Congressional Research Service Reports - 178 Matching Results

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Statutory Interpretation: General Principles and Recent Trends

Description: The Supreme Court has expressed an interest "that Congress be able to legislate against a background of clear interpretive rules, so that it may know the effect of the language it adopts." This report identifies and describes some of the more important rules and conventions of interpretation that the Court applies. Because the Court has recently placed renewed emphasis on statutory text and somewhat reduced emphasis on legislative history and other interpretive sources "extrinsic" to the text, … more
Date: August 3, 2001
Creator: Costello, George
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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
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: A Glimpse of the Legal Background and Recent Amendments

Description: This report discusses the USA PATRIOT Act, which expanded the authority of four national security letter (NSL) statutes and created a fifth, and the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act that amended the previous legislation. This is an abridged version of CRS Report RL33320, "National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: Legal Background and Recent Amendments".
Date: March 21, 2006
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: Legal Background and Recent Amendments

Description: This report discusses the USA PATRIOT Act, which expanded the authority of four national security letter (NSL) statutes and created a fifth, and the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act that amended the previous legislation.
Date: March 17, 2006
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
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
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Understanding the Speech or Debate Clause

Description: This report discusses the Speech or Debate Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Various views have been expressed by different court rulings and the disagreement between courts is also discussed.
Date: December 1, 2017
Creator: Garvey, Todd
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Constitutional Conventions: Political and Legal Questions

Description: This report discusses the applications that have been passed by 32 of the necessary 34 State legislatures to convene a convention to propose an amendment prohibiting abortion. Because this process for amending the Constitution has never been used, several unresolved legal and policy questions arise governing the convening and the authority of such a convention.
Date: July 8, 1985
Creator: Huckabee, David C. & McCoy, Meredith
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Afghanistan: Elections, Constitution, and Government

Description: In 2004 and 2005, Afghanistan adopted a permanent constitution and elected a president and a parliament. The parliament is emerging as a significant force in Afghan politics, as shown in debate over a new cabinet proposed in March 2006. However, insurgent violence continues to threaten Afghan stability. See CRS Report RL30588, Afghanistan: Post-War Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy, by Kenneth Katzman.
Date: March 14, 2006
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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