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Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 113th Congress

Description: Immigration reform was an active legislative issue in the first session of the 113th Congress. The Senate passed the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (S. 744), a comprehensive immigration reform bill that includes provisions on border security, interior enforcement, employment eligibility verification and worksite enforcement, legalization of unauthorized aliens, immigrant visas, nonimmigrant visas, and humanitarian admissions. For its part, the House too… more
Date: November 4, 2014
Creator: Bruno, Andorra; Bjelopera, Jerome P.; Garcia, Michael John; Kandel, William A.; Lee, Margaret Mikyung; Siskin, Alison et al.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Piracy: A Legal Definition

Description: This report first examines the historical development of the offense of piracy, as defined by Congress and codified in the United States Code. The focus then turns to how contemporary international agreements define piracy. Finally, the report highlights developments in two trials involving charges of piracy in the federal district court in Norfolk, VA, United States v. Said and United States v. Hasan, specifically focusing on how the courts interpreted the definition of piracy under 18 U.S.C. … more
Date: December 13, 2010
Creator: Mason, R. Chuck
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agricultural Disaster Assistance

Description: This report briefly discusses the federal grand jury, which exists to investigate crimes against the United States and to secure the constitutional right of grand jury indictment.
Date: May 20, 2015
Creator: Shields, Dennis A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Insurance Regulation: Background, Overview, and Legislation in the 114th Congress

Description: This report discusses insurance regulatory issues addressed by legislation in the 114th Congress including the degree of the authority of the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) over insurers (H.R. 1478/S. 798), international insurance standards (S. 1086 and H.R. 2141), and the licensing of insurance agents and brokers (H.R. 26/P.L. 114-1).
Date: May 27, 2015
Creator: Webel, Baird
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Grand Juries: The Law in a Nutshell

Description: This report discusses the history and current role of the federal grand jury in the American criminal justice system. The federal grand jury exists to investigate crimes against the United States and to secure the constitutional right of grand jury indictment. Its responsibilities require broad powers. As an arm of the United States District Court which summons it, upon whose process it relies, and which will receive any indictments it returns, the grand jury's subject matter and geographical j… more
Date: October 3, 2005
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The "Farm Bill" in Brief

Description: Federal farm support, food assistance, agricultural trade, marketing, and rural development policies are governed by a variety of separate laws. Many of these laws periodically have been evaluated, revised, and renewed through an omnibus, multi-year farm bill. This report discusses the "farm bill" and it's components.
Date: December 19, 2005
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Immigration Legislation and Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: While major immigration reform proposals remain pending, Congress has enacted limited provisions on temporary and permanent employment-based immigration as part of P.L. 109-13. It also has enacted legislation concerning alien victims of domestic violence, trafficking in persons, and refugees. This report discusses these and other immigration-related issues that have seen legislative action or are of significant congressional interest. DHS appropriations and immigration legislation related to Hu… more
Date: June 9, 2006
Creator: Bruno, Andorra; Wasem, Ruth Ellen; Siskin, Alison; Nuñez-Neto, Blas; Garcia, Michael John; Viña, Stephen R. et al.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Immigration Legislation Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: While immigration reform proposals remain pending, Congress has enacted limited provisions on temporary and permanent employment-based immigration as part of P.L. 109-13. It also has enacted legislation concerning alien victims of domestic violence, trafficking in persons, and refugees. This report discusses these and other immigration-related issues that have seen legislative action or are of significant congressional interest. DHS appropriations and immigration legislation related to Hurrican… more
Date: May 12, 2006
Creator: Bruno, Andorra; Wasem, Ruth Ellen; Siskin, Alison; Nuñez-Neto, Blas; Garcia, Michael J.; Vina, Stephen R. et al.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Insanity Defense: An Overview and Legislative Proposals

Description: This report will discuss the insanity defense as used in the federal courts. It will briefly trace the history of the evolution of that defense from its earliest formulation to the version used in the John Hinckley case, and will provide, in summary form, descriptive analysis of various pieces of Legislation to change federal law with regard to the substantive definition of the defense, the allocation of the burden of persuasion when the defense is invoked, and procedures following the successf… more
Date: July 19, 1982
Creator: Marion, Catherine
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Invasive Non-Native Species: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report compares an approach based on a species-by-species assessment, vs. one based on pathways of entry. It also assesses the choice of an emphasis on prevention vs. post hoc control and intra-state quarantine. It describes existing federal laws and federal agency roles, federal interagency cooperation, and the federal interaction with state governments. Finally, it outlines effects, costs, and issues surrounding 47 selected harmful non-native species.
Date: November 25, 2002
Creator: Corn, M. L.; Buck, Eugene H.; Rawson, Jean; Segarra, Alex & Fischer, Eric
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Mexico's Counter-Narcotics Efforts Under Zedillo, December 1994 to March 1998

Description: This report provides information on Mexico's counter-narcotics efforts under the presidency of Ernesto Zedillo from December 1994 to March 1998 in the context of President Clinton's February 26, 1998 certification that Mexico was fully cooperative in drug control efforts. The report focuses on (1) trends in Mexico's share of illicit drug traffic to the U.S., (2) measures of Mexico's efforts to control drug trafficking, and (3) Mexico's cooperation with the U.S. in counter-narcotics efforts.
Date: March 4, 1998
Creator: Storrs, K. Larry
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Interstate Waste Transport: Legislative Issues

Description: This report discusses ten issues raised by proposed legislation to allow controls on interstate commerce in solid waste. Such legislation has been considered in every Congress since 1990. Issues discussed in the report include whether to presumptively ban new waste shipments, whether to grant authority to states or to local governments and what types of facilities and what types of waste to include in a bill's authority.
Date: January 9, 2003
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 (H.R. 3199): A Legal Analysis of the Conference Bill

Description: Among other things, Title I makes permanent 14 USA PATRIOT Act sections scheduled to expire on February 3, 2006, as well as the terrorism support amendments scheduled to expire on December 31, 2006. It amends and postpones until December 31, 2009 the expiration of the act’s sections 206 and 215 relating to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) orders for roving wiretaps and access to business records. It extends the temporary FISA “lone wolf” provision to the same date.
Date: January 17, 2006
Creator: Yeh, Brian T. & Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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USA PATRIOT Act: Background and Comparison of House- and Senate-approved Reauthorization and Related Legislative Action

Description: The House and Senate have each passed USA PATRIOT Reauthorization Acts, H.R. 3199 and S. 3189. Both make permanent most of the expiring USA PATRIOT Act sections, occasionally in modified form. After amending two of the more controversial expiring sections, 206 (roving Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) wiretaps) and 215 (FISA tangible item access orders (business records-library records)), they postpone their expiration date, S. 1389 until December 31, 2009; H.R. 3199 until December 3… more
Date: August 9, 2005
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005

Description: This report discusses the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act which was signed into law by President Bush on September 23, 2005. It primarily contains temporary tax relief intended to directly and indirectly assist individuals in recovering from Hurricane Katrina. The provisions cover a variety of areas, including work credits, charitable giving, and casualty losses.
Date: October 24, 2005
Creator: Lunder, Erika
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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House Committee Organization and Process: A Brief Overview

Description: This report provides a brief overview of the six features of the committee system in the House: organization, hearings, markup, reporting, oversight, and publications. Committees in the House have four primary powers: to conduct hearings and investigations, to consider bills and resolutions and amendments to them, to report legislation to the House for its possible consideration, and to monitor executive branch performance, that is, to conduct oversight.
Date: April 20, 2004
Creator: Schneider, Judy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Legal Developments in International Civil Aviation

Description: This report provides background on U.S. civil aviation agreements, updates the current status of U.S. “Open Skies” negotiations with the EU, and addresses the status of the legal debate concerning both the foreign ownership and control rules and the cabotage laws.
Date: January 30, 2006
Creator: Tatelman, Todd B.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Interactions with Selected Provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA)

Description: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)1 and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA)2 are two of the most significant federal statutes relating to education. Although both have the goal of improving education — IDEA for children with disabilities and NCLBA for all children — the two statutes take different approaches. IDEA focuses on the individual child, with an emphasis on developing an individualized education program (IEP) and specific services for children with disabilities, … more
Date: December 22, 2005
Creator: Apling, Richard N. & Jones, Nancy L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Interactions with Selected Provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA)

Description: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) are two of the most significant federal statutes relating to education. Although both have the goal of improving education — IDEA for children with disabilities and NCLBA for all children — the two statutes take different approaches. IDEA focuses on the individual child, with an emphasis on developing an individualized education program (IEP) and specific services for children with disabilities, whil… more
Date: December 22, 2005
Creator: Apling, Richard N. & Jones, Nancy Lee
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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No-Knock: Unannounced Forcible Entry Historically, In the States and in the Federal District of Columbia, Court Reform and Criminal Procedure Act of 1970, and Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act f 1970

Description: This report discusses the issue of unannounced forcible entry by police and laws regulating the practice both historically and in the D.C. Court Reform and Criminal Procedure Act of 1970 and Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970.
Date: December 16, 1970
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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