Search Results

open access

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Legislative Issues

Description: This report discusses the ongoing debate about whether or not to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for energy development. The report discusses arguments for and against such development and focuses especially on related pieces of legislation that directly affects the future of the ANWR.
Date: August 28, 2002
Creator: Corn, M. Lynne; Gelb, Bernard A. & Baldwin, Pamela
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Monopoly and Monopolization - Fundamental But Separate Concepts in U.S. Antitrust Law

Description: This report illustrates the difference between the concepts of “monopoly” and “monopolization” by touching on the monopoly/monopolization thinking in the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as illustrated in (1) statements on merger enforcement made by recent antitrust enforcement officials (generally indicative of the agencies’ concerns about competitive conditions and the effect of various market transactions), (2) the 1992 Horizontal … more
Date: June 28, 1999
Creator: Rubin, Janice E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

FCC Media Ownership Rules: Issues for Congress

Description: The Federal Communications Commission adopted an order on June 2, 2003 that modified five of its media ownership rules and retained two others.1 The new rules will go into effect on September 4, 2003 – thirty days after their appearance in the Federal Register. Because of the potential that changes in these rules – which set limits on national television ownership, newspaper-broadcast and radio-television cross-ownership in a market, and ownership of multiple television or radio stations in a … more
Date: August 28, 2003
Creator: Goldfarb, Charles B.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Foreign Students in the United States: Policies and Legislation

Description: This report examines various issues pertaining to foreign students in the United States. Since the Immigration Act of 1924, the United States has expressly permitted foreign students to study in U.S. institutions. Most foreign students are at least 18 years old and are enrolled in higher education programs. Foreign students are generally considered to enrich cultural diversity of the educational experience for U.S. residents as well as enhance the reputation of U.S. universities as world-class … more
Date: March 28, 2002
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

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
open access

"Junk E-mail": An Overview of Issues and Legislation Concerning Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Mail ("Spam")

Description: Unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE), also called “spam” or “junk e-mail,” aggravates many computer users. Not only can it 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 and protected by the First Amendment. Legislation to place limits on UCE was considered by the last two Congresses, but no bill cleared Congress. … more
Date: May 28, 2002
Creator: Smith, Marcia S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Google Book Search Project: Is Online Indexing a Fair Use Under Copyright Law?

Description: This report provides background on the pending litigation. Google, Inc. is digitally scanning the collections of several prominent libraries in order to create a vast searchable database of literary works. Copyright holders who have not authorized and object to the digitization have filed suit against the company.
Date: December 28, 2005
Creator: Jeweler, Robin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Farm Bill Trade and Food Aid Provisions

Description: This report discusses the trade provisions of omnibus farm legislation, passed and signed into law in May 2002. The measure includes a trade title reauthorizing, through 2007, the major foreign food aid and agricultural export programs. It also contains other provisions affecting agricultural trade, including new country-of-origin labeling requirements for meat, seafood, and produce; and increased domestic farm subsidies with possible implications for U.S. trade relations.
Date: January 28, 2003
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Federal Stafford Act Disaster Assistance: Presidential Declarations, Eligible Activities, and Funding

Description: This report discusses the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Stafford Act), which authorizes the President to issue major disaster or emergency declarations in response to catastrophes that overwhelm state and local governments.
Date: April 28, 2006
Creator: Bea, Keith
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Flag Protection: A Brief History and Summary of Recent Supreme Court Decisions and Proposed Constitutional Amendments

Description: This report is divided into two parts. The first gives a brief history of the flag protection issue, from the enactment of the Flag Protection Act in 1968 through current consideration of a constitutional amendment. The second part briefly summarizes the two decisions of the United States Supreme Court, Texas v. Johnson and United States v. Eichman, that struck down the state and federal flag protection statutes as applied in the context punishing expressive conduct.
Date: June 28, 2006
Creator: Luckey, John R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Biomass: Comparison of Definitions in Legislation Through the 111th Congress

Description: This report discusses the use of biomass as an energy feedstock, which is emerging as a potentially viable alternative to address U.S. energy security concerns, foreign oil dependence, rural economic development, and diminishing sources of conventional energy. Biomass (organic matter that can be converted into energy) may include food crops, crops for energy (e.g., switchgrass or prairie perennials), crop residues, wood waste and byproducts, and animal manure. This report discusses legislation … more
Date: October 28, 2010
Creator: Bracmort, Kelsi & Gorte, Ross W.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Federal Government's Role in Electric Transmission Facility Siting

Description: This report looks at the history of transmission siting and the reason behind the movement toward an increased federal role in siting decisions, explains the new federal role in transmission siting pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and discusses legal issues related to this and any potential future expansions of the federal role.
Date: October 28, 2010
Creator: Vann, Adam
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Water Infrastructure Projects Designated in EPA Appropriations: Trends and Policy Implications

Description: This report discusses appropriations for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) water infrastructure programs, focusing on congressional special project designations in the account that funds these programs. While some Members of Congress, interest groups, and Administration officials are critical of these types of congressional actions, there is little indication that the practice will cease. Information on the programmatic history of EPA involvement in assisting wastewater treatment and drinki… more
Date: October 28, 2010
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Terrorism Information Sharing and the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Report Initiative: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: This report describes the NSI, the rationale for the sharing of terrorism-related SARs, and how the NSI seeks to achieve this objective. It examines the privacy and civil liberties concerns raised by the initiative and identifies other oversight issues for Congress.
Date: December 28, 2011
Creator: Bjelopera, Jerome P.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

The Army Corps of Engineers' Nationwide Permits Program: Issues and Regulatory Developments

Description: Congressional interest in wetlands permit regulatory programs has been evident in the past in oversight hearings and in connection with bills to fund the Corps' regulatory programs. For some time, there has been a stalemate over legislation that would revise wetlands regulatory law and that could, if enacted, modify the nationwide permit program. During this time, no consensus has emerged on whether or how to reform overall wetlands policy legislatively. Recently, Obama Administration initiativ… more
Date: December 28, 2010
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Seafood Safety: Background and Issues

Description: This report provides brief background information regarding seafood safety. The report address the question; are the current food safety programs sufficiently protecting consumers, and if not, what changes should be considered?
Date: May 28, 2008
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S. & Upton, Harold F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Wildfire Funding

Description: This report briefly describes the three categories of federal programs for wildfire protection: [1] protection of the federal lands managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (FS), and by the U.S. Department of the Interior, whose wildfire programs are coordinated by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM); [2] assistance for state and local governments and communities in protecting nonfederal lands; [3] support for fire research, fire facilities, and improvements in forest healt… more
Date: April 28, 2008
Creator: Gorte, Ross W.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

U.S. Immigration Policy on Temporary Admissions

Description: This report begins with a discussion of the policy tensions surrounding temporary admissions. It follows with a synthesis of the nonimmigrant categories according to the purpose of the visa. It discusses the periods of admission and length of stay and then summarizes grounds for inadmissibility and removal as well as reasons for termination of status. It also describes the circumstances under which nonimmigrants may work in the United States. The second portion of the report analyzes trends in … more
Date: February 28, 2011
Creator: Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Perjury Under Federal Law: A Brief Overview

Description: This report discusses the three general federal perjury laws. It is an abbreviated version of CRS Report 98-808, Perjury Under Federal Law: A Brief Overview, by Charles Doyle, stripped of most footnotes, quotations, citations, and bibliography.
Date: January 28, 2014
Creator: Doyle, Charles
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
Back to Top of Screen