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Bankruptcy Reform Legislation in the 107th Congress: A Comparison of H.R. 333 As Passed by the House and the Senate

Description: H.R. 333, 107th Congress, 1st Sess. (2001), the “Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2001” and its counterpart in the Senate, S. 220, 107th Congress, 1st Sess. (2001), the “Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2001” were introduced on January 31, 2001. So far, the 107th Congress has demonstrated widespread support for the bills evidenced by the votes. Although President Bush is expected to sign bankruptcy reform into law, the White House has indicated that a bankruptcy bill that cont… more
Date: July 10, 2002
Creator: Jeweler, Robin
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Campaign Finance: Constitutional and Legal Issues of Soft Money

Description: Soft money is a major issue in the campaign finance reform debate because these generally unregulated funds are perceived as resulting from a loophole in the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). Generally, soft money is funds that are raised and spent according to applicable state laws, which FECA prohibits from being spent directly on federal elections, but that may have an indirect influence on federal elections. This Issue Brief discusses three major types of soft money: political party sof… more
Date: July 10, 2002
Creator: Whitaker, L. Paige
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Drug Control: International Policy and Options

Description: Over the past decade, worldwide production of illicit drugs has risen dramatically: opium and marijuana production has roughly doubled and coca production tripled. Street prices of cocaine and heroin have fallen significantly in the past 20 years, reflecting increased availability. Despite apparent national political resolve to deal with the drug problem, inherent contradictions regularly appear between U.S. anti-drug policy and other national policy goals and concerns. The mix of competing dom… more
Date: July 10, 2002
Creator: Lee, Rensselaer & Perl, Raphael F.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Energy Policy: Setting the Stage for the Current Debate

Description: The Bush Administration issued its plan for a national energy policy on May 16, 2001. The plan was controversial, characterized by some as leaner on conservation and renewables than Democratic proposals, and predisposed to trade off environmental considerations to increase supply. Comprehensive energy legislation was introduced in the Senate by both parties by late March (S. 388, S. 389, S. 596, S. 597). Bills reported by several House committees (H.R. 2436, H.R. 2460, H.R. 2511, and H.R. 2587)… more
Date: July 10, 2002
Creator: Bamberger, Robert L.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Supreme Court: Church-State Cases, 2001-2002 Term

Description: This issue brief discusses a number of Supreme Court cases that heavily concern church and state from the 2001-2002 Term. It provides detailed summaries on two decided cases, Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York, Inc v. Stratton, Ohio and Zelman v. Selmon-Harris.
Date: July 12, 2002
Creator: Ackerman, David M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Defense Cleanup and Environmental Programs: Authorization and Appropriations for FY2003

Description: The Department of Defense operates six environmental programs: cleanup of past contamination at military facilities, acceleration of cleanup at military bases designated for closure, compliance with environmental laws and regulations that apply to ongoing military operations, pollution prevention, natural resource conservation, and environmental technology. In addition to these activities, the Department of Energy is responsible for managing defense nuclear waste and remediating contaminated si… more
Date: July 15, 2002
Creator: Bearden, David M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Education Vouchers: Constitutional Issues and Cases

Description: This report details the constitutional standards that currently apply to indirect aid programs and summarizes all of the pertinent state and federal court decisions, including the Ohio case that will be heard by the Supreme Court. On September 25, 2001, the Supreme Court agreed to review a case raising the controversial issue of the constitutionality of education vouchers. In Zelman v. Simmons-Harris the Sixth Circuit held Ohio’s Pilot Scholarship Program, which provided up to $2500 to help low… more
Date: July 16, 2002
Creator: Ackerman, David M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Endangered Species Act and "Sound Science"

Description: This report provides a context for evaluating legislative proposals through examples of how science has been used in selected cases, a discussion of the nature and role of science in general, and its role in the Endangered Species Act (ESA) process in particular, together with general and agency information quality requirements and policies, and a review of how the courts have viewed agency use of science.
Date: July 16, 2002
Creator: Baldwin, Pamela & Corn, M. Lynne
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Auditing and Accounting Reform Proposals: A Side-by-Side Comparison

Description: This report compares the major provisions of three auditor and accounting reform proposals: two versions of H.R. 3763 (as passed by the House on April 24, 2002, and by the Senate on July 15, 2002), and proposed rules that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published on June 26th under its existing authority. H.R. 3763, in its House and Senate versions, and the SEC proposal seek to restore confidence in corporate reporting by enhancing the oversight of financial accounting. All th… more
Date: July 17, 2002
Creator: Jickling, Mark
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Animal Agriculture: Issues in the 107th Congress

Description: A variety of animal agriculture issues, including prices, the impact of consolidation in the meat production/packing industry, trade, and the environmental impacts of large feedlots, continue to generate interest in Congress. This issue brief discusses these issues, as well as the 2002 farm bill, which contains several provisions affecting animal agriculture, including protections for contract growers, disaster assistance, country-of-origin labeling, and increased funding for conservation purpo… more
Date: July 18, 2002
Creator: Heykoop, Jerry
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Fact Sheet on Congressional Tax Proposals

Description: After passing a major multi-year tax cut in Mid-2001 (which was sunsetted after ten years) and a stimulus bill in 2002, Congress is considering energy tax subsidies, tax incentives for charitable giving deductions, pension diversification in the wake of the ENRON problems, and tax shelters. The House has passed several bills that would make the multiyear tax cut permanent as well as a bill to speed up certain provisions.
Date: July 18, 2002
Creator: Gravelle, Jane G.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Abortion: Legislative Response

Description: The primary purpose of this issue brief is to focus on the current legislative action in the 107th Congress with respect to abortion; however, understanding that legislation requires a review of the U. S. Supreme Court’s leading decisions concerning a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate her pregnancy. For a detailed discussion of the case law, see CRS Report 95-724, Abortion Law Development: A Brief Overview.
Date: July 19, 2002
Creator: Lewis, Karen J.; Shimabukuro, Jon O. & Ely, Dana
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Capital Punishment: An Overview of Federal Death Penalty Statutes

Description: This report lists the current federal capital offenses and summarizes the procedures for federal civilian death penalty cases. Several laws are relevant to the topic including: P.L. 103-322, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994; the Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996; and P.L. 107-197, the Terrorist Bombings Convention Implementation Act of 2002.
Date: July 23, 2002
Creator: Bazan, Elizabeth B.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Estate Tax: Legislative Activity in 2002

Description: The provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA, P.L. 107-16) are scheduled to sunset on December 31, 2010. On April 18, 2002, the House passed legislation, H.R. 586, that would remove the sunset provision and thereby make permanent all other provisions of the tax cut law enacted in June 2001. This includes making permanent the repeal of the estate tax. On June 6, the House passed a free-standing estate tax repeal bill. H.R. 2143 would remove the sunset p… more
Date: July 23, 2002
Creator: Noto, Nonna A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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