Congressional Research Service Reports - 48 Matching Results

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The Current Palestinian Uprising: Al-Aqsa Intifadah

Description: Facing a September 13, 2000 deadline for concluding a comprehensive Israeli- Palestinian agreement on all permanent status issues, President Bill Clinton convened a trilateral summit with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Yasser Arafat at Camp David on July 11, 2000. The summit, which lasted until July 24, 2000, did not produce an agreement. Members of 106th Congress responded to the al-Aqsa Intifadah by introducing bills that supported Israe… more
Date: January 5, 2001
Creator: Ruebner, Joshua; Mark, Clyde R.; Katzman, Kenneth & Prados, Alfred B.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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DNA Evidence: Legislative Initiatives in the 106th Congress

Description: DNA evidence is a powerful forensic tool in criminal cases. Its use and capabilities have increased substantially since it was first introduced in the late 1980s. That growth has led to the emergence of the following issues that were considered by the 106th Congress in legislative initiatives: eliminating the nationwide backlog of unanalyzed DNA samples, expanding the kinds of offenders who are profiled, providing opportunities for post-conviction testing of DNA evidence, and continuing develop… more
Date: January 26, 2001
Creator: Fischer, Eric A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agroterrorism: Options in Congress

Description: Although U.S. intelligence agencies have not identified any terrorist acts targeting agricultural production (i.e., agroterrorism) in the United States to date, the events of September 11, 2001 have awakened the nation to their possibility. Some experts estimate that a single agroterrorist attack using a highly contagious livestock disease could cost between $10 billion and $30 billion to the U.S. economy. This report examines the potential threats to America’s agriculture from a deliberate bio… more
Date: December 19, 2001
Creator: Segarra, Alejandro E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Statutes: An Overview of Legislation in the 106th Congress

Description: This report discusses federal mandatory minimum sentencing statutes, which demand that execution or incarceration follow criminal conviction. They cover drug dealing, murdering federal officials, and using a gun to commit a federal crime. They circumscribe judicial sentencing discretion. They have been criticized as unthinkingly harsh and incompatible with a rational sentencing guideline system; yet they have also been embraced as hallmarks of truth in sentence and a certain means of incapacita… more
Date: January 11, 2001
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Trying Terrorists as War Criminals

Description: No Description Available.
Date: October 29, 2001
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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CONTOMS (Counter Narcotics and Terrorism Operational Medical Support Program)

Description: Since the September 11th terrorist attack, greater attention has focused on federal, state, and local readiness to respond to situations involving terrorism or weapons of mass destruction (WMD). One such federal program that provided federal support to local law enforcement and first responders is CONTOMS (Counter Narcotics and Terrorism Operational Medical Support).
Date: December 21, 2001
Creator: Gerleman, David J. & Hildreth, Steven A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Trying Terrorists as War Criminals

Description: On November 13, 2001, President Bush signed a Military Order pertaining to the detention, treatment, and trial of certain non-citizens in the war against terrorism. The President’s Military Order makes it apparent that he plans to treat the attacks as acts of war rather than criminal acts, and to prosecute those responsible as war criminals, trying them by special military commission rather than in federal court. The purpose of this the report is to clarify the legal basis for treating the acts… more
Date: November 28, 2001
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Cyberwarfare

Description: Cyberwarfare raises issues of growing national interest and concern. Cyberwarfare can be used to describe various aspects of defending and attacking information and computer networks in cyberspace, as well as denying an adversary’s ability to do the same. Some major problems encountered with cyber attacks, in particular, are the difficulty in determining the origin and nature of the attack and in assessing the damage incurred.
Date: June 19, 2001
Creator: Hildreth, Steven A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Latin America: Terrorism Issues and Implications for U.S. Policy

Description: Latin American nations strongly condemned the September 11, 2001 attacks on NewYork and Washington and took action through the Organization of American States and the Rio Treaty to strengthen hemispheric cooperation against terrorism and express solidarity with the United States. Many nations are taking actions to investigate possible regional linkages with the Osama bin Laden terrorist network, and to ensure that their financial sectors are not being used by terrorists. In the aftermath of the… more
Date: October 13, 2001
Creator: Sullivan, Mark P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Drug Control: International Policy and Options

Description: Over the past decade, worldwide production of illicit drugs has risen dramatically: opium and marijuana production has roughly doubled and coca production tripled. Street prices of cocaine and heroin have fallen significantly in the past 20 years, reflecting increased availability. Despite apparent national political resolve to deal with the drug problem, inherent contradictions regularly appear between U.S. anti-drug policy and other national policy goals and concerns. The mix of competing dom… more
Date: January 19, 2001
Creator: Perl, Raphael F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Drug Control: International Policy and Options

Description: Over the past decade, worldwide production of illicit drugs has risen dramatically: opium and marijuana production has roughly doubled and coca production tripled. Street prices of cocaine and heroin have fallen significantly in the past 20 years, reflecting increased availability. Despite apparent national political resolve to deal with the drug problem, inherent contradictions regularly appear between U.S. anti-drug policy and other national policy goals and concerns. The mix of competing dom… more
Date: November 2, 2001
Creator: Perl, Raphael F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Drug Control: International Policy and Options

Description: Over the past decade, worldwide production of illicit drugs has risen dramatically: opium and marijuana production has roughly doubled and coca production tripled. Street prices of cocaine and heroin have fallen significantly in the past 20 years, reflecting increased availability. Despite apparent national political resolve to deal with the drug problem, inherent contradictions regularly appear between U.S. anti-drug policy and other national policy goals and concerns. The mix of competing dom… more
Date: December 12, 2001
Creator: Perl, Raphael F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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"Terrorism" and Related Terms in Statute and Regulation: Selected Language

Description: Congress is considering revised definitions of “terrorism” and related terms in the context of the proposed “Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001.” While the proposed definitions relate to criminal law and immigration law, hundreds of other federal statutes and regulations already define “terrorism” and related terms in a variety of other contexts. However, these statutes and regulations ultimately refer to an extremely small set of statutory definitions, current criminal law and immigration definitions … more
Date: September 26, 2001
Creator: Martin, Elizabeth
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Terrorism: Some Legal Restrictions on Military Assistance to Domestic Authorities Following a Terrorist Attack

Description: The Constitution empowers the President to act as Commander in Chief of the armed forces and to see to the execution of federal law; it gives Congress the authority to make federal law including laws for the regulation of the armed forces. The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits the use of the armed forces to perform civilian governmental tasks unless explicitly authorized to do so. There are statutory exceptions to ensure continued enforcement of state and federal law, to provide disaster assistance… more
Date: September 14, 2001
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Crime Control: The Federal Response

Description: Under the federal system in the United States, the states and localities traditionally have held the major responsibility for prevention and control of crime and maintenance of order. For most of the Republic’s history, “police powers” in the broad sense were reserved to the states under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution. Many still hold that view, but others see a string of court decisions in recent decades as providing the basis for a far more active federal role. Several bills are disc… more
Date: January 24, 2001
Creator: Teasley, David
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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