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Campaign Financing: Highlights and Chronology of Current Federal Law

Description: This report summarizes major provisions of federal law and offers a chronology of key legislative and judicial actions which govern financial activity of federal election campaigns. The laws are based on two principal statutes: the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1971, as amended in 1974, 1976, 1979, and 2002, and the Revenue Act of 1971.
Date: December 13, 2004
Creator: Cantor, Joseph E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Farm Commodity Programs: Direct Payments, Counter-Cyclical Payments, and Marketing Loans

Description: This report discusses federal law that has authorized farm income and commodity price support programs for over 70 years.The 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171) authorizes the current programs for the 2002-2007 crop years. The payment framework combines direct payments of the 1996 farm bill (P.L. 104-127) with counter-cyclical payments of prior laws. Subsidies continue for wheat, feed grains, upland cotton, and rice, and soybeans and peanuts are added to the list of major crops. Dry peas, lentils, an… more
Date: December 13, 2004
Creator: Monke, Jim
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Election of the President and Vice President by Congress: Contingent Election

Description: The 12th Amdendment to the Constitution requires that candidates for President and Vice President receive a majority of electoral votes to be elected. If no candidate receives a majority, the President is elected by the House of Representatives (which occurred once, in 1825), and the Vice President is elected by the Senate (which also occurred once, in 1837). This process is known as contingent election. This report contains information on the 12th Amendment Constitutional History, previous con… more
Date: December 14, 2004
Creator: Neale, Thomas H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Affirmative Action Revisited: A Legal History and Prospectus

Description: Affirmative action remains a focal point of public debate as the result of legal and political developments at the federal, state, and local levels. This report discusses legislation related to affirmative action, as well as legal rulings on the topic and the federal government's role in first establishing and, later, attempting to curb affirmative action policies.
Date: December 15, 2004
Creator: Dale, Charles V.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Semiautomatic Assault Weapons Ban

Description: This report focuses on the use and interpretation of firearms trace data produced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
Date: December 16, 2004
Creator: Krouse, William J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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9/11 Commission: Legislative Action Concerning U.S. Immigration Law and Policy in the 108th Congress

Description: From Summary: "This report discusses some of the major immigration areas that were under consideration in the above-mentioned comprehensive reform proposals, including asylum, biometric tracking systems, border security, document security, exclusion, immigration enforcement, and visa issuances."
Date: December 21, 2004
Creator: Garcia, Michael John & Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Energy Policy: Historical Overview, Conceptual Framework, and Continuing Issues

Description: Energy policy issues of continuing interest include whether or not to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for leasing; settlement upon a pipeline route to allow production of Alaskan natural gas; access to public lands for energy exploration and development; restructuring of the electric utility industry to encourage competition and consumer choice; raising corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for motor vehicles; seeking effective means to promote energy conservation u… more
Date: December 21, 2004
Creator: Bamberger, Robert L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Intelligence Community Reorganization: Potential Effects on DOD Intelligence Agencies

Description: This report discusses arguments surrounding intelligence reform legislation passed by Congress in December 2004 in response to the September 11th Terrorist Attacks and the legislation's potential impacts on the Department of Defense intelligence agencies, such as the National Security Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Updated December 21, 2004.
Date: December 21, 2004
Creator: Best, Richard A., Jr.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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District of Columbia Appropriations Act for FY2005: Comparison of General Provisions of P.L. 108-199 and House, Senate, and Conference Versions of H.R. 4850 (P.L. 108-335)

Description: This report summarizes the general provisions of the District of Columbia Appropriations Act for FY2004 and the District of Columbia Appropriations Act for FY2005.
Date: December 22, 2004
Creator: Boyd, Eugene
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Environmental Protection Agency: Appropriations for FY2005

Description: The President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2005 on December 8, 2004. The law provides funding for numerous federal agencies, including $8.09 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency, subject to an across-the-board rescission of 0.8%. The final appropriations is more than the Administration's request of $7.79 billion, but is less than the FY2004 appropriation of $8.37 billion. This report contains information on the final action on FY2005 appropriations for the EPA.
Date: December 29, 2004
Creator: Bearden, David & Esworthy, Robert
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004: "Lone Wolf" Amendment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

Description: This report discusses the "Lone Wolf" Amendment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which designates non-United States persons who engage in or prepare to commit international terrorism as "agents of a foreign power".
Date: December 29, 2004
Creator: Bazan, Elizabeth B.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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HIV/AIDS International Programs: Appropriations, FY2003-FY2005

Description: On December 8th, 2004, President Bush signed into law the conference version of the FY2005 Consolidated Appropriations. The bill provides $2.9 billion for international AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria programs- somewhat more than the Administration's request of $2.8 billion.
Date: December 30, 2004
Creator: Copson, Raymond W.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Air Act Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: This report discusses major decisions on clean air issues facing the courts and the executive branch in 2006. One focus will be EPA's recent proposal to strengthen air quality standards for fine particles. Other issues of continuing interest are EPA's 2005 decisions limiting interstate transport of air pollution and establishing cap-and-trade systems for emissions from coal fired power plants, and the agency's proposed changes to New Source Review.
Date: January 3, 2005
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Flag Protection: A Brief History and Summary of Recent Supreme Court Decisions and Proposed Constitutional Amendment

Description: This report 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. A 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 3, 2005
Creator: Luckey, John
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Law of the Sea Convention and U.S. Policy

Description: This report includes information regarding the Law of the Sea Convention and United States policy. Background, United States interests, and Senate issues are among topics discussed in this report.
Date: January 3, 2005
Creator: Browne, Marjorie Ann
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Virus-Serum-Toxin Act: A Brief History and Analysis

Description: The Viruses, Serums, Toxins, Antitoxins, and Analogous Products Act (21 U.S.C. 151-159), also known as the Virus-Serum-Toxin Act (VSTA), is intended to assure the safe and effective supply of animal vaccines and other biological products. The act and its applicable regulations are administered by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Date: January 3, 2005
Creator: Monke, Jim
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Water Act and Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) of Pollutants

Description: Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act requires states to identify waters that are impaired by pollution, even after application of pollution controls. For those waters, states must establish a total maximum daily load (TMDL) of pollutants to ensure that water quality standards can be attained. Implementation of this provision has been dormant until recently, when states and EPA were prodded by numerous lawsuits. The TMDL issue has become controversial, in part because of requirements and costs … more
Date: January 4, 2005
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Capital Punishment: An Overview of Federal Death Penalty Statutes

Description: With the passage of P.L. 103-322, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the federal death penalty became available as a possible punishment for a substantial number of new and existing civilian offenses. On April 24, 1996, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 made further modifications and additions to the list of federal capital crimes. On June 25, 2002, P.L. 107-197, the Terrorist Bombings Convention Implementation Act of 2002, added another capital c… more
Date: January 5, 2005
Creator: Bazan, Elizabeth B.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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