Congressional Research Service Reports - 137 Matching Results

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U.S.-South Korea Beef Dispute: Issues and Status

Description: This report describes the beef provisions in the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) and the separate bilateral protocols that the United States has negotiated in order to secure the lifting of South Korea's ban on U.S. beef imports, imposed after the discovery of mad cow disease in late 2003. It also summarizes U.S. beef export developments to this key market before and after the ban and since these protocols took effect; and lays out the outstanding issues on U.S. beef access that wil… more
Date: September 23, 2010
Creator: Jurenas, Remy & Manyin, Mark E.
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Pay Equity Legislation

Description: This report begins by showing the trend in the male-female wage gap and by examining the explanations that have been offered for its enduring presence. It next discusses the major laws directed at eliminating sex-based wage discrimination as well as relevant federal court cases. The report closes with a description of pay equity legislation that has been considered by Congress in recent years, including bills introduced in the 111th Congress.
Date: September 20, 2010
Creator: Feder, Jody & Levine, Linda
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Offshore Oil and Gas Development: Legal Framework

Description: The development of offshore oil, gas, and other mineral resources in the United States is impacted by a number of interrelated legal regimes, including international, federal, and state laws. International law provides a framework for establishing national ownership or control of offshore areas, and domestic federal law mirrors and supplements these standards. This report discusses these issues.
Date: September 20, 2010
Creator: Vann, Adam
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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State Efforts to Deter Unauthorized Aliens: Legal Analysis of Arizona's S.B. 1070

Description: On April 23, 2010, Arizona enacted S.B. 1070, which is designed to discourage and deter the entry or presence of aliens who lack lawful status under federal immigration law. This report discusses this piece of legislation and some of the notable preemption issues raised by its provisions. Where relevant, it examines the district court's ruling that the federal government is likely to succeed on the merits of its arguments that certain sections of S.B. 1070 are preempted by federal law. It also … more
Date: September 14, 2010
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.; Garcia, Michael John & Eig, Larry M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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An Overview of Recent U.S. Supreme Court Jurisprudence in Patent Law

Description: This report provides a brief summary of the Supreme Court's patent law jurisprudence in the following nine cases that have been decided since 2005: Merck KGaA v. Integra Lifesciences I, Unitherm Food Systems v. Swift-Eckrich, Illinois Tool Works v. Independent Ink, eBay v. MercExchange, Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings v. Metabolite Labs., MedImmune v. Genentech, KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., Microsoft v. AT&T, Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Electronics, Inc., and Bilski v. Kap… more
Date: September 17, 2010
Creator: Yeh, Brian T.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Samantar v. Yousef: The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and Foreign Officials

Description: On June 1, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court decided unanimously in Samantar v. Yousef that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), which governs the immunity of foreign states in U.S. courts, does not apply in suits against foreign officials. This report provides an overview of the FSIA, followed by a consideration of the remaining options for foreign officials who seek immunity from lawsuits, as well as some of the questions that may emerge from each option. The report also addresses legislat… more
Date: September 24, 2010
Creator: Elsea, Jennifer K.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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False Patent Marking: Litigation and Legislation

Description: This report will describe and analyze the Federal Circuit's 2009 decision that requires a per-article penalty for false marking, as well as two subsequent Federal Circuit decisions in 2010 that answer several questions that have arisen during the recent false patent marking litigation. It also identifies and discusses legislation in the 111th Congress that would amend § 292 in order to retroactively end qui tam false marking suits and with the intent of reducing the number of false marking suit… more
Date: September 20, 2010
Creator: Yeh, Brian T.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Authority of State and Local Police to Enforce Federal Immigration Law

Description: This report discusses the authority of state and local law enforcement to assist in the enforcement of federal immigration law through the investigation and arrest of persons believed to have violated such laws. It describes current provisions in federal law that permit state and local police to enforce immigration law directly, analyzes major cases concerning the ability of states and localities to assist in immigration enforcement, and briefly examines opinions on the issue by the Office of L… more
Date: September 17, 2010
Creator: Garcia, Michael John & Manuel, Kate M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response: The SAFER Grant Program

Description: The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Act (the "SAFER Act") was enacted by the 108th Congress as part of the FY2004 National Defense Authorization Act. This report describes the SAFER Act in brief, discusses possible budgetary modifications to the SAFER Act that are being considered due to the recent economic downturn, and explores related issues for the 112th Congress as they consider reauthorization.
Date: September 15, 2011
Creator: Kruger, Lennard G.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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State Efforts to Deter Unauthorized Aliens: Legal Analysis of Arizona's S.B. 1070

Description: This report discusses S.B. 1070 and some of the notable preemption issues raised by some of its provisions. Where relevant, it examines the district court's ruling that the federal government is likely to succeed on the merits of its arguments that certain sections of S.B. 1070 are preempted by federal law. It also discusses other preemption issues potentially raised by S.B. 1070 or similar legislation, including some issues that were not expressly addressed by the district court in its prelimi… more
Date: September 14, 2010
Creator: Manuel, Kate M.; Garcia, Michael John & Eig, Larry M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Employees' Retirement System: Benefits and Financing

Description: Most civilian federal employees who were hired before 1984 are covered by the Civil Service Retirement System, and contribute 7.0% of their pay to a retirement fund. Federal employees hired in 1984 or later are covered by the Federal Employees' Retirement System and contribute 0.8% of their pay to a retirement fund. Both require participants to contribute toward the cost of their pensions through a payroll tax. The taxable wage base is $106,800 in 2010. This report discusses both retirement fun… more
Date: September 15, 2010
Creator: Isaacs, Katelin P.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Authority of State and Local Police to Enforce Federal Immigration Law

Description: This report discusses the authority of state and local law enforcement to assist in the enforcement of federal immigration law through the investigation and arrest of persons believed to have violated such laws. It describes current provisions in federal law that permit state and local police to enforce immigration law directly, analyzes major cases concerning the ability of states and localities to assist in immigration enforcement, and briefly examines opinions on the issue by the Office of L… more
Date: September 17, 2010
Creator: Garcia, Michael John & Manuel, Kate M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Federal Communications Commission: Current Structure and Its Role in the Changing Telecommunications Landscape

Description: The report discusses the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)-Related Congressional Actions in the 112th Congress. The policymakers, including some in Congress, have long called for varying degrees and types of reform to the FCC. Most proposals fall into two categories: (1) procedural changes made within the FCC or through congressional action that would affect the agency's operations or (2) substantive policy changes requiring congressional action that would affect how the agency regulates … more
Date: September 13, 2011
Creator: Moloney Figliola, Patricia
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Iran Sanctions

Description: This report focuses on the United States' relationship with Iran and how the Obama Administration is handling prior administrations' economic sanctions against Iran. The Obama Administration's policy approach toward Iran has contrasted with the Bush Administration's by attempting to couple the imposition of sanctions to an active and direct U.S. effort to negotiate with Iran on the nuclear issue. That approach was not initially altered because of the Iranian dispute over its June 12, 2009, elec… more
Date: September 12, 2011
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Reauthorization of the FISA Amendments Act

Description: This report describes the changes that were made by the FISA Amendments Act within the context of the government's authority to conduct surveillance for foreign intelligence purposes.
Date: September 12, 2012
Creator: Liu, Edward C.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Water Act and Pollutant Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)

Description: This report discusses the total maximum daily load (TMDL) program which regulates pollutants to ensure that water quality standards can be attained; section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act requires states to identify waters that are impaired by pollution, even after application of pollution controls. The report focuses on new challenges facing the TMDL program, including more complex TMDLs, larger scale impairments, and nonpoint sources.
Date: September 21, 2012
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses

Description: This report discusses the effects of economic sanctions against Iran; support to the Iranian democracy movement; and opposition against Iranian human rights violations and Iranian support for Syrian human rights violations. The Obama Administration identifies Iran as a major threat to U.S. national security interests. The sense of imminent crisis with Iran which greeted the beginning of 2012 follows three years in which the Obama Administration first offered Iran's leaders consistent and sustai… more
Date: September 5, 2012
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Iran Sanctions

Description: This report analyzes U.S. and international sanctions against Iran and provides examples of companies and countries that conduct business with Iran, based on a wide range of open-source reporting.
Date: September 13, 2012
Creator: Katzman, Kenneth
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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