Congressional Research Service Reports - 74 Matching Results

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Congressional Oversight of Intelligence: Current Structure and Alternatives

Description: This report, to be updated as events dictate, describes the current select committees on intelligence; characteristics and a model for a possible joint committee; recent actions by Congress; and obstacles affecting legislative oversight in the field.
Date: March 26, 2012
Creator: Halchin, L. Elaine & Kaiser, Frederick M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress

Description: This report provides background information and potential issues for Congress on the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), a relatively inexpensive Navy surface combatant equipped with modular "plug-and-fight" mission packages. The Navy's proposed FY2013 budget requests funding for the procurement of four LCSs. Current issues for Congress concerning the LCS program include the program's mission modules, the combat survivability of the LCS, hull cracking and engine problems on LCS-1, and corrosion on LCS-… more
Date: April 6, 2012
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Salaries of Members of Congress: Recent Actions and Historical Tables

Description: 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; the adjustments projected by the Ethics Reform Act as compared to actual adjustments in Member pay; details on past legislation enacted with language prohibiting the annual pay adjustment; and Member pay in constant and current dollars since 1992.
Date: January 4, 2012
Creator: Brudnick, Ida A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Congressional Appropriations Process: An Introduction

Description: Congress annually considers several appropriations measures, which provide funding for numerous activities, for example, national defense, education, and homeland security, as well as general government operations. Congress has developed certain rules and practices for the consideration of appropriations measures, referred to as the congressional appropriations process. This report looks at this process as well as the three types of appropriates measures: regular appropriations bills, continuin… more
Date: February 23, 2012
Creator: Tollestrup, Jessica
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Japan-U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress

Description: The post-World War II U.S.-Japan alliance has long been an anchor of the U.S. security role in East Asia. The alliance facilitates the forward deployment of about 36,000 U.S. troops and other U.S. military assets in the Asia-Pacific, thereby undergirding U.S. national security strategy in the region. For Japan, the alliance and the U.S. nuclear umbrella provide maneuvering room in dealing with its neighbors, particularly China and North Korea. Difficult problems remain in the alliance, particul… more
Date: May 4, 2012
Creator: Chanlett-Avery, Emma; Cooper, William H. & Manyin, Mark E.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress

Description: The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is a relatively inexpensive Navy surface combatant equipped with modular "plug-and-fight" mission packages. The Navy wants to field a force of 55 LCSs. Twelve LCSs have been funded through FY2012, and the FY2013-FY2017 Future Years Defense Plan (FYDP) calls for procuring 16 more, in annual quantities of 4-4-4-2-2. The Navy's proposed FY2013 budget requests $1,785.0 million in procurement funding for the four LCSs requested for FY2013. The Navy's proposed budget al… more
Date: April 6, 2012
Creator: O'Rourke, Ronald
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Members of Congress Who Die in Office: Historic and Current Practices

Description: Since 1973, 84 Members of Congress-69 Representatives, and 15 Senators-have died in office. When a sitting Member dies, the House and Senate carry out a number of actions based on chamber rules, statutes, and longstanding practices. This report discusses these actions.
Date: April 25, 2012
Creator: Petersen, R. Eric & Manning, Jennifer E.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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U.S. Assistance Programs in China

Description: This report examines U.S. foreign assistance activities in the People's Republic of China (PRC), including U.S. Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programming, foreign operations appropriations, policy history, and legislative background. International programs supported by U.S. departments and agencies other than the Department of State and USAID are not covered in this report.
Date: May 11, 2012
Creator: Lum, Thomas
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Insourcing Functions Performed by Federal Contractors: An Overview of the Legal Issues

Description: Recent Congresses and the Obama Administration have taken numerous actions to promote "insourcing," or the use of government personnel to perform functions that contractors have performed on behalf of federal agencies. Members of the 112th Congress have introduced several measures which seek to ensure that certain contractors have standing to challenge insourcing determinations; would provide for additional review of insourcing determinations that affect small businesses; or could otherwise con… more
Date: May 7, 2012
Creator: Manuel, Kate M. & Maskell, Jack
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congressional Liaison Offices of Selected Federal Agencies

Description: This list of about 150 congressional liaison offices is intended to help congressional offices in placing telephone calls and addressing correspondence to government agencies. Entries are arranged alphabetically in four sections: legislative branch; judicial branch; executive branch; and agencies, boards, and commissions.
Date: March 21, 2012
Creator: Crane-Hirsch, Audrey Celeste
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Congressional Liaison Offices of Selected Federal Agencies

Description: This list of about 150 congressional liaison offices is intended to help congressional offices in placing telephone calls and addressing correspondence to government agencies. Entries are arranged alphabetically in four sections: legislative branch; judicial branch; executive branch; and agencies, boards, and commissions.
Date: March 21, 2012
Creator: Crane-Hirsch, Audrey Celeste
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Sovereign Debt in Advanced Economies: Overview and Issues for Congress

Description: Sovereign debt, also called public debt or government debt, refers to debt incurred by governments. Since the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, public debt in advanced economies has increased substantially. A number of factors related to the financial crisis have fueled the increase, including fiscal stimulus packages, the nationalization of private-sector debt, and lower tax revenue. Even if economic growth reverses some of these trends, such as by boosting tax receipts and reducing spendi… more
Date: February 29, 2012
Creator: Nelson, Rebecca M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Contracting and Subcontracting with Small Businesses: Issues in the 112th Congress

Description: Congress has generally broad authority to impose requirements upon the federal procurement process, or the process whereby agencies obtain goods and services from the private sector. One of the many ways in which Congress has exercised this authority is by enacting measures intended to promote contracting and subcontracting with "small businesses" by federal agencies. This report describes and analyzes measures that Members of the 112th Congress have enacted or proposed in response to particula… more
Date: March 7, 2012
Creator: Manuel, Kate M. & Lunder, Erika K.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Senate Committee Rules in the 112th Congress: A Comparison of Key Provisions

Description: This report reviews the requirements contained in Senate rules pertaining to committees; it then explores how each Senate committee addresses 11 specific issues: meeting day, hearing and meeting notice requirements, scheduling of witnesses, hearing quorum, business quorum, amendment filing requirements, proxy voting, polling, nominations, investigations, and subpoenas. In addition, the report looks at the unique provisions some committees have included in their rules in the miscellaneous categ… more
Date: February 17, 2012
Creator: Palmer, Betsy
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Representatives and Senators: Trends in Member Characteristics Since 1945

Description: Questions about the characteristics of Members of Congress, including their age, education, previous occupations, and other descriptors, are of ongoing interest to Members, congressional staff, and constituents. Some of these questions may be asked in the context of representation, in efforts to evaluate the extent to which Members of Congress reflect their constituencies and the nation at large. In other instances, questions arise about how the characteristics of Members have changed over time… more
Date: February 17, 2012
Creator: Petersen, R. Eric
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Department of Defense Energy Initiatives: Background and Issues for Congress

Description: The Department of Defense (DOD) spends billions of dollars per year on fuel, and is pursuing numerous initiatives for reducing its fuel needs and changing the mix of energy sources that it uses. DOD's energy initiatives pose several potential oversight issues for Congress, and have been topics of discussion and debate at hearings on DOD's proposed FY2013 budget.
Date: June 5, 2012
Creator: Schwartz, Moshe; Blakeley, Katherine & O'Rourke, Ronald
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Cuba: U.S. Restrictions on Travel and Remittances

Description: Restrictions on travel to Cuba have been a key and often contentious component in U.S. efforts to isolate Cuba's communist government since the early 1960s. In January 2011, the Obama Administration announced policy changes further easing restrictions on travel and remittances. In the first session of the 112th Congress, there were several attempts aimed at rolling back the Obama Administration's actions easing restrictions on travel and remittances. Several initiatives were also introduced tha… more
Date: January 10, 2012
Creator: Sullivan, Mark P.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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War Powers Resolution: Presidential Compliance

Description: This report discusses two separate but closely-related issues regarding the introduction of U.S. armed forces abroad that conceivably could lead to their involvement in hostilities. One issue concerns the division of war powers between the President and Congress, whether the use of armed forces falls within the purview of the congressional power to declare war and the War Powers Resolution. The other issue is whether or not Congress concurs in the wisdom of the action. A longer-term issue is wh… more
Date: February 1, 2012
Creator: Grimmett, Richard F.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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