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Members' Representational Allowance: History and Usage

Description: This report provides a history and overview of the MRA and examines spending patterns in the 109th Congress (2005 and 2006). The data exclude non-voting Members, including Delegates and the Resident Commissioner. Members who were not in Congress for all of 2005, whether the Member left Congress prior to the end of the year or entered any time after the beginning of the session, were also excluded.
Date: January 5, 2011
Creator: Brudnick, Ida A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Emergency Designation: Current Budget Rules and Procedures

Description: Budgetary legislation is constrained by certain enforcement rules that are generally intended to control spending, revenues, and the deficit. Since 1990, those rules have provided, in various forms, procedural mechanisms allowing Congress to effectively exempt certain budgetary amounts from such constraints by designating a provision in a measure as an emergency requirement. This report provides a brief description of the current rules and congressional procedures associated with the emergency … more
Date: January 6, 2011
Creator: Heniff, Bill, Jr.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Continuing Resolutions: Latest Action and Brief Overview of Recent Practices

Description: Report that is divided into two segments. The first section provides the most recent information on the Fiscal Year 2011 continuing resolution (or CRs). The second segment focuses on: the history and recent trends, including the nature, scope, and duration of CRs during the past 35 years; CR types by duration; major substantive legislative provisions included in some CRs; and funding gaps.
Date: January 7, 2011
Creator: Streeter, Sandy
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Health Insurance: A Primer

Description: This report provides information about Health Insurance where people buy insurance to protect themselves against the possibility of financial loss in the future. Americans obtain insurance in different settings and a variety of methods.
Date: January 11, 2011
Creator: Bernadette, Fernandez
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Trade Promotion Authority and Fast-Track Negotiating Authority for Trade Agreements: Major Votes

Description: Report that profiles significant legislation, including floor votes, that authorized the use of presidential Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) --previously known as fast-track trade negotiating authority --since its inception in 1974. The report also includes a list of floor votes since 1979 on implementing legislation for trade agreements that were passed under TPA fast-track procedures.
Date: January 12, 2011
Creator: Smith, Carolyn C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Cuba: U.S. Restrictions on Travel and Remittances

Description: On January 14, 2011, the Obama Administration announced a series of policy changes further easing restrictions on travel and remittances to Cuba. This report discusses the history of travel restrictions to Cuba, changes set to take place, and related legislative initiatives.
Date: January 18, 2011
Creator: Sullivan, Mark P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Nunn-McCurdy Act: Background, Analysis, and Issues for Congress

Description: For almost 30 years, the Nunn-McCurdy Act has served as one of the principal mechanisms for notifying Congress of cost overruns in Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAPs). This report discusses the Act's background, amendments, and relevancy to current times.
Date: January 19, 2011
Creator: Schwartz, Moshe
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and potential issues for Congress on the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), a relatively inexpensive Navy surface combatant equipped with modular "plug-and-fight" mission packages. The Navy's proposed FY2012 budget requests funding for the procurement of four LCSs. Current issues for Congress concerning the LCS program include changes or potential changes to the composition of LCS mission modules announced by the Navy in January 2011, the combat survivabilit… more
Date: January 20, 2011
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Murder or Attempted Murder of a Member of Congress and Other Federal Officials and Employees: Implications in Federal Criminal Law and Procedure of Events in Tucson

Description: Report describing the federal procedures and attendant legal provisions generally associated with the prosecution of cases regarding the killing and attempted killing of federal officers and employees in the performance of their official duties.
Date: January 25, 2011
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Violence Against Members of Congress and Their Staff: Selected Examples and Congressional Responses

Description: This report describes legislation introduced in the 112th Congress related to violence against members and congressional staff, provides examples of violence in which members of Congress were the apparent target, and some actions Congress has taken based in part on those incidents. This report comes in the aftermath of a recent attack in Tucson, Arizona, in which congressional staff and several constituents were injured or killed.
Date: January 25, 2011
Creator: Petersen, R. Eric; Manning, Jennifer E. & Hemlin, Erin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Expedited or "Fast-Track" Legislative Procedures

Description: This report discusses expedited or "fast-track" legislative procedures, which are special procedures that Congress adopts to promote timely committee and floor action on a specifically defined type of bill or resolution.
Date: February 9, 2011
Creator: Davis, Christopher M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Salaries of Members of Congress: Congressional Votes, 1990-2010

Description: The U.S. Constitution, in Article I, Section 6, authorizes compensation for Members of Congress "ascertained by law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States." Throughout American history, Congress has relied on three different methods in adjusting salaries for Members. Standalone legislation was last used to provide increases in 1990 and 1991. It was the only method used by Congress for many years. The second method, under which annual adjustments took effect automatically unless disa… more
Date: February 9, 2011
Creator: Brudnick, Ida A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Salaries of Members of Congress: Recent Actions and Historical Tables

Description: Congress is required by Article I, Section 6, of the Constitution to determine its own pay. Prior to 1969, Congress did so by enacting stand-alone legislation. Stand-alone legislation may still be used to raise Member pay but two other methods-including an automatic annual adjustment procedure and a commission process-are now also available. This report contains information on the pay procedure and recent adjustments. It also contains historical information on the rate of pay for Members of Con… more
Date: February 9, 2011
Creator: Brudnick, Ida A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Committee Types and Roles

Description: This report briefly describes the structure of the congressional committee system and the types of congressional committees, as well as congressional subcommittees.
Date: February 11, 2011
Creator: Heitshusen, Valerie
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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