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National Emergency Powers

Description: The President of the United States has available certain powers that may be exercised in the event that the nation is threatened by crisis, exigency, or emergency circumstances (other than natural disasters, war, or near-war situations). Such powers may be stated explicitly or implied by the Constitution, assumed by the Chief Executive to be permissible constitutionally, or inferred from or specified by statute. Through legislation, Congress has made a great many delegations of authority in thi… more
Date: September 25, 2001
Creator: Relyea, Harold C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The President’s Reorganization Authority: Review and Analysis

Description: This report addresses three specific issues: (1) the historical basis and use of the President’s reorganization authority; (2) the factors contributing to the lapse of the President’s reorganization authority in 1984,1 and (3) thoughts on the future of reorganization in the executive branch.
Date: March 8, 2001
Creator: Moe, Ronald C.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Social Security: Report of the President's Commission to Strengthen Social Security

Description: This report describes the Commission’s three reform plans. The first plan would make no other changes to the program. The second plan would slow the growth of Social Security through one major provision that would index initial benefits to prices rather than wages. The third plan would slow future program growth through a variety of measures.
Date: December 21, 2001
Creator: Nuschler, Dawn
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Electoral College: How it Works in Contemporary Presidential Elections

Description: The Constitution assigns each state a number of electors equal to the combined total of the state’s Senate and House of Representatives delegations; at present, the number of electors per state ranges from three to 55, for a total of 538. This report discuses constitutional origins, the electoral college today and explains the allocation of electors and electoral votes.
Date: January 17, 2001
Creator: Neale, Thomas H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Electoral College: An Overview and Analysis of Reform Proposals

Description: Following the closely contested presidential election of 2000, it is anticipated that Congress may revisit the issue of Electoral College reform. Although some reforms could be effected through federal or state statutes, most would require overcoming the considerable hurdles encountered by proposed constitutional amendments: two-thirds approval by both houses of Congress, followed by ratification by three-fourths (38) of the states, usually within a period of seven years.
Date: January 16, 2001
Creator: Whitaker, L. Paige & Neale, Thomas H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Electoral College: Reform Proposals in the 107th Congress

Description: Seven proposals to reform the Electoral College system have been introduced to date in the 107th Congress. H.J.Res. 3 (Representative Green of Texas), and H.J.Res. 5 (Representative Delahunt) would eliminate the electoral college, substituting direct popular election of the President. H.J.Res. 1 (Representative Clyburn), H.J.Res. 18 (Representative Engel), and H.J.Res. 37 (Representative Clement) would incorporate the “district” method of awarding electoral votes, and H.J.Res. 17 (Representativ… more
Date: March 29, 2001
Creator: Neale, Thomas H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Item Veto and Expanded Impoundment Proposals

Description: This report discusses President's authority to call for an item veto, or possibly expanded impoundment authority, consideration of impoundment reform, to provide him with greater control over federal spending.
Date: March 1, 2001
Creator: McMurtry, Virginia A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Election of the President and Vice President by Congress: Contingent Election

Description: 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.
Date: January 17, 2001
Creator: Neale, Thomas H.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Elections Reform: Overview and Issues

Description: This report discusses several issues as the Congress considers legislation to reform the voting process, a number of issues have emerged as part of the debate: the reliability of different types of voting technologies; voting problems and irregularities in the 2000 election; problems for militaryand overseas voters; the electoral college; and early media projections of election results.
Date: April 30, 2001
Creator: Coleman, Kevin J. & Fischer, Eric A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congressional Overrides of Presidential Vetoes

Description: The President’s veto is effective not only in preventing the passage of legislation undesirable to the President, but also as a threat, sometimes forcing Congress to modify legislation before it is presented to the President. However, as a veto threat is carried out, Congress is faced with choices: letting the veto stand, the difficult task of overriding the veto, meeting the President’s objections and sending a new bill forward, or resubmitting the same provisions under a new bill number.
Date: January 29, 2001
Creator: Galemore, Gary L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congressional Access to Executive Branch Information: Legislative Tools

Description: This report begins by reviewing the precedents established during the Washington Administration for withholding documents from Congress. Close examination reveals that the scope of presidential privilege is often exaggerated. Congress had access to more documentation than is commonly believed and might have had more had it pressed for it. Subsequent sections focus on various forms of congressional leverage: the power of the purse, the power to impeach, issuing congressional subpoenas, holding e… more
Date: May 17, 2001
Creator: Fisher, Louis
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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