Congressional Research Service Reports - 75 Matching Results
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- Administrative Appeals in the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service
- This report describes Congressional interest in the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) appeal process due to rumors that it affects the BLM's capacity to handle various resources. Moreover, the report defines what an administrative appeal is, and describes the process required to undertake one. The report also lists the various types of administrative appeals.
- Guide to Individuals Seated on the Senate Dais
- This report is a brief summary of House and Senate procedures for reaching agreement on legislation. It discusses the provisions of House Rule XXII and Senate Rule XXVIII as well as other applicable rules, precedents, and practices. The report focuses on the most common and customary procedures.
- Congressional Authority Over the Federal Courts
- This report examines Congress' legislative authority with respect to the Judicial Branch. While Congress has broad power to regulate the structure, administration and jurisdiction of the courts, its powers are limited by precepts of due process, equal protection and separation of powers. This report addresses the constitutional foundation of the federal courts, and the explicit and general authorities of Congress to regulate the courts. It then addresses Congress’ ability to limit the jurisdiction of the courts over particular issues, sometimes referred to as “court-stripping.” The report then analyzes Congress’ authority to regulate the availability of certain judicial processes and remedies for litigants. Congressional power to legislate regarding specific judicial decisions is also discussed.
- Congressional Authority Over the Federal Courts
- This report examines Congress' legislative authority with respect to the Judicial Branch. While Congress has broad power to regulate the structure, administration and jurisdiction of the courts, its powers are limited by precepts of due process, equal protection and separation of powers.
- The Intelligence Community and 9/11: Congressional Hearings and the Status of the Investigation
- This report discusses congressional investigations and hearings held by the congressional intelligence committees Joint Inquiry following the September 11th Terrorist Attacks. The Inquiry criticized intelligence agencies' use of information collection, processing, and maintenance and their coordination and communication with other agencies.
- Qatar: Background and U.S. Relations
- This report presents an overview of Qatar's history and recent economic and political developments. The report discusses U.S. relations with Qatar, U.S. military cooperation and foreign assistance, political reform and elections, as well as human rights and social issues.
- Tactical Aircraft Modernization: Issues for Congress
- No Description Available.
- Tactical Aircraft Modernization: Issues for Congress
- No Description Available.
- Offices and Officials in the Senate: Roles and Duties
- This report outlines the officers of the Senate, including brief information about the history of each office, examples of their roles and duties, and election or appointment information about the current incumbent.
- The Congressional Research Service and the American Legislative Process
- This report details the ways in which the Library of Congress supports and serves the members of Congress
- Fishery, Aquaculture, and Marine Mammal Legislation in the 109th Congress
- Fish and marine mammals are important resources in open ocean and nearshore coastal areas. Many laws and regulations guide the management of these resources by federal agencies. This report contains information on commercial and sport fisheries, aquaculture, and marine mammals and issues related to the 109th Congress.
- The Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the 111th Congress: Conflicting Values and Difficult Choices
- The Endangered Species Act has been one of the more contentious environmental laws. This may stem from its strict substantive provisions, which can affect the use of both federal and nonfederal lands and resources. This report discusses oversight issues and legislation introduced in the 11th Congress to address Endangered Species Act implementation and management of endangered and threatened species.
- Parliamentary Reference Sources: House of Representatives
- This report discusses the availability and format of three types of parliamentary reference materials: official sources such as the House Rules and Manual and the published precedents; publications of committees and offices of the House; and documents prepared by House party and leadership organizations. It also reviews some principles of House parliamentary procedure that are important to consider when using information from parliamentary reference sources.
- Suspension of Rules in the House: Measure Sponsorship by Party
- No Description Available.
- Environmental Affairs in the 91st Congress, 1st Session
- This report discusses the growth of environmental policy and provides a listing of introduced legislation related to the environment in the 1st Session of the 91st Congress.
- Clean Water Act Issues in the 108th Congress
- In this report several other Clean Water Act issues are likely to receive congressional attention, through oversight hearings and possibly in legislative proposals. Among the topics of interest is whether and how the Administration will revise the current program for restoration of pollution-impaired waters (the Total Maximum Daily Load, or TMDL program), in view of controversy over regulatory changes made during the Clinton Administration and continuing disagreement among states, cities, industry, and environmental advocates about program effectiveness and efficiency.
- Puerto Rican Statehood: Effects on House Apportionment
- This report looks at House of Representative distribution between states if Puerto Rico were to gain statehood.
- Japan-U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress
- No Description Available.
- Amendments in the Senate: Types and Forms
- The amending process is central to the consideration of legislation by the Senate. This report briefly describes the various types of amendments that take place in the Senate.
- Expedited Procedures in the House: Variations Enacted into Law
- This report provides information about the variations Enacted into Law on Expedited Procedures in the House. Congress enacts expedited, procedures into law when it wants to increase the likelihood that one or both the house will vote in a timely way in a certain measure.
- How Measures Are Brought to the House Floor: A Brief Introduction
- This report presents a brief description of the five methods used to bring proposed legislation to the House floor for consideration. These methods allow for consideration as a privileged matter, under the limited privilege of a special calendar or day, under suspensions of the rules, under the terms of a special rule, or by unanimous consent.
- Resolutions of Inquiry: An Analysis of Their Use in the House, 1947-2011
- This report examines the use of resolutions of inquiry in the House of Representatives from 1947 to 2011. A resolution of inquiry is a measure that formally calls on the executive branch to provide specified factual information to Congress.
- "Sense of" Resolutions and Provisions
- This report discusses specific kinds of resolutions by which Congress may formally express opinions about subjects of current national interest through freestanding simple or concurrent resolutions (called generically "sense of the House," "sense of the Senate," or "sense of the Congress" resolutions). These opinions expressing the views of one or both chambers may be included in other legislation upon introduction or subsequently added by amendment. This report identifies the various forms these expressions may take and the procedures governing such actions.
- The Amending Process in the House of Representatives
- This report summarizes many of the procedures and practices affecting the amending process on the floor of the House of Representatives. The process gives Members an opportunity to change the provisions of the bills and resolutions on which they are going to vote; it can be among the most complex as well as the most important stages of legislative consideration.
- Committee Controls of Agency Decisions
- Congress has a long history of subjecting certain types of executive agency decisions to committee control, either by committees or subcommittees. Especially with the beginning of World War II, the executive branch agreed to committee controls as an accommodation that allowed Congress to delegate authority and funds broadly while using committees to monitor the use of that discretionary authority. These committee-agency arrangements took the form of different procedures: simply notifying the committee, obtaining committee approval, "coming into agreement" understandings, and using the congressional distinction between authorization and appropriation to exercise committee controls. This report explains how and why committee vetoes originated, the constitutional objections raised by the executive branch, the Court’s decision in Chadha, and the continuation of committee review procedures since that time.
- NATO Enlargement: Senate Advice and Consent
- This report describes the provisions of the North Atlantic Treaty and of the original Senate debate in 1949 pertinent to enlargement and the procedures that have been followed for each subsequent enlargement proposal. It also discusses what the Senate did with respect to the reunification of Germany in 1990 and the implications of that event for Germany's membership in NATO.
- NATO Enlargement: Senate Advice and Consent
- This report describes the provisions of the North Atlantic Treaty and of the original Senate debate in 1949 pertinent to enlargement and the procedures that have been followed for each subsequent enlargement proposal. It also discusses what the Senate did with respect to the reunification of Germany in 1990 and the implications of that event for Germany's membership in NATO.
- Congressional Official Mail Costs
- The congressional franking privilege allows Members of Congress to send official mail via the U.S. Postal Service at government expense. This report provides information and analysis on the costs of franked mail in the House of Representatives and Senate.
- House Committee Funding: Process and Analysis of Disbursements
- This report provides an overview of the committee funding process in the House; it analyzes funding levels since 1995, reviews House floor and committee action on committee funding in the 112th Congress, summarizes the rules and regulations that structure the use of committee funds, and analyzes actual committee funding spending patterns during five previous years.
- War Powers Resolution: Presidential Compliance
- Two separate but closely related issues confront Congress each time the President introduces armed forces into a situation abroad that conceivably could lead to their involvement in hostilities. One issue concerns the division of war powers between the President and Congress, whether the use of armed forces falls within the purview of the congressional power to declare war and the War Powers Resolution. The other issue is whether Congress concurs in the wisdom of the action. This issue brief does not deal with the substantive merits of using armed forces in specific cases, but rather with the congressional authorization for the action and the application and effectiveness of the War Powers Resolution.
- U.S. Army School of the Americas: Background and Congressional Concerns
- No Description Available.
- Senate Committee Hearings: Preparation
- Committee hearings allow Senators an opportunity to gather information on—and draw attention to—legislation and issues within a committee’s purview, conduct oversight of programs or agencies, and investigate allegations of wrongdoing. This checklist identifies, primarily for staff, many of the tasks that need to be performed by a full committee and, in most cases, subcommittees in advance of a hearing. Some of the tasks are required by Senate or committee rules; others are common committee practice. Some tasks are usually the responsibility of the committee’s majority staff, some are shared by majority and minority staff, and some are performed by a Senator’s personal office staff.
- Senate Committee Hearings: Witness Testimony
- This report discusses rules regarding witness testimony before Senate committees. It includes brief descriptions of rules for oral testimony, questioning of witnesses, and hearing transcription.
- Congressional Budget Actions in 2003
- During the first session of the 108th Congress, the House and Senate will consider many different budgetary measures. Most measures will pertain to fiscal year (FY) 2004 (which will begin on October 1, 2003) and beyond. Some also will pertain to the budget for FY2003. As the session progresses, this report will describe House and Senate action on major budgetary legislation within the framework of the congressional budget process and other procedural requirements.
- Criminal Charges in Corporate Scandals
- Since the collapse of Enron Corp. in late 2001, there has been a series of scandals involving major U.S. corporations. Recurring elements in the scandals include improper or fraudulent accounting, self-enrichment by corporate officers, stock trading on inside information, and the destruction or falsification of business records. This report tracks post-Enron criminal charges.
- Congressional Oversight of Intelligence: Current Structure and Alternatives
- This report first describes the current select committees on intelligence and then the former Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, often cited as a model for a counterpart on intelligence. The study also sets forth proposed characteristics for a joint committee on intelligence, differences among these, and their pros and cons. The report examines other actions and alternatives affecting congressional oversight in the field.
- Independent Evaluators of Federal Programs: Approaches, Devices, and Examples
- Congress and the executive, as well as outside organizations, have long been attentive to the evaluation of federal programs, with frequent interest paid to the independent status of the evaluator. This interest continues into the current era, with numerous illustrations of the multifaceted approaches adopted and proposed. This report focuses on examples of independent evaluators (IEs): when an evaluation is to be conducted by an entity outside the immediate organization that is responsible for policy implementation, and the entity also is intended to have one or more dimensions of independence.
- Iraq: Oil-for-Food Program, International Sanctions, and Illicit Trade
- This report discusses the "oil-for-food" program (OFFP) as the centerpiece of a long-standing U.N. Security Council effort to alleviate human suffering in Iraq while maintaining key elements of the 1991 Gulf war-related sanctions regime. The program, in operation from December 1996 until March 2003, is detailed.
- Iraq: Politics, Governance, and Human Rights
- This report discusses Iraq: Politics, Governance, and Human Rights. Relations among major political factions have worsened substantially since late 2011, threatening Iraq's stability and the perception of the achievements of the long U.S. intervention in Iraq. Sunni Arabs, always fearful that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki would seek unchallenged power for Shiite factions allied with him, accuse him of an outright power grab as he seeks to purge the highest-ranking Sunni Arabs from government and to cripple attempts by Sunni-inhabited provinces to achieve greater autonomy.
- Direct Overt U.S. Aid and Military Reimbursements to Pakistan, FY2002-FY2011
- Aid and military reimbursements made to Pakistan from 2002-2011. The list is divided by agency.
- Pakistan-U.S. Relations: A Summary
- This report summarizes important recent developments in Pakistan and in Pakistan-U.S. relations. These include high-profile political assassinations earlier in 2011, the Raymond Davis affair involving a CIA operative accused of murder in the city of Lahore, and the May killing of Osama bin Laden in the military cantonment city of Abbottabad, among others. Obama Administration engagement with Pakistan has been seriously disrupted by recent events. A brief analysis of the current state of Pakistan-U.S. relations illuminates the main areas of contention and uncertainty. Vital U.S. interests related to links between Pakistan and indigenous American terrorism, Islamist militancy in Pakistan and Islamabad's policies toward the Afghan insurgency, Pakistan's relations with historic rival India, nuclear weapons proliferation and security, and the troubled status of Pakistan's domestic setting are reviewed. Ongoing human rights concerns are briefly summarized, and the report closes with discussion of U.S. foreign assistance to Pakistan.
- Pakistan-U.S. Relations: A Summary
- This report summarizes important recent developments in Pakistan and in Pakistan-U.S. relations. These include high-profile political assassinations in early 2011; the Raymond Davis affair involving a CIA operative accused of murder in the city of Lahore; and the May killing of Osama bin Laden in the city of Abbottabad, among others. The report also summarizes key issues in the bilateral relationship.
- Women in the United States Congress, 1917-2013: Biographical and Committee Assignment Information, and Listings by State and Congress
- This report includes biographical information, including the names, committee assignments, dates of service, listings by Congress and state, and (for Representatives) congressional districts of the 297 women who have served in Congress.
- Women in the United States Congress: Historical Overview, Tables, and Discussion
- This report includes a discussion of the impact of women in Congress as well as historical information, including the number and percentage of women in Congress over time, means of entry to Congress, comparisons to international and state legislatures, records for tenure, firsts for women in Congress, women in leadership, and African American and Asian Pacific American women in Congress.
- Expulsion, Censure, Reprimand, and Fine: Legislative Discipline in the House of Representatives
- The House of Representatives is expressly authorized within the United States Constitution (Article I, Section 5, clause 2) to discipline or “punish” its own Members. This authority of the institution of the House to discipline a Member for “disorderly Behaviour” is in addition to any criminal or civil liability that a Member of the House may incur for particular misconduct, and is a device or procedure designed not so much as merely a punishment of the individual Member, but rather ultimately as a measure to protect the institutional integrity of the House of Representatives, its proceedings and its reputation.
- Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA): What Is It, and How Might One Be Utilized In Iraq?
- This report discusses multilateral and bilateral agreements addressing the status of U.S. armed forces while present in a foreign country. These agreements, commonly referred to as Status of Forces Agreements (SOFAs), generally establish the framework under which U.S. military personnel operate in a foreign country, addressing how the domestic laws of the foreign jurisdiction shall be applied toward U.S. personnel while in that country.
- Defense Primer: Navigating the NDAA
- This report provides an overview of the structure and organization of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
- Election of the President and Vice President by Congress: Contingent Election
- The 12th Amendment to the Constitution requires that candidates for President and Vice President receive a majority of electoral votes (currently 270 or more of a total of 538) to be elected. If no candidate receives a majority, the President is elected by the House of Representatives, and the Vice President is elected by the Senate. This process is referred to as contingent election and is the topic of discussion in this report.
- Filling U.S. Senate Vacancies: Perspectives and Contemporary Developments
- No Description Available.
- Navy Role in Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) — Background and Issues for Congress
- This report describes the Navy's role in carrying out a variety of activities related to what the Administration refers to as the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). The Navy's role in the GWOT raises several potential oversight issues for Congress.