Congressional Research Service Reports - 22 Matching Results

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Particulate Matter (PM2.5): Implementation of the 1997 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)

Description: Particulate matter (PM), including fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and larger, but still inhalable particles (PM10), is one of the six principal pollutants for which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) under the Clean Air Act (CAA). This report outlines the implementation process for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS and describes issues raised as EPA and states develop implementation strategies.
Date: September 11, 2008
Creator: Esworthy, Robert
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Selected Privileges and Courtesies Extended to Departing and Former Senators

Description: This report provides information on selected privileges and courtesies (with the exception of federal health insurance, life insurance, and retirement benefits) extended to departing and former Senators. Some are derived from law and Senate Rules, but most are courtesies that have been extended as a matter of custom.
Date: September 14, 2004
Creator: Amer, Mildred
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Shutdown of the Federal Government: Causes, Effects, and Process

Description: This report provides a brief overview of the causes and effects of federal government shutdowns. This report provides a brief overview of the causes and effects of federal government shutdowns. When federal agencies and programs lack appropriated funding, they must cease operations, except in emergency situations. The failure of the President and Congress to reach agreement on funding measures has caused government shutdowns. It is necessary either to enact temporary funding legislation at the … more
Date: September 20, 2004
Creator: Kosar, Kevin R.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Parliamentary Reference Sources: House of Representatives

Description: This report discusses the availability and format of three types of parliamentary reference materials: official sources such as the House Rules and Manual and the published precedents; publications of committees and offices of the House; and documents prepared by House party and leadership organizations. It also reviews some principles of House parliamentary procedure that are important to consider when using information from parliamentary reference sources.
Date: September 15, 2005
Creator: Carr, Thomas P.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
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
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Air Act Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: This report provides an overview of seven prominent air issues of interest in the 109th Congress: revision of the particulate standards; multi-pollutant (or Clear Skies) legislation for electric power plants; mercury from power plants; New Source Review; the gasoline additives MTBE and ethanol; ozone nonattainment area deadlines; and the “conformity” of transportation and clean air planning.
Date: September 26, 2006
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Franking Privilege: Historical Development and Options for Change

Description: This report discusses controversy regarding the franking privilege, which allows Members of Congress to transmit mail matter under their signature without postage. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the franking privilege served a fundamental democratic role, allowing Members of Congress to convey information to their constituents about the operations of government and policy matters before Congress. Conversely, it also provided a mechanism for citizens to communicate their feelings and concer… more
Date: September 8, 2008
Creator: Glassman, Matthew E.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Black Members of the United States Congress: 1870-2007

Description: This report is categorized into seven categories: (I) Background, (II) Female Members, (III) Relationship, (IV) Oldest and Youngest Black Members, (V) Black Members in Leadership Position, (VI) Tables and Data and (VII) Alphabetical Listening of Black Members, Selecetd Biographical Information, and Committee Assignments during Their Tenure in Office.
Date: September 27, 2007
Creator: Amer, Mildred L.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Senate Committee Hearings: Preparation

Description: Committee hearings allow Senators an opportunity to gather information on, and draw attention to, legislation and issues within a committee’s purview, conduct oversight of programs or agencies, and investigate allegations of wrongdoing. This report contains a checklist that identifies many of the tasks that need to be performed by a full committee and, in most cases, subcommittees in advance of a hearing. Some of the tasks are required by Senate or committee rules; others are common committee p… more
Date: September 17, 2009
Creator: Palmer, Betsy
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Bush Administration Policy Regarding Congressionally Originated Earmarks: An Overview

Description: This report focuses on Bush Administration policy regarding earmarks originated by Congress and related issues. Specific definitions for the term earmark (and related terms, like congressional earmark, presidential earmark, and others) vary considerably and are controversial.
Date: September 4, 2008
Creator: Brass, Clinton T.; Hatch, Garrett L. & Petersen, R. E.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Congressional Appropriations Process: An Introduction

Description: This report discusses the following aspects of the congressional appropriations process: the annual appropriations cycle; types of appropriations measures; spending ceilings for appropriations associated with the annual budget resolution; and the relationship between authorization and appropriation measures.
Date: September 8, 2006
Creator: Streeter, Sandy
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congressional Intervention in the Administrative Process: Legal and Ethical Considerations

Description: This report briefly examines the currently applicable legal and ethical considerations and standards that mark the limits of interventions by Members of Congress. It reviews the judicial development and application of standards for determining whether congressional pressure or influence will be deemed to have tainted an agency proceeding. It concludes that the courts, in balancing Congress's performance of its constitutional and statutory obligations to oversee the actions of agency officials a… more
Date: September 25, 2003
Creator: Rosenberg, Morton & Maskell, Jack H.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress

Description: This report discusses the Navy's plans regarding the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The LCS is a relatively inexpensive Navy surface combatant equipped with modular "plug-and-fight" mission packages. The Navy wants to field a force of 55 LCSs.
Date: September 30, 2009
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Aegis Cruiser and Destroyer Modernization: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: The Navy has begun a multi-billion dollar program to modernize its 84 existing Aegis cruisers and destroyers over a period of more than 20 years. This report explores this program in detail, including the reasons for the program and the oversight issues it poses for Congress.
Date: September 18, 2009
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congressional Review Act: Disapproval of Rules in a Subsequent Session of Congress

Description: This report addresses some of the implications of the CRA with regard to agency rulemaking in the final months of a presidential administration. It first notes the practice of increased rulemaking activity during this period, and describes how this practice has been addressed by two White House memoranda issued during the current Bush Administration. The report then briefly identifies key elements of the complex set of time periods established by the CRA — elements that define points during the… more
Date: September 3, 2008
Creator: Copeland, Curtis W. & Beth, Richard S.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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National Security Strategy: Legislative Mandates, Execution to Date, and Considerations for Congress

Description: This report reviews current legislative mandates for security strategic documents, assesses the recent history of execution, describes strategic documents in related fields for comparison, presents considerations that may be useful in assessing current requirements and execution, and notes several current proposals for changes to legislative requirements.
Date: September 23, 2008
Creator: Dale, Catherine
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congressional Oversight of Intelligence: Current Structure and Alternatives

Description: This report first describes the current select committees on intelligence and then the former Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, often cited as a model for a counterpart on intelligence. The study also sets forth proposed characteristics for a joint committee on intelligence, differences among these, and their pros and cons. The report examines other actions and alternatives affecting congressional oversight in the field.
Date: September 16, 2008
Creator: Kaiser, Frederick M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Air Act Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: In the Summer of 2005, Congress focused on several Clean Air Act Issues before the August recess. Although the Congressional agenda stated that attention would be given to the needed amendments of the Clear Skies/Multi-Pollutant Legislation, this progress was stalled, and the committee failed to approve the bill due to a tied vote. This otherwise stagnated debate was given some attention due to the discussions over mercury regulations as they apply to power plants. The outcome of the decision c… more
Date: September 22, 2005
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Clean Air Act Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: In the Summer of 2005, Congress focused on several Clean Air Act Issues before the August recess. Although the Congressional agenda stated that attention would be given to the needed amendments of the Clear Skies/Multi-Pollutant Legislation, this progress was stalled, and the committee failed to approve the bill due to a tied vote. This otherwise stagnated debate was given some attention due to the discussions over mercury regulations as they apply to power plants. The outcome of the decision c… more
Date: September 22, 2005
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Grants Work in a Congressional Office

Description: Members of Congress often get requests from constituents for information and help in obtaining funds for projects. Many state and local governments, nonprofit social service and community action organizations, private research groups, small businesses, and individuals approach congressional offices to find out about funding, both from the federal government and from the private sector. The success rate in obtaining federal assistance is not high, given the competition for federal funds. A grant… more
Date: September 17, 2003
Creator: Gerli, Merete F.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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