Congressional Research Service Reports - 178 Matching Results

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Administrative Appeals in the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service

Description: This report describes Congressional interest in the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) appeal process due to rumors that it affects the BLM's capacity to handle various resources. Moreover, the report defines what an administrative appeal is, and describes the process required to undertake one. The report also lists the various types of administrative appeals.
Date: September 16, 2013
Creator: Alexander, Kristina
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Article V Convention for Proposing Constitutional Amendments: Historical Perspectives for Congress

Description: This report offers perspectives for Congress on the Article V Convention, opening with an overview of the provisions in Article V that established the convention procedure. The report further examines its origins at the Constitutional Convention of 1787; the history of the convention alternative, focusing on three major 20th century campaigns to convene a constitutional convention; and the role of the states in the Article V Convention process.
Date: October 22, 2012
Creator: Neale, Thomas H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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ACA: A Brief Overview of the Law, Implementation, and Legal Challenges

Description: This report summarizes the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the legal challenges it has faced. The report contains information on various lawsuits due to the ACA and provides the reasoning behind them as Congress violating its enumerated powers in the constitution. Moreover, the report covers the challenges of implementing the law.
Date: July 3, 2012
Creator: Redhead, C. Stephen; Chaikind, Hinda; Fernandez, Bernadette & Staman, Jennifer
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Administrative Appeals in the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service

Description: This report describes Congressional interest in the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) appeal process due to rumors that it affects the BLM's capacity to handle various resources. Moreover, the report defines what an administrative appeal is, and describes the process required to undertake one. The report also lists the various types of administrative appeals.
Date: March 28, 2012
Creator: Alexander, Katrina
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

ACA: A Brief Overview of the Law, Implementation, and Legal Challenges

Description: This report summarizes the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the legal challenges it has faced. The report contains information on various lawsuits due to the ACA and provides the reasoning behind them as Congress violating its enumerated powers in the constitution. Moreover, the report covers the challenges of implementing the law.
Date: March 23, 2012
Creator: Redhead, C. Stephen; Staman, Jennifer; Burrows, Vanessa K. & Fernandez, Bernadette
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Flag Protection: A Brief History and Summary of Supreme Court Decisions and Proposed Constitutional Amendments

Description: The first part of the report gives a brief history of the flag protection issue, from the enactment of the flag protection act in 1968 through consideration of a constitutional amendment. The second part briefly summarizes the two decisions of the United States Supreme court.
Date: February 7, 2012
Creator: Luckey, John R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Presidential Signing Statements: Constitutional and Institutional Implications

Description: Presidential signing statements are official pronouncements issued by the President contemporaneously to the signing of a bill into law that, in addition to commenting on the law generally, have been used to forward the President's interpretation of the statutory language; to assert constitutional objections to the provisions contained therein; and, concordantly, to announce that the provisions of the law will be administered in a manner that comports with the administration's conception of the… more
Date: January 4, 2012
Creator: Garvey, Todd
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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A Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment: Background and Congressional Options

Description: One of the most persistent political issues facing Congress in recent decades is whether to require that the budget of the United States be in balance. Although a balanced federal budget has long been held as a political ideal, the accumulation of large deficits in recent years has heightened concern that some action to require a balance between revenues and expenditures may be necessary. This report provides an overview of the issues and options that have been raised during prior consideration… more
Date: July 20, 2011
Creator: Saturno, James V. & Lynch, Megan Suzanne
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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A Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment: Background and Congressional Options

Description: One of the most persistent political issues facing Congress in recent decades is whether to require that the budget of the United States be in balance. Although a balanced federal budget has long been held as a political ideal, the accumulation of large deficits in recent years has heightened concern that some action to require a balance between revenues and expenditures may be necessary. This report provides an overview of the issues and options that have been raised during prior consideration… more
Date: July 8, 2011
Creator: Saturno, James V. & Lynch, Megan Suzanne
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Legal Standing Under the First Amendment's Establishment Clause

Description: This report analyzes the constitutional issues associated with standing (a restraint on the power of federal courts to render decisions), specifically related to cases arising under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment regarding religion. It provides a background on the doctrine of standing, including the U.S. Supreme Court's interpretation of various types of standing: standing to sue as a citizen, as a taxpayer, and on behalf of another party. It also examines the current standing … more
Date: April 5, 2011
Creator: Brougher, Cynthia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Origination Clause of the U.S. Constitution: Interpretation and Enforcement

Description: Article I, Section 7, clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution is known as the Origination Clause because it provides that "All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives." The meaning and application of this clause has evolved through practice and precedent since the Constitution was drafted. The Constitution does not provide specific guidelines as to what constitutes a "bill for raising revenue." This report analyzes congressional and court precedents regarding that co… more
Date: March 15, 2011
Creator: Saturno, James V.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Selected Theories of Constitutional Interpretation

Description: This report examines theories of constitutional interpretation, the role of the judiciary in this interpretation, and constitutional protections for fundamental rights.
Date: February 15, 2011
Creator: Thomas, Kenneth R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The European Union's Reform Process: The Lisbon Treaty

Description: This report provides information on the Lisbon Treaty and possible U.S.-EU implications that may be of interest to the 112th Congress.
Date: February 8, 2011
Creator: Archick, Kristin & Mix, Derek E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Military Personnel and Freedom of Religion: Selected Legal Issues

Description: This report provides an overview of the requirements of the First Amendment related to military personnel's religious exercise. It analyzes current constitutional and statutory requirements regarding religious exercise, and provides a framework for how Congress and the courts might consider future issues that arise related to service members' religious exercise. Specifically, the report examines the limitations placed on service members in uniform in the exercise of their religious beliefs. It … more
Date: February 1, 2011
Creator: Mason, R. Chuck & Brougher, Cynthia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Flag Protection: A Brief History and Summary of Supreme Court Decisions and Proposed Constitutional Amendments

Description: This report is divided into two parts. The first gives a brief history of the flag protection issue, from the enactment of the Flag Protection Act in 1968 through current consideration of a constitutional amendment. The second part briefly summarizes the two decisions of the United States Supreme Court, Texas v. Johnson and United States v. Eichman, that struck down the state and federal flag protection statutes as applied in the context punishing expressive conduct.
Date: January 20, 2011
Creator: Luckey, John R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Armed Career Criminal Act (18 U.S.C. 924(e)): An Overview

Description: This report briefly explores the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. 924(e), which requires imposition of a minimum 15-year term of imprisonment for recidivists convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. 922(g). Section 924(e) applies only to those defendants who have three prior state or federal convictions for violent felonies or serious drug offenses. The report includes descriptions of constitutional challenges to the application of section 924(e), which have been… more
Date: October 13, 2010
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federalism, State Sovereignty, and the Constitution: Basis and Limits of Congressional Power

Description: The lines of authority between states and the federal government are, to a significant extent, defined by the United States Constitution and relevant case law. In recent years, however, the Supreme Court has decided a number of cases that would seem to reevaluate this historical relationship. This report discusses state and federal legislative power generally, focusing on a number of these "federalism" cases.
Date: July 12, 2010
Creator: Thomas, Kenneth R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The European Union's Reform Process: The Lisbon Treaty

Description: This report provides information on the Lisbon Treaty and possible U.S.-EU implications that may be of interest to the 111th Congress.
Date: November 9, 2009
Creator: Archick, Kristin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Freedom of Speech and Press: Exceptions to the First Amendment

Description: This report provides an overview of the major exceptions to the First Amendment - of the ways that the Supreme Court has interpreted the guarantee of freedom of speech and press to provide no protection or only limited protection for some types of speech. For example, the Court has decided that the First Amendment provides no protection to obscenity, child pornography, or speech that constitutes "advocacy of the use of force or of law violation ... where such advocacy is directed to inciting or… more
Date: October 16, 2009
Creator: Cohen, Henry
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Legal Standing Under the First Amendment's Establishment Clause

Description: This report analyzes the constitutional issues associated with standing, specifically related to cases arising under the Establishment Clause. It provides a background on the doctrine of standing, including the U.S. Supreme Court's interpretation of various types of standing, including standing to sue as a citizen, as a taxpayer, and on behalf of another party.
Date: September 15, 2009
Creator: Brougher, Cynthia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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