The Constitution of the United States makes no specific allowance for any one of the co-equal branches to have access to information held by the others and contains no provision expressly establishing a procedure for, or a right of, public access to government information. Nonetheless, Congress has legislated various public access laws. These include two records access statutes — the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act — and two meetings access statutes — the Federal Advisory Committee Act and the Government in the Sunshine Act. This report provides background on the issue of government transparency and examines relevant litigation.
Mortgage debt cancellation can occur when lenders restructure loans, reducing principal balances, or sell properties, either in advance, or as a result, of foreclosure proceedings. If a lender forgiver or cancels such debt, current tax law treats it as cancellation of debt (COD) income subject to tax. There are exceptions for taxpayers may exclude canceled mortgage debt income under existing law.
For some time there has been a growing sense of urgency to develop and deploy effective missile defenses against a range of long and short range ballistic missile threats. Although many might believe this to be relative new to U.S. national security objectives, such interest has been ongoing since the 1960s, and many current technologies being investigated date their start to the early 1980s. This effort has been challenging technically and politically controversial. Some $110 billion has been spent since the mid-1980s; Congress appropriated $9.3 billion in FY2006. Many observers expect that the 110th Congress will review the current technology and BMD test program in 2007. This report provides a brief overview of U.S. efforts to date.
This report consists of burning crosses, hangman's nooses, and the like: state statutes that proscribe the use of symbols of fear and violence with the intent of threaten.
This report describes the current CSE incentive payment system, explains how state incentive payments are derived, presents some of the state trends, and discusses some issues.
This report provides information about the Clean Air Issues in the 110th Congress like Climate Change, Air Quality Standards, and Oversight.Five bills have been introduced to establish caps on greenhouse gas emission.
This report addresses selected statistics and information guide of Congressional Budget Resolutions.It provides a table of selected optional components, a list of reconciliation measures, and information on the number of years covered by budget resolutions.
On June 25, 2007, in a 5-4 decision, the Sumpreme Court in Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. v. FEC affirmed a lower court ruling, finding that a provision of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, prohibiting corporate or labor union treasury funds from being spent on advertisements broadcast within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of a general election, was unconstitutional as applied to ads that Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. sought to run. In later decisions, it was ruled that advertisements that may reasonably be interpreted as something other than as an appeal to vote for or against a specific candidate are not the functional equivalent of express advocacy and, therefore, cannot be regulated. This report examines and analyzes these decisions and how they effect campaign law.
This report gives an overview of Cuba's issues for the 110th Congress. The contents include the most recent developments, political and economic conditions, U.S. policy towards Cuba, issues in the U.S.- Cuban relations, legislations in the 109th congress, and legislative initiatives in the 110th Congress.
This report provides information about the Data Mining and Homeland Security. Data mining has become one of the key features of the homeland security initiatives. Data mining can be a potential means to identify terrorist activities such as money transfer etc.
This report reviews the status of energy efficiency and renewable energy legislation introduced during the 110th Congress. Most Senate action led to the Senate version of H.R. 6, an omnibus energy bill that the Senate passed on June 21, 2007. Most House action led to the omnibus energy bill H.R. 3221, which the House passed on August 4, 2007. A second area of focus has been on the funding-related bills for energy efficiency and renewable energy, especially H.R. 2641, the Energy and Water Appropriations bill for FY2008.
This report provides information about the Environmental Impacts of Airport Operations, Maintenance, and Expansion and in order to address these concerns, airports may be required to implement projects that would minimize the environmental impact.
This report provides information about the Environmental Impacts of Airport Operations, Maintenance, and Expansion and in order to address these concerns, airports may be required to implement projects that would minimize the environmental impact.
This report will briefly address the existing law relating to quarantine and isolation, with an emphasis on the interaction of state and federal laws and international agreements.
This report provides a brief overview of federal law with respect to six selected advertising issues: alcohol advertising, tobacco advertising, the federal trade commission act, advertising by mail, advertising by telephone, and commercial e-mail.
Fish and marine mammals are important resources in open ocean and nearshore coastal areas. Many laws and regulations guide the management of these resources by federal agencies. This report contains information on commercial and sport fisheries, aquaculture, and marine mammals and issues related to the 109th Congress.
Biologics, which are sometimes termed biopharmaceuticals or biotechnology drugs, have begun to play an increasingly important role in U.S. health care. Not only are sales of biologics growing rapidly, some experts estimate that in coming years half of all newly approved drugs will result from biotechnology. This report contains information on marketing approval issues, intellectual property issues, and innovation issues as related to biologics.
This report highlights efforts by affected countries to control the spread of the avian influenza (H5N1) virus. Included is statistical information on confirmed human cases and deaths through January 2007.
This report is an overview of the Administrations FY2008 budget request for 11 homeland security programs designed to provide assistance to state and local first responders.
This report looks at the distinct population segments (DPSs) process as it is applied to the gray wolf. It also reviews experimental populations of wolves under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and their protections.
This report discusses the information related to gun control legislation. The contents include Gun-related statistics, federal regulation of firearms, legislative action in the 109th and 110th Congress
Health care spending is one of the most rapidly growing portions of the federal budget. Projections suggest if the rapid growth in health care costs is not curtailed, governments at all levels will face an uncomfortable choice between significant cuts in other spending priorities or major tax increases. This report examines the economic justification for government intervention and involvement in health care markets.
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.
This report is intended to provide information about the direct assistance for education expenses provided through the federal income tax system, thereby placing HEA student aid programs in a broader context.
This report provides an overview of the current issues on homosexuals and U.S. military policy. It also discusses about recruiting, JROTC, ROTC and campus Policies.
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