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Clean Air Act Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: Major amendments to the Clean Air Act were among the first items on the agenda of the 109th Congress, with S. 131 (the Clear Skies Act) scheduled for markup by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee March 9. The most prominent air quality issues discussed in this report are; Clear Skies / Multi-Pollutant Legislation, Mercury from Power Plants, New Source Review (NSR), MTBE and Ethanol, Ozone Nonattainment Area Deadlines, Conformity of Transportation Plans and SIPs, Hurricanes Katrina… more
Date: January 3, 2006
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Water Act Issues in the 109th Congress

Description: Congress has recently focused legislative attention on narrow bills to extend or modify selected Clean Water Act (CWA) programs, rather than taking up comprehensive proposals. In the 109th Congress, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has approved S. 1400, a bill authorizing $20 billion in federal grants to capitalize state clean water infrastructure loan programs. Also, a House committee has approved bills to reauthorize several Clean Water Act programs: H.R. 624 would provide $1… more
Date: January 3, 2006
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Constitutionality of Requiring Sexually Explicit Material on the Internet to be Under a Separate Domain Name

Description: It is unclear whether making a “.xxx” domain mandatory would violate the First Amendment. Some propose making use of a “.xxx” domain voluntary, but others propose that Congress make it mandatory. The latter proposal raises the question whether a mandatory separate domain would violate the First Amendment, and this report focuses on that question.
Date: January 3, 2006
Creator: Cohen, Henry
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR)

Description: On August 5, 2004, the United States, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic signed the CAFTA-DR. Nearly one year later, it faced a contentious debate and close vote in both houses of the U.S. Congress. This report addresses the CAFTA-RA and issues within it.
Date: January 4, 2006
Creator: Hornbeck, J. F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Civil Rights of Individuals with Disabilities: The Opinions of Judge Alito

Description: This report examines the opinions written by Judge Alito relating to civil rights for individuals with disabilities and includes a discussion of cases relating to the Americans with disabilities Act (ADA), the individuals with disabilities education Act (IDEA), SECTION 504 of the Rehabilitation ACT of 1973, and the Fair Housing Amendments Act.
Date: January 5, 2006
Creator: Jones, Nancy Lee
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Supreme Court Nominations, 1789 - 2005: Actions by the Senate, the Judiciary Committee, and the President

Description: The process of appointing Supreme Court Justices has undergone changes over two centuries, but its most basic feature -- the sharing of power between the President and Senate -- has remained unchanged. To receive a lifetime appointment to the Court, a candidate must first be nominated by the President and then confirmed by the Senate. Table 1 of this report lists and describes actions taken by the Senate, the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the President on all Supreme Court nominations, from 1… more
Date: January 5, 2006
Creator: Rutkus, Denis Steven & Bearden, Maureen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Environmental Opinions of Judge Samuel Alito

Description: This report is based on a review of all the reported environmental decisions of the Third Circuit in which Judge Alito was on the three-judge panel that initially decided the case, or in the en banc group of judges that heard the case on review of the panel decision. It does not confine itself, as did the recently reported Washington Post study, to Third Circuit opinions in which there was a dissent.2 We construe “environmental” broadly to include insurance coverage, Fourth Amendment, and other… more
Date: January 6, 2006
Creator: Meltz, Robert
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Exemptions from Environmental Law for the Department of Defense: An Overview of Congressional Action

Description: This report discusses the difficulty of assessing the impact of environmental requirements on military readiness, broader exemptions for military activities that Congress has enacted, and DOD's request for additional exemptions.
Date: January 9, 2006
Creator: Bearden, David M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Iraq: Oil-for-Food Program, Illicit Trade, and Investigations

Description: The “oil-for-food” program (OFFP) was 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. In order to ensure that Iraq remained contained and that only humanitarian needs were served by the program, the program imposed controls on Iraqi oil exports and humanitarian imports. All Iraqi oil revenues legally earned under the program were held in a U.N.-controlled escrow acc… more
Date: January 9, 2006
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth & Blanchard, Christopher M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Criminal Charges in Corporate Scandals

Description: 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.
Date: January 10, 2006
Creator: Jickling, Mark & Janov, Paul H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Lobbying Disclosure and Ethics Proposals Related to Lobbying Introduced in the 109th Congress: A Comparative Analysis

Description: This report provides context, comparison, and discussion of the issues addressed in the various legislative proposals addressing lobbying and lobbying-related laws and congressional Rules introduced thus far in the 109th Congress.
Date: January 13, 2006
Creator: Petersen, R. Eric
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Bioterrorism Countermeasure Development: Issues in Patents and Homeland Security

Description: Congressional interest in the development of bioterrorism countermeasures remains strong, even after passage of legislation establishing Project BioShield. In the 109th Congress, several bills have been introduced, including S. 3, the Protecting America in the War on Terror Act, S. 975, the Project Bioshield II Act, and S. 1873, the Biodefense and Pandemic Vaccine and Drug Development Act, that would generate additional incentives for the creation of new technologies to counteract potential bio… more
Date: January 17, 2006
Creator: Schacht, Wendy H. & Thomas, John R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congressional Gifts and Travel: Legislative Proposals for the 109th Congress

Description: The House and Senate examined their rules on the acceptance of gifts and travel expenses. Press accounts of alleged excesses in privately funded congressional travel and gifts, particularly from lobbyists, have provided an impetus for proposed changes in the 109th Congress. This report provides an analysis of the proposals for change introduced or discussed in the 109th Congress and will be updated as events warrant.
Date: January 17, 2006
Creator: Amer, Mildred L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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