Congressional Research Service Reports - 265 Matching Results

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Access to Government Information In the United States: A Primer

Description: The U.S. Constitution makes no specific allowance for any one of the three branches of the federal government to have access to information held by the others. No provision in the U.S. Constitution expressly establishes a procedure for public access to government information. Congress has legislated various public access laws. Among these laws are two records access statutes, The Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act, and two meetings access statutes, the Federal Advisory Committee Act, a… more
Date: August 31, 2009
Creator: Ginsberg, Wendy R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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"Gang of Four" Congressional Intelligence Notifications

Description: This report reviews the history of Gang of Four notification process and compares this procedure with that of the "Gang of Eight" notification procedure.
Date: September 25, 2009
Creator: Cumming, Alfred
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Sensitive Covert Action Notifications: Oversight Options for Congress

Description: This report describes the statutory provision authorizing Gang of Eight notifications, reviews the legislative history of the provision, and examines the impact of such notifications on congressional oversight.
Date: September 25, 2009
Creator: Cumming, Alfred
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congressional Printing: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report provides an overview and analysis of issues related to the processing and distribution of congressional information by the Government Printing Office. Subsequent sections address several issues, including funding congressional printing, printing authorizations, current printing practices, and options for Congress. Finally, the report provides congressional printing appropriations, production, and distribution data in a number of tables.
Date: November 5, 2009
Creator: Petersen, R. E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Terrorism Information Sharing and the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Report Initiative: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report describes the Nationwide SAR Initiative (NSI), the rationale for the sharing of terrorism-related Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), and how the NSI seeks to achieve this objective. It examines the privacy and civil liberties concerns raised by the initiative and identifies other oversight issues for Congress.
Date: November 5, 2009
Creator: Randol, Mark A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Military Service Records and Unit Histories: A Guide to Locating Sources

Description: This report provides information on locating military unit histories and individual service records of discharged, retired, and deceased military personnel. It includes contact information for military history centers, websites for additional sources of research, and a bibliography of other publications.
Date: December 16, 2009
Creator: Gomez-Granger, Julissa & Leland, Anne
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Security Classification Policy and Procedure: E.O. 12958, as Amended

Description: This report describes security classification policy and procedure, largely prescribed in a series of successive presidential executive orders issued over the past 50 years. This policy provides the rationale and arrangements for designating information officially secret for reasons of national security, and for its declassification as well.
Date: December 31, 2009
Creator: Kosar, Kevin R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Critical Infrastructure Security: CRS Experts

Description: This report contains a table which provides access to names and contact information for CRS experts on policy concerns relating to critical infrastructure security. Policy areas identified include: mission; security services; and specific sectors: assessing vulnerabilities, planning and implementation.
Date: January 7, 2010
Creator: Moteff, John D.
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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Congress as a Consumer of Intelligence Information

Description: This report examines the role of Congress as a consumer of national intelligence and examines several issues that Congress might address during the second session of the 111th Congress.
Date: January 28, 2010
Creator: Cumming, Alfred
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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"Gang of Four" Congressional Intelligence Notifications

Description: This report reviews the history of the Gang of Four intelligence notification process and compares this procedure with that of the "Gang of Eight" notification procedure.
Date: January 29, 2010
Creator: Cumming, Alfred
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Sensitive Covert Action Notifications: Oversight Options for Congress

Description: This report describes the statutory provision authorizing Gang of Eight notifications, reviews the legislative history of the provision, and examines the impact of such notifications on congressional oversight.
Date: January 29, 2010
Creator: Cumming, Alfred
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Federal Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program: Funding Issues and Activities

Description: This report discusses the federal government's role in the country's information technology (IT) research and development (R&D) activities. The government's support of IT R&D began because it had an important interest in creating computers and software that would be capable of addressing the problems and issues the government needed to solve and study.
Date: February 2, 2010
Creator: Figliola, Patricia Moloney
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Government Access to Phone Calling Activity and Related Records: Legal Authorities

Description: This report summarizes legal authorities regarding access by the government, for either foreign intelligence or law enforcement purposes, to information related to telephone calling patterns or practices. Where pertinent, it also discusses statutory prohibitions against accessing or disclosing such information, along with relevant exceptions to those prohibitions.
Date: February 2, 2010
Creator: Bazan, Elizabeth B.; Liu, Edward C. & Stevens, Gina
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The 2010 Decennial Census: Background and Issues

Description: The U.S. Constitution--Article 1, Section 2, clause 3, as modified by Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment--requires a population census every 10 years, to serve as the basis for reapportioning seats in the House of Representatives. Decennial census data also are used for within-state redistricting and in certain formulas that determine the annual distribution of more than $400 billion dollars in federal and state funds. This report discusses the major innovations that were planned for the 201… more
Date: May 24, 2010
Creator: Williams, Jennifer D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The 2010 Decennial Census: Background and Issues

Description: This report summarizes the information and background of the 2010 census. The report outlines what the census is and why it is necessary. Moreover, it describes the new methods used and the issues encountered by using those methods.
Date: May 24, 2010
Creator: Williams, Jennifer D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Director of National Intelligence Statutory Authorities: Status and Proposals

Description: This report discusses the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) position created by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-458). It includes an overview of the authorities granted to the DNI by legislation in 2004 and later as well as the varying opinions of Congress regarding new DNI authorities, as well as related legislation from FY2010 through FY2012.
Date: May 26, 2010
Creator: Best, Richard A., Jr. & Cumming, Alfred
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Military Service Records and Unit Histories: A Guide to Locating Sources

Description: This report provides information on locating military unit histories and individual service records of discharged, retired, and deceased military personnel. It includes contact information for military history centers, websites for additional sources of research, and a bibliography of other publications.
Date: June 15, 2010
Creator: Gomez-Granger, Julissa & Leland, Anne
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Federal Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program: Funding Issues and Activities

Description: This report discusses the federal government's role in the country's information technology (IT) research and development (R&D) activities. The government's support of IT R&D began because it had an important interest in creating computers that would be capable of addressing the problems and issues the government needed to solve and study.
Date: July 20, 2010
Creator: Figliola, Patricia Moloney
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Iraq: Map Sources

Description: This report identifies online sources for maps of Iraq, including government, library, and organizational websites.
Date: August 5, 2010
Creator: Fischer, Hannah
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Obama Administration's Open Government Initiative: Issues for Congress

Description: This report reviews and discusses President Obama's Open Government Initiative and the Open Government Directive. The report then analyzes both agency response to the OGI and the OGD, and examines whether the OGD's requirements can meet the stated goals of the Administration. The report discusses the three central tenets of the Administration's OGD--transparency, public participation, and collaboration--and analyzes each one individually to determine whether agencies are meeting these requireme… more
Date: August 9, 2010
Creator: Ginsberg, Wendy R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Obama Administration's Open Government Initiative: Issues for Congress

Description: This report reviews and discusses President Obama's Open Government Initiative and the Open Government Directive. The report then analyzes both agency response to the OGI and the OGD, and examines whether the OGD's requirements can meet the stated goals of the Administration. The report discusses the three central tenets of the Administration's OGD--transparency, public participation, and collaboration--and analyzes each one individually to determine whether agencies are meeting these requireme… more
Date: August 17, 2010
Creator: Ginsberg, Wendy R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Criminal Prohibitions on the Publication of Classified Defense Information

Description: The recent online publication of classified defense documents by the organization Wikileaks and subsequent reporting by the New York Times and other news media have focused attention on whether such publication violates U.S. criminal law. This report discusses the statutory prohibitions that may be implicated, including the Espionage Act; the extraterritorial application of such statutes; and the First Amendment implications related to such prosecutions against domestic or foreign media organiz… more
Date: September 10, 2010
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Freedom of Information Act and Nondisclosure Provisions in Other Federal Laws

Description: This report discusses Congressional considerations regarding how to balance the federal government's growing need for sensitive or confidential business information, the public's right of access to information about government activities, and the private sector's interest in keeping its sensitive or proprietary information protected from public disclosure. The report discusses this issue in light of particularly the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and other similar legislation.
Date: September 24, 2010
Creator: Stevens, Gina
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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