Congressional Research Service Reports - 264 Matching Results
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- School Facilities Infrastructure: Background and Legislative Proposals
- Congressional Research Service (CRS) report entailing information about . Topics include, legislative action, estimates of construction needs, enrollment projections and construction, etc..
- School Facilities Infrastructure: Background and Legislative Proposals
- Congressional Research Service (CRS) report entailing background information and legislative proposals in regards to school facilities and infrastructure. Topics include, legislative action, enrollment projections and construction, estimates of construction needs, etc..
- Overview of the Authorization-Appropriations Process
- No Description Available.
- China and "Falun Gong"
- “Falun Gong,” also known as “Falun Dafa,”1 combines an exercise regimen with meditation and moral tenets. The “Falun Gong” movement has led to the largest and most protracted public demonstrations in China since the democracy movement of 1989. On April 25, 1999, an estimated 10,000 to 30,000 adherents assembled in front of Zhongnanhai, the Chinese Communist Party leadership compound, and participated in a silent protest against state repression of their activities. On July 21, 1999, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) government, fearful of the spread of social unrest, outlawed the movement and began to arrest Falun Gong protesters.
- A Guide to Major Congressional and Presidential Awards
- This report is designed to help congressional offices obtain information about major awards given by Congress and the President. It lists details about the establishment, criteria, selection process, and presentation of each of the major presidential and congressional awards: Congressional Award, Congressional Gold Medal, Medal of Honor, Presidential Citizens Medal, and Presidential Medal of Freedom. Brief entries are provided for additional awards made by the President including two new military medals for service in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT): the GWOT Expeditionary Medal and the GWOT Service Medal. Contact information for the organization responsible for making the award and for more data about an award is provided. References to CRS products on awards are also given.
- A Guide to Major Congressional and Presidential Awards
- This report is designed to help congressional offices obtain information about major awards given by Congress and the President. It lists details about the establishment, criteria, selection process, and presentation of each of the major presidential and congressional awards: Congressional Award, Congressional Gold Medal, Medal of Honor, Presidential Citizens Medal, and Presidential Medal of Freedom. Brief entries are provided for additional awards made by the President including two new military medals for service in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT): the GWOT Expeditionary Medal and the GWOT Service Medal. Contact information is provided for the organization responsible for making the award and for more data about an award. References to CRS products on awards are also given. This report will be updated as necessary.
- Going to Conference in the Senate
- This report discusses the steps that the Senate must take, and one more step that it may take, as it arranges to send a bill to conference committee.
- The Legislative Process on the House Floor: An Introduction
- This report discusses the complicated body of rules, precedents, and practices that governs the legislative process on the floor of the House of Representatives.
- Voting and Quorum Procedures in the Senate
- No Description Available.
- House and Senate Vacancies: How Are They Filled?
- Vacancies in Congress occur due to the death, resignation, or declination (refusal to serve) of a Senator or Representative, or as the result of expulsion or exclusion by either house. The Constitution requires that vacancies in both houses be filled by special election, but in the case of the Senate, it empowers state legislatures to provide for temporary appointments by the state governor until special elections can be scheduled. This report describes this process.
- Salaries of Members of Congress: A List of Payable Rates and Effective Dates, 1789-2003
- This report contains information on the pay procedure and recent adjustments. It also contains historical information on the rate of pay for Members of Congress since 1789.
- Salaries of Members of Congress: A List of Payable Rates and Effective Dates, 1789-2003
- This report summarizes by what measures the Constitution requires Congress to determine its own pay, the annual payment adjustment procedure, changes in pay over time since 1789, and related legislation.
- Grants Work in a Congressional Office
- Members of Congress often get requests from constituents for information and help in obtaining funds for projects. Many state and local governments, nonprofit social service and community action organizations, private research groups, small businesses, and individuals approach congressional offices to find out about funding, both from the federal government and from the private sector. The success rate in obtaining federal assistance is not high, given the competition for federal funds. A grants staff’s effectiveness often depends on both an understanding of the grants process and on the relations it establishes with agency and other contacts. The following report does not constitute a blueprint for every office involved in grants and projects activity, nor does it present in-depth information about all aspects of staff activity in this area. The discussion is aimed at describing some basics about the grants process and some of the approaches and techniques used by congressional offices in dealing with this type of constituent service.
- Floor Procedure in the House of Representatives: A Brief Overview
- The House considers bills and resolutions on the floor under several different sets of procedures governing the time for debate and the opportunities for amendment. Some procedures allow 40 or 60 minutes for debate; others permit debate to continue until a majority of Members vote to end it. Some procedures prohibit most or all floor amendments; others allow Members to offer any amendments that meet the requirements of the House’s rules and precedents. Notwithstanding these differences, the rules, precedents, and practices of the House generally are designed to permit the majority to work its will in a timely manner. This report provides a brief overview of this procedure.
- Asian Pacific Americans in the United States Congress
- This report provides information on the 33 Asian Pacific Americans who have served in the United States Congress from 1903 to the present, including 13 Resident Commissioners from the Philippine Islands. These Resident Commissioners served from 1907-1946 while the Philippines were a U.S. territory and commonwealth (all were Philippine born). Information on Members and territorial delegates includes party affiliations, length and dates of service, and committee assignments.
- The Congressional Appropriations Process: An Introduction
- This report describes the annual appropriations cycle from the President’s submission of his annual budget through enactment of the appropriations measures. It describes the three types of appropriations measures—regular appropriations bills, continuing resolutions, and supplemental bills. It explains the spending ceilings for appropriations bills that are associated with the budget resolution and the sequestration process, including a description of the mechanisms used to enforce the ceilings. It also explains the authorization appropriations process, which prohibits certain provisions in some of the appropriations bills.
- The Discharge Rule in the House: Recent Use in Historical Context
- The discharge rule of the House of Representatives affords a way for Members to bring to the floor a measure not reported from committee. Before a motion to discharge may be made, 218 Members must sign a petition for that purpose. This report provides summary data on discharge petitions filed since adoption of the present form of discharge rule in 1931. It also identifies the 32 occasions since 1967 on which a committee report or floor action occurred on a measure against which a petition was filed (or an alternative measure on the same subject).
- Preparation for Senate Committee Markup
- No Description Available.
- Markup in Senate Committee: Considering Amendments
- No Description Available.
- A User's Guide to the Congressional Record
- The Congressional Record is a substantially verbatim account of remarks made during the proceedings of the House and Senate, subject only to technical, grammatical, and typographical corrections. It consists of four main sections: the proceedings of the House and Senate, the Extensions of Remarks, and the Daily Digest. This fact sheet is one of a series on the legislative process.
- Congressional Record: Its Production, Distribution, and Accessibility
- The Congressional Record is the most widely recognized published account of the debates and activities in Congress. The Record often reflects the intent of Congress in enacting legislation. This fact sheet is one of a series on the legislative process.
- Sponsorship and Cosponsorship of Senate Bills
- No Description Available.
- Senate Committee Reports: Required Contents
- No Description Available.
- Senate Conferees: Their Selection and Authority
- No Description Available.
- Conference Reports and Joint Explanatory Statements
- The conference report presents the formal legislative language on which the conference committee has agreed. The joint explanatory statement explains the various elements of the conferees’ agreement in relation to the positions that the House and Senate had committed to the conference committee.
- Senate Consideration of Treaties
- No Description Available.
- Senate Rule XIV Procedures for Placing Measures Directly on the Senate Calendar
- No Description Available.
- Guide to Individuals Seated on the Senate Dais
- This report is a brief summary of House and Senate procedures for reaching agreement on legislation. It discusses the provisions of House Rule XXII and Senate Rule XXVIII as well as other applicable rules, precedents, and practices. The report focuses on the most common and customary procedures.
- Senate Administrative Officers and Officials
- No Description Available.
- Invoking Cloture in the Senate
- This report discuses cloture, which is is the only procedure by which the Senate can vote to set an end to a debate without also rejecting the bill, amendment, conference report, motion, or other matter it has been debating. A Senator can make a nondebatable motion to table an amendment, and if a majority of the Senate votes for that motion, the effect is to reject the amendment. Thus, the motion to table cannot be used to conclude a debate when Senators still wish to speak and to enable the Senate to vote for the proposal it is considering. Only the cloture provisions of Rule XXII achieve this purpose.
- The Senate's Calendar of Business
- No Description Available.
- The Senate's Executive Calendar
- No Description Available.
- Introducing a Senate Bill or Resolution
- This report discusses the beginning steps in the Senate's legislative procedure. Ideas and recommendations for legislation may come from private sources, like ordinary citizens or interest groups; executive branch agencies and the White House; states and localities; and, of course, from individual Senators, committees and other Senate work groups, and party and chamber leaders. Any or all of these entities may also participate in drafting legislation (resolutions as well as bills).
- Tracking Current Federal Legislation and Regulations: A Guide to Basic Sources
- This report introduces selected basic sources that are useful in obtaining background information or specific facts on the status of federal legislative or regulatory initiatives. It includes telephone, online, and media sources are included, as well as pertinent directories, such as those of organizations that track areas of interest. Annotations describing each source's contents and organization are included so that researchers can select those that most closely fit their needs. Internet addresses usually provide information about the items, rather than access to them.
- Tracking Current Federal Legislation and Regulations: A Guide to Basic Sources
- This report introduces selected basic sources that are useful in obtaining background information or specific facts on the status of federal legislative or regulatory initiatives. It includes telephone, online, and media sources are included, as well as pertinent directories, such as those of organizations that track areas of interest. Annotations describing each source's contents and organization are included so that researchers can select those that most closely fit their needs. Internet addresses usually provide information about the items, rather than access to them.
- The Congressional Budget Process Timetable
- The Congressional Budget Act (CBA) of 1974 (Titles I-IX of P.L. 93-344, 88 Stat. 297-332) established the congressional budget process, which coordinates the legislative activities on the budget resolution, appropriations bills, reconciliation legislation, revenue measures, and other budgetary legislation. Section 300 of this act provides a timetable (see Table 1) so that Congress may complete its work on the budget by the start of the fiscal year on October 1.
- Amendments in the Senate: Types and Forms
- The amending process is central to the consideration of legislation by the Senate. This report briefly describes the various types of amendments that take place in the Senate.
- Secret Sessions of the House and Senate
- No Description Available.
- Floor Consideration of Conference Reports in the House
- This report briefly discusses procedure regarding conference reports in the House.
- Floor Consideration of Conference Reports in the Senate
- This report briefly discusses procedure regarding conference reports in the Senate.
- Secretary of the Senate: Fact Sheet on Legislative and Administrative Duties
- No Description Available.
- Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate: Fact Sheet on Legislative and Administrative Duties
- No Description Available.
- Pages of the United States Congress: Selection, Duties, and Program Administration
- No Description Available.
- Cloture: Its Effect on Senate Proceedings
- Cloture is the only means by which the Senate can vote to limit debate on a matter, and thereby overcome a possible filibuster. Until 1949, cloture could not be invoked on nominations, and before 1980 this action was attempted only twice. From 1949 through 2002, cloture was sought on 35 nominations, and invoked on 21.
- Amendments Between the Houses
- This report briefly summarizes the process of amendments between the House of Representatives and the Senate, which occurs if the House and Senate approve differing versions of a measure. An exchange of amendments between the houses resolves these differences.
- "Sense of" Resolutions and Provisions
- One or both houses of Congress may formally express opinions about subjects of current national interest through freestanding simple or concurrent resolutions (called generically “sense of the House,” “sense of the Senate,” or “sense of the Congress” resolutions). These opinions may also be added to pending legislative measures by amendments expressing the views of one or both chambers. This fact sheet identifies the various forms such expressions may take and the procedures governing such actions.
- Calling Up Measures on the Senate Floor
- The Senate takes up measures under procedures set in Senate rules and by longstanding customs, thereby giving it flexibility in setting its floor agenda. This report first treats those processes or customs most often used by the Senate and then discusses some procedures less often used to call up measures.
- Messages, Petitions, Communications, and Memorials to Congress
- No Description Available.
- The Amending Process in the Senate
- This report summarizes many of the rules, precedents, and practices of the Senate affecting the consideration of amendments to measures on the floor. Much of the information presented here has been extracted from Riddick’s Senate Procedure (Senate Document 101-28) the published collection of Senate precedents.
- Flow of Business: Typical Day on the Senate Floor
- Several authorities govern the daily chamber work of the Senate: the standing rules, the “standing orders,” unanimous consent agreements, precedent, and tradition. Because these authorities have different influence at certain times, no Senate session day is truly typical. This report discusses procedures and business that usually occur every session day, and refers to certain business items that may occur less frequently.