Congressional Research Service Reports - 314 Matching Results

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Sexual Harassment and Violence Against Women: Developments in Federal Law

Description: Gender-based discrimination, harassment, and violence against women in the home, workplace, and society at large are continuing topics of legislative and judicial concern. Legal doctrines condemning the extortion of sexual favors as a condition of employment or job advancement, and other sexually offensive workplace behaviors resulting in a "hostile environment," have evolved from judicial decisions under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and related federal laws.
Date: May 25, 2000
Creator: Dale, Charles V.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Brownfields and Superfund Issues in the 108th Congress

Description: The Superfund program for cleaning up the nation’s worst hazardous waste sites was created by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, or CERCLA (P.L. 96-510, as amended). This report discusses recent development and background issues, superfund issues, revenue issues, comprehensive reauthorization, and legislation regarding superfund program.
Date: May 22, 2003
Creator: Reisch, Mark
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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WTO Decisions and Their Effect on U.S. Law

Description: Congress has comprehensively dealt with the legal effect of World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements and dispute settlement results in the United States in the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), P.L. 103-465, which provides that domestic law prevails over conflicting provisions of WTO agreements and prohibits private remedies based on alleged violations of these agreements. As a result, WTO agreements and adopted WTO rulings in conflict with federal law do not have domestic legal effect unle… more
Date: May 24, 2005
Creator: Grimmett, Jeanne J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Safe Drinking Water Act: Implementation and Issues

Description: This report discusses key drinking water issues in the 109th Congress, which have included problems caused by specific contaminants, such as methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) and perchlorate, as well as the related issue of the appropriate federal role in providing financial assistance for water infrastructure projects. Congress last reauthorized the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) in 1996, and although funding authority for most SDWA programs expired in FY2003, broad reauthorization bills have… more
Date: May 3, 2006
Creator: Tiemann, Mary
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Freedom of Speech and Press: Exceptions to the First Amendment

Description: This report provides an overview of the major exceptions to the First Amendment — of the ways that the Supreme Court has interpreted the guarantee of freedom of speech and press to provide no protection or only limited protection for some types of speech.
Date: May 24, 2005
Creator: Cohen, Henry
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Education Vouchers: Constitutional Issues and Cases

Description: This report details the constitutional standards that currently apply to indirect school aid programs and summarizes all of the pertinent Supreme Court decisions, with particular attention to Zelman. It also summarizes the pending case of Davey v. Locke and other recent and ongoing state and lower federal court cases concerning vouchers.
Date: May 20, 2003
Creator: Ackerman, David M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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"Spam": An Overview of Issues Concerning Commercial Electronic Mail

Description: This report discusses Spam, also called unsolicited commercial email (UCE) or "junk email." Not only can Spam be a nuisance, but its cost may be passed on to consumers through higher charges from Internet service providers who must upgrade their systems to handle the traffic. Proponents of UCE insist it is a legitimate marketing technique that is protected by the First Amendment. This report discusses this issue in detail, as well as related legislation.
Date: May 14, 2008
Creator: Moloney Figliola, Patricia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Legislation in the 109th Congress

Description: This report reviews the status of energy efficiency and renewable energy legislation introduced during the 109th Congress. Action in the second session has focused on appropriations bills; the first session focused on omnibus energy policy bill H.R. 6 and several appropriations bills. this report describes several major pieces of legislation, including the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Transportation Equity Act. For each bill listed in this report, a brief description and a summary of actio… more
Date: May 6, 2005
Creator: Sissine, Fred
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Copyright Law: Digital Rights Management Legislation

Description: Digital Rights Management (DRM) refers to the technology that copyright owners use to protect digital media. This report surveys several of the DRM bills that were introduced in the 107th Congress and those that are pending in the 108th Congress. Generally, the bills are directed at two separate goals. One goal is to increase access to digitally-protected media for lawful purposes. The other attempts to thwart digital piracy and would do so by enhancing civil and criminal sanctions for digital … more
Date: May 28, 2004
Creator: Jeweler, Robin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization: An Overview of Selected Provisions in Proposed Legislation

Description: This report is intended to provide a brief summary and analysis of major legislative provisions under consideration in the ongoing Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization process. The report is organized into six major program areas: aviation system finance; airport finance; FAA management and organizational issues; system capacity and safety; environmental issues; and miscellaneous programs and provisions. In several cases, provisions that appear in various unrelated sections of propos… more
Date: May 9, 2008
Creator: Elias, Bart; Fischer, John W.; Kirk, Robert S.; Luther, Linda; Vincent, Carol Hardy; McCarthy, James E. et al.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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