Congressional Research Service Reports - 214 Matching Results
Search Results
- U.S. Postal Service: Background and Analysis of H.R. 2309 and S. 1789 in the 112th Congress
- This report looks at how the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has taken steps to save money. It also covers how bills H.R. 2309 and S. 1789 include major reforms, such as reductions in service, expansion of the USPS's authority to provide products and services, and alterations to the postal employees pension and healthcare plans.
- Publishing Scientific Papers with Potential Security Risks: Issues for Congress
- This report discusses the publication of federally-funded research results including positive aspects (wide dissemination that may drive innovation, job creation, technology development, and the advance of science), and the negatives (that some research results could also be used for malicious purposes). This report describes the underlying controversy, the potential benefits and harms of publishing these manuscripts, the actions taken by domestic and international stakeholders, and options to improve the way research is handled to minimize security concerns.
- Advertising by the Federal Government: An Overview
- This report looks at what government agencies are spending on advertising, including the difficulties of estimating advertising expenditures and the restrictions on government advertising.
- Journalists' Privilege: Overview of the Law and Legislation in Recent Congresses
- This report gives an overview of the law regarding journalistic privilege. Included are the responses of the 110th and 111th Congresses regarding the law.
- Intelligence Identities Protection Act
- This report summarizes the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, P.L. 97-200, enacted by Congress in 1982 to address the unauthorized disclosure of information that exposes covert U.S. intelligence agents.
- Sending Mail to Members of the Armed Forces at Reduced or Free Postage: An Overview
- This report looks the background, and current methods of, sending mail to troops serving overseas via subsidized postage.
- U.S. Initiatives to Promote Global Internet Freedom: Issues, Policy, and Technology
- Report regarding the role of the United States and other foreign companies in facilitating Internet censorship by repressive regimes overseas.
- Updating the Statutory Framework for Communications for the Digital Age: Issues for Congress
- This report discusses the statutory framework for the communications sector that largely was enacted prior to the commercial development and deployment of digital technology, Internet Protocol (IP), broadband networks, and online voice, data, and video services.
- Social Media in the House of Representatives: Frequently Asked Questions
- This report answers several questions about the regulation of social media accounts in the House of Representatives.
- Advertising by the Federal Government: An Overview
- This report discusses government advertising that can be controversial if it conflicts with citizens' views about the proper role of government.
- Cloud Computing: Constitutional and Statutory Privacy Protections
- This report first describes cloud computing and how it differs from traditional computing. It then describes how the Fourth Amendment and federal electronic privacy statutes apply to communications in the physical world, to Internet communications generally, and specifically to the cloud. Finally, this report surveys recent legislation and other various proposals designed to update the existing statutory framework.
- The First Responder Network (FirstNet) and Next-Generation Communications for Public Safety: Issues for Congress
- This report provides and introduction to key provisions in the Spectrum Act to improve public safety communications and discusses planning authority, state and local participation, federal governance and other issues regarding the evolving network technologies.
- Public Safety Communications and Spectrum Resources: Policy Issues for Congress
- The availability of radio frequency spectrum is considered essential to developing a modern, interoperable communications network for public safety. Equally critical is building the radio network to use this spectrum. Opinions diverge, however, on such issues as how much spectrum should be made available for the network, who should own it, who should build it, who should operate it, who should be allowed to use it, and how it might be paid for. This report discusses potential paths forward for Congress in regards to modernizing communications. To resolve the debate and move the planning process forward, Congress may decide to pursue oversight or change existing law. Actions proposed to Congress include (1) authorizing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reassign spectrum and (2) changing requirements for the use of spectrum auction proceeds. In particular, legislation in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-171) might be modified. This law mandated the termination of analog television broadcasting and the release of those channels for other uses, including public safety.
- The U.S. Newspaper Industry in Transition
- This report analyzes the current crises that the U.S. newspaper industry is facing in light of the recent economic downturn and the increasing number of readers who turn to the Internet for their news instead of to traditional media. Congress has begun debating whether the financial problems in the newspaper industry pose a public policy issue that warrants federal action.
- English as the Official Language of the United States: Legal Background
- For over a decade, legislation that would either declare English the official language of the United States government or that would oppose such declarations has been introduced in Congress. This report discusses the legal effect of some of these congressional proposals, as well as current federal policy on foreign language assistance, the constitutional law implications of official English proposals, and legal issues regarding state laws on official English.
- U.S. Initiatives to Promote Global Internet Freedom: Issues, Policy, and Technology
- This report provides information regarding the role of U.S. and other foreign companies in facilitating Internet censorship by repressive regimes overseas. The report is divided into several sections: Examination of repressive policies in China and Iran, Relevant U.S. laws, U.S. policies to promote Internet freedom, Private sector initiatives, and Congressional action.
- U.S. Initiatives to Promote Global Internet Freedom: Issues, Policy, and Technology
- This report provides information regarding the role of U.S. and other foreign companies in facilitating Internet censorship by repressive regimes overseas. The report is divided into several sections: Examination of repressive policies in China and Iraq, Relevant U.S. laws, U.S. policies to promote Internet freedom, Private sector initiatives, and Congressional action.
- The First Responder Network (FirstNet) and Next-Generation Communications for Public Safety: Issues for Congress
- This report provides and introduction to key provisions in the Spectrum Act to improve public safety communications and discusses planning authority, state and local participation, federal governance and other issues regarding the evolving network technologies.
- The FCC's Rules and Policies Regarding Media Ownership, Attribution, and Ownership Diversity
- This report discusses the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) broadcast media ownership rules, which restrict the number of media outlets that a single entity may own or control. Its attribution rules define which relationships the FCC counts as ownership. In 2004 and again in 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, directed the FCC to review its broadcast ownership diversity policies in conjunction with the media ownership rules.
- Cybersecurity and Information Sharing: Comparison of H.R. 1560 and H.R. 1731
- This report compares provisions in two bills in the House of Representatives that address information sharing and related activities in cybersecurity.
- Social Media in the House of Representatives: Frequently Asked Questions
- This report answers several questions about the regulation of social media accounts in the House of Representatives, as social media accounts for official representational duties have increased.
- Congressional Printing: Background and Issues for Congress
- 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.
- Social Media in the House of Representatives: Frequently Asked Questions
- This report answers several questions about the regulation of social media accounts in the House of Representatives.
- The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act: Overview and Issues for Congress
- This report describes Congress's pursuit of postal reform, and summarizes the major provisions of the new postal reform law. The report also suggests PAEA-related oversight issues for Congress. President George W. Bush signed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA; P.L. 109-435; 120 Stat. 3198) on December 20, 2006. The PAEA was the first broad revision of the 1970 statute that replaced the U.S. Post Office with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), a self-supporting, independent agency of the executive branch.
- Advertising Industry in the Digital Age
- This report discusses regulatory challenges faced by policymakers as the advertising industry enters a period of far-reaching change brought about by the economic downturn and structural shifts as consumers move to the Internet and other digital platforms for news, entertainment, and socializing.
- Journalists' Privilege: Overview of the Law and Legislation in the 110th and 111th Congresses
- This report gives an overview of the law regarding journalistic privilege. Included are the responses of the 110th and 111th Congresses regarding the law.
- Sending Mail to Members of the Armed Forces at Reduced or Free Postage: An Overview
- This report discusses proposed legislation to establish a free-mail-to-troops postage benefit. Various bills introduced in Congress would provide members of the Armed Forces serving overseas with free-postage vouchers every month. Recipients of these vouchers would be able to transfer them to family members or other persons in the United States, who then could use the vouchers to mail a letter or package to the troops postage-free.
- Sending Mail to Members of the Armed Forces at Reduced or Free Postage: An Overview
- This report discusses proposed legislation to establish a free-mail-to-troops postage benefit. Various bills introduced in Congress would provide members of the Armed Forces serving overseas with free-postage vouchers every month. Recipients of these vouchers would be able to transfer them to family members or other persons in the United States, who then could use the vouchers to mail a letter or package to the troops postage-free.
- Reauthorizing the Satellite Home Viewing Provisions in the Communications Act and the Copyright Act: Issues for Congress
- This report discusses the regulatory framework for the retransmission of broadcast television signals by satellite television operators,the Satellite Home Viewer Act of 1994, the 1999 Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act (SHVIA), and the 2004 Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act (SHVERA)
- The U.S. Newspaper Industry in Transition
- This report analyzes China's mixed record on human rights: major human rights problems, new human rights legislation, and the development of civil society, legal awareness, and social and political activism. This report discusses major areas of interest but does not provide an exhaustive account of all human rights abuses or related incidents.
- Reauthorizing the Satellite Home Viewing Provisions in the Communications Act and the Copyright Act: Issues for Congress
- This report discusses issues in the current and public policy debate regarding the communications act and the copyright act.
- Post Office and Retail Postal Facility Closures: Overview and Issues for Congress
- This report provides information on the announcement that the United States Postal Service was considering the closure of 3,105 branches; historical data on the number of post offices and other retail postal facilities; an explanation of the legal authorities relevant to retail postal facility closures; a review of the retail postal facility closure processes, including data on public appeals of closures, and H.R. 658's proposed alterations to the processes; and a concluding discussion that suggests observations and possible issues for Congress.
- Journalists' Privilege: Overview of the Law and Legislation in the 109th and 110th Congresses
- This report discusses the journalists' privilege, provides and overview of the law, describes the Grand Jury Subpoena related to the Judith Miller case, and gives an overview of the congressional response in the 109th and 110th Congresses.
- Finding Quotes for Speeches: Fact Sheet
- This report provides sources for finding quotes. The resources are divided into three categories: (1) General Quotations, (2) Americana, and (3) Religion.
- FCC Media Ownership Rules: Current Status and Issues for Congress
- This report analyzes each of the areas that has changed as a result of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) actions and Court decisions. The various positions in the debate also are summarized.
- Open Access Publishing and Citation Archives: Background and Controversy
- This report begins with an inventory of basic information: definitions and guides to histories of the growth of open access publishing and citation archives and descriptions of selected major open access activities. It moves on to summarize major points of difference between proponents and opponents of nongovernmental open access publishing and databases, and then highlights federal, including National Institutes of Health (NIH), open access activities and contentious issues surrounding these developments. The report also briefly describes open access developments in the United Kingdom (where a number of governmental and nongovernmental initiatives have occurred) and in the international arena. Finally, controversial issues which could receive attention in the 109th Congress are summarized.
- An Emergency Communications Safety Net: Integrating 911 and Other Services
- No Description Available.
- Obscenity and Indecency: Constitutional Principles and Federal Statutes
- This report examines federal law regarding obscenity and indecency. The First Amendment provides: “Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” In general, the First Amendment protects pornography, with this term being used to mean any erotic material. The Supreme Court, however, has held that the First Amendment does not protect two types of pornography: obscenity and child pornography. Consequently, they may be banned on the basis of their content, and federal law prohibits the mailing of obscenity, as well as its transport or receipt in interstate or foreign commerce.
- Open Access Publishing and Citation Archives: Background and Controversy
- This report begins with an inventory of basic information: definitions and guides to histories of the growth of open access publishing and citation archives and descriptions of selected major open access activities. It moves on to summarize major points of difference between proponents and opponents of nongovernmental open access publishing and databases, and then highlights federal, including National Institutes of Health (NIH), open access activities and contentious issues surrounding these developments. The report also briefly describes open access developments in the United Kingdom (where a number of governmental and nongovernmental initiatives have occurred) and in the international arena. Finally, controversial issues which could receive attention in the 109th Congress are summarized.
- The Federal Communications Commission: Current Structure and Its Role in the Changing Telecommunications Landscape
- This report provides information about The Current Structure and Its Role in the Changing Telecommunications Landscape on the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC is an independent agency with its five members appointed by the president.
- Emergency Communications: Policy Options at a Crossroads
- No Description Available.
- Journalists’ Privilege: Overview of the Law and Legislation in the 109th and 110th Congresses
- This report examines laws pertaining to journalists' privilege. Most states afford journalists some protection from compelled release of their confidential sources. The question remains, however, as to whether a concomitant federal privilege exists. The Supreme Court has addressed the issue of journalists’ privilege under the First Amendment only once; in Branzburg v. Hayes, it left open the question of whether the First Amendment provides journalists with any privilege.
- Spectrum Use and the Transition to Digital TV
- This report examines Spectrum use in the United States and the transition to digital TV. Like most of the world, The United States, is moving to replace current television technology with a new, technically superior format generally referred to as digital television (DTV). As part of this transition, Congress has acted to move television broadcasters out of radio spectrum currently used for the old, analog technology. The vacated radio frequencies are now scheduled for release in accordance with provisions of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-171), which sets a February 2009 date for the release of the spectrum.
- The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act
- President George W. Bush signed the Postal Enhancement and Accountability Act (P.L. 109-435) on December 20, 2006. This report briefly describes Congress’s pursuit of postal reform, summarizes the major provisions of the new postal reform law, and identifies possible P.L. 109-435 oversight issues for Congress.
- The FCC’s Authority to Regulate Net Neutrality After Comcast v. FCC
- This report provides information about The FCC’s Authority to Regulate Net Neutrality After Comcast v. FCC where a major debate over the government's role with respect to the internet is occurring.
- FCC Media Ownership Rules: Current Status and Issues for Congress
- On June 2, 2003, the Federal Communications Commission modified five of its media ownership rules, easing restrictions on the ownership of multiple television stations and on local media cross-ownership, and tightening restrictions on the ownership of multiple radio stations in local markets.
- Legal Challenge to the FCC’s Media Ownership Rules: An Overview of Prometheus Radio v. FCC
- This report provides an overview of the Commission's 2002 Biennial Review from which the 2003 rules originated and the Prometheus case.
- The FCC’s Authority to Regulate Net Neutrality After Comcast v. FCC
- This report provides information about The FCC’s Authority to Regulate Net Neutrality After Comcast v. FCC where a major debate over the government's role with respect to the internet is occurring.
- The First Responder Network (FirstNet) and Next-Generation Communications for Public Safety: Issues for Congress
- No Description Available.
- Facsimile Advertising Rules Under the Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005
- No Description Available.