: Brudnick, Ida A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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